Portugal's property pathway after the Golden Visa: 2026

You have the budget for a flat in Lisbon or a house in the Algarve, and somewhere in the research you read that the purchase also buys you a residence permit. It did once. Anyone planning from a page written before October 2023 is working off a rule that no longer exists, and both mistakes that follow are expensive: buying property expecting a visa, or dropping a home you genuinely wanted because the visa story collapsed.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-10. Seeki.eu is not a legal or immigration adviser; this is orientation, not advice. Portuguese residency, nationality and property tax rules have changed repeatedly since 2023, and the outcome turns on your nationality, your tax residency and the date you file. Confirm your specific case with a Portuguese immigration lawyer or tax adviser before you commit. Sources at the foot of this article.

This is written for buyers from the UK, the US and Brazil, three of the largest source markets for the old property-based Golden Visa. The authority that decides your application is AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), the successor to SEF since October 2023.

What changed: before and after October 2023

Lei 56/2023 took effect on 7 October 2023. The day before, you could earn the Golden Visa by buying property in Portugal at one of several euro thresholds. The day after, you couldn't. Two further changes have landed since, and both hit foreign buyers directly.

Topic	Before (pre-7 Oct 2023)	After (current)
Property purchase as Golden Visa route	Yes, with various euro thresholds for different property types, ages, and zones	Abolished. No new applications based on property
€1.5m capital transfer to a Portuguese bank	Eligible	Abolished by the same law, not raised
Existing applications	n/a	Grandfathered if filed before the cut-off, subject to AIMA review
Investment fund subscription	Eligible, including property funds	Eligible from €500,000, real-estate funds excluded
Job creation	Eligible	Still eligible, at least 10 jobs
Scientific research support	Eligible	Still eligible, from €500,000
Cultural / artistic heritage support	Eligible	Still eligible, from €250,000
D7 visa (passive income)	Available	Still available
D8 remote-work visa	Available	Still available
NHR (Non-Habitual Resident) tax regime	Open to new applicants	Closed to new entrants from 1 January 2024. The narrower IFICI regime replaced it
Citizenship after residency	5 years	7 years (EU and CPLP nationals) or 10 years (everyone else), since 19 May 2026
Purchase tax for a non-resident buyer	Progressive IMT brackets, same as a resident	Flat 7.5% IMT on homes, since 25 May 2026
Authority	SEF	AIMA, since October 2023

The qualitative shift is simpler than the table looks. Portugal still wants foreign capital, foreign experts and foreign retirees. It no longer wants to be a residency route for someone whose only contribution is buying a flat in Lisbon.

Which Golden Visa routes still exist?

The Golden Visa (officially ARI, Autorização de Residência para Investimento) was not abolished as a programme. The property option was, and so was the option most people confuse with it. The routes that remain:

• Investment fund subscription, from €500,000. Subscribe to a qualifying Portuguese-law fund. Lei 56/2023 explicitly excluded funds whose underlying assets are real estate, directly or indirectly. Read the prospectus, and have it read by someone independent of the fund's distributor.
• Scientific research support, from €500,000. A capital contribution to public or accredited Portuguese research entities.
• Cultural and artistic heritage support, from €250,000. A contribution to cultural production, recovery, or maintenance of national heritage. This is the lowest entry point in the programme.
• Job creation, at least 10 jobs. Create and maintain the positions in Portugal.
• Company capitalisation, from €500,000. Incorporate or reinforce the share capital of a Portuguese company, paired with creating a smaller number of permanent jobs held for three years.

Reduced thresholds apply in designated low-density areas, defined by population density and regional GDP rather than by distance from Lisbon.

There is no longer a route that consists of moving money into a Portuguese bank account. The €1.5 million capital transfer option was removed alongside property in October 2023, which is the single most common error in older coverage: it is described as surviving with a higher minimum, and it did not survive at all.

All remaining routes share the same outcome: a residence permit that, subject to physical presence, language and clean-record requirements, leads to permanent residence and eventually to citizenship. The presence requirement is genuinely light, at 7 days in the first year and 14 days in each subsequent two-year period, and the days do not have to be consecutive. That is one reason the programme drew global demand, and it is unchanged.

What changed is that you cannot bolt the residence onto an apartment purchase. The fund route is now the closest functional substitute, and it carries very different risk and tax characteristics from owning a building.

How long does citizenship take now?

This is the change that has caught out people who filed a Golden Visa expecting the old clock. Portugal's revised nationality law, Lei Orgânica 1/2026, was published on 18 May 2026 and came into force the following day. It replaces the flat five-year residency requirement for naturalisation with two tiers: 7 years for nationals of EU member states and of CPLP countries, and 10 years for everyone else. The qualifying period is counted from the date the first residence permit is issued.

