Portugal's property pathway after the Golden Visa: 2026
Last reviewed: 2026-04-29
Portugal's Golden Visa property pathway was abolished in October 2023 by Lei 56/2023 (the "Mais Habitação" housing reform). Buying real estate in Portugal no longer leads to residency. The Golden Visa programme itself still exists, but only through capital transfer, fund investment, job creation, and scientific or cultural support routes, not property. If your goal is a Portuguese home, that goal is intact. If your goal is residency through a purchase, you need to look