Three details decide whether it affects you:

• Nationality applications filed on or before 18 May 2026 stay under the previous regime and keep the five-year requirement. That transitional protection covers people who had already filed, not people who were merely close to eligibility.
• Permanent residence is untouched. Five years of legal residence still opens permanent residence, whether that residence came through investment, work, entrepreneurship or passive income. Only the citizenship clock moved.
• Golden Visa residency rights themselves were not changed. What changed is how long residency has to run before a passport is on the table.

The law also strengthens the integration test, adding knowledge of Portuguese culture, history and civic duties to the existing language requirement. If your plan was built on a five-year passport, this is the assumption to re-check with a lawyer first, before anything else in your file.

What about the D7 visa?

For UK retirees and US passive-income earners, the D7 visa is the route that most often replaces the Golden Visa in conversation. It is a residence visa for people with stable, recurring passive income such as pensions, rental yields, dividends and royalties.

The D7 is not an investment visa. There is no purchase threshold. You demonstrate that your passive income covers your living costs in Portugal: the bar is the national minimum wage, which the Portuguese government set at €920 a month from January 2026, rising by 50% for a second adult and 30% for each dependent child. You apply at a Portuguese consulate before moving, then finalise residency with AIMA after arrival. You become a Portuguese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year there, with everything that brings.

Two practical notes:

• The D7 leads to the same long-term destination as the Golden Visa, but it requires you to actually live in Portugal. For a retiree planning a move, that is the point rather than a cost.
• It is generally cheaper to obtain than the Golden Visa, and more administratively involved on the income-evidence side. UK pension statements, US 1099 and Schedule E summaries, and Brazilian INSS or rental statements all need translating, apostilling and presenting in a form Portuguese officials recognise.

The D8 remote-work visa is the analogous route for people earning active income remotely. Its income bar is four times the minimum wage, so €3,680 a month in 2026, and the income must come from work performed for clients or employers outside Portugal.

What does buying property in Portugal still get you?

A Portuguese home, on close to the same terms as before. The purchase mechanics are unchanged: the NIF tax number, the IMT transfer tax, the IMI annual tax, the CPCV promissory contract (contrato-promessa de compra e venda) and the notary deed. Non-residents can buy without restriction, and no permit is involved.

One cost did change, and it lands squarely on this audience. Since 25 May 2026, under Decreto-Lei 97/2026, a buyer who is not a Portuguese tax resident pays a flat 7.5% IMT on an urban property bought for housing, instead of the progressive brackets a resident gets. The rate turns on tax residency rather than nationality, so an EU citizen buying a holiday home is caught the same as an American one. Two carve-outs exist: you can ask the tax authority to cancel the difference if you become a Portuguese tax resident within two years of the purchase, or if you let the property long-term at a capped moderate rent for a qualifying period. Both are claims you have to make within a deadline, so raise them with your lawyer before the deed rather than after.

What buying still does not get you:

• Residency. The property is real estate, not an immigration document.
• An NHR tax slot. The Non-Habitual Resident regime closed to new entrants from 1 January 2024, and its successor, IFICI (Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação), targets specific scientific, technological and innovation roles rather than retirees.
• Any fast track on a D7 or other visa application. AIMA evaluates the visa on its own merits. Owning a Portuguese home is supporting evidence of intent, not a route.

If the home is the goal, whether for retirement, a second residence or a rental, the full mechanics and pitfalls are in our Portugal buyer guide. The guide covers the NIF, the IMT bill including the non-resident rate, the CPCV process, financing for non-residents, and where UK, Irish, French, German, Dutch, US and Brazilian buyers tend to cluster.

For a sense of where prices are right now, browse current listings across Portugal as a whole, Lisbon district, Porto district or the Algarve, in Faro district. The median €/m² by region page is refreshed daily from live listings.

Common pitfalls

• Reading old articles. A lot of 2022 and early-2023 content still ranks for queries about the Portugal Golden Visa property route. Anything quoting a euro threshold for buying property in exchange for residency is out of date, as is anything describing the €1.5 million bank transfer as a live option. Check the publication date before you check the number.
• Assuming the five-year passport. Since 19 May 2026 the naturalisation clock is 7 years for EU and CPLP nationals and 10 for everyone else. Budgets, school plans and exit strategies built on five years need redoing.
• Confusing the Golden Visa with the D7. Different programmes, different requirements, different fees, different presence rules. The D7 requires you to live in Portugal, and the remaining Golden Visa routes do not.
• Budgeting the purchase tax at resident rates. A non-resident buyer of a home now pays 7.5% IMT flat. On a €400,000 apartment that is a materially different closing bill from the progressive rate, and it is the kind of number that turns a comfortable purchase into a stretched one.
• Assuming NHR is still available. It closed to new entrants at the start of 2024. IFICI is narrower and aimed at research and innovation roles. Do not budget on NHR assumptions without confirming you qualify under the replacement.
• Underestimating AIMA timelines. The agency inherited a very large backlog from SEF and prioritised humanitarian and work permits over investment files. Immigration advisers tracking the queue still report Golden Visa decisions commonly running 12 to 24 months from application to first residence card, despite the government's commitment to clear the outstanding files.
• Buying first, planning the visa later. With the property route gone, this sequence makes far less sense than it used to. If the visa is the actual goal, structure the investment around an eligible route or the D7, and treat the property as a separate, parallel decision.

FAQ

Can I still get Portuguese residency by buying property?

No. Portugal's Golden Visa property pathway was abolished by Lei 56/2023, effective 7 October 2023. New applications cannot be based on a property purchase, and property funds were excluded at the same time. The Golden Visa still exists through qualifying non-property investment funds, scientific research, cultural and heritage support, job creation and company capitalisation. Property is no longer a recognised investment category for residency.

What replaced the Golden Visa property route?

Nothing one-for-one, and the €1.5 million bank transfer route was removed alongside it rather than surviving at a higher figure. The remaining Golden Visa categories are the closest substitutes for investors who want residency without relocating. For retirees and remote workers who will actually live in Portugal, the D7 passive-income visa and the D8 remote-work visa are the practical alternatives. They reach the same long-term destination but require physical presence.

How long does it take to get Portuguese citizenship now?

Longer than it used to. Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, sets naturalisation at 7 years of legal residence for nationals of EU and CPLP countries and 10 years for everyone else, counted from the issue of the first residence permit. Nationality applications filed on or before 18 May 2026 remain under the previous five-year rule. Permanent residence is unaffected and still opens after five years.

What about the D7 visa for retirees?

The D7 is a residence visa for people with stable, recurring passive income such as pensions, rental yields and dividends. There is no purchase threshold. You prove income at least equal to the Portuguese minimum wage, €920 a month in 2026, plus 50% for a second adult and 30% per child, and you apply through a Portuguese consulate. You become a Portuguese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year there.

Is NHR still available in Portugal?

For new arrivals, no. The Non-Habitual Resident regime closed to new entrants from 1 January 2024, with a limited transitional window that has since passed. Existing NHR holders keep their benefits for the remainder of their ten-year period. The successor regime, IFICI, offers a comparable flat rate but is restricted to specified scientific, technological and innovation activities. Whether your profile qualifies needs individual checking with a Portuguese tax adviser.

Do non-residents pay more property tax in Portugal?

On the purchase, yes, since 25 May 2026. Decreto-Lei 97/2026 applies a flat 7.5% IMT to homes bought by people who are not Portuguese tax residents, replacing the progressive brackets. Becoming tax resident within two years of the purchase, or letting the property long-term at a capped rent, can allow you to reclaim the difference. Annual IMI and the notary and registration costs are unchanged. Compare the underlying prices first on the Portugal price-per-m² page so the tax lands on a realistic budget.

Is Portugal still a good place to buy property?

That is a separate question from the visa one, and worth keeping separate. The buying mechanics are unchanged, foreign demand has rotated from residency-driven buyers towards lifestyle and rental buyers, and Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Silver Coast and Madeira remain distinct markets at distinct price levels. A home in Portugal stands or falls on its own merits. On Seeki.eu you can hold Portuguese listings next to the other European markets you are weighing, in one currency.

One more time: this is orientation, not advice

Portuguese immigration rules are still moving. The Golden Visa reform of 2023, the nationality law of May 2026 and the housing tax package of the same month each changed a rule that plenty of published guidance still states the old way. The cost of an hour with a Portuguese immigration lawyer is a rounding error against the cost of getting the route or the tax residency wrong. Make that call before signing any reservation contract, fund subscription or visa application.

Sources

Rules were verified in August 2026 against the governing Portuguese legislation and the responsible authorities:

• Lei 56/2023 of 6 October 2023, the "Mais Habitação" reform, for the abolition of the property and €1.5 million capital transfer Golden Visa routes and for the remaining investment categories.
• Lei Orgânica 1/2026, published in the Diário da República on 18 May 2026, for the 7-year and 10-year naturalisation periods and the transitional rule for applications filed by that date.
• Decreto-Lei 97/2026 of 20 May 2026, for the flat 7.5% IMT rate on homes bought by non-tax-residents and its two carve-outs.
• AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), the authority that has decided residence applications since October 2023, for the current procedure and queue.
• The Portuguese government's announcement of the €920 national minimum wage for 2026, which sets the D7 and D8 income bars.
• The Portuguese tax code as amended for 2024 and after, for the closure of NHR to new entrants and the scope of the IFICI regime.

These were cross-checked against published briefings from Portuguese immigration and tax law firms. Thresholds, tax rates and processing times change. Confirm your own case with a Portuguese immigration lawyer or tax adviser before you commit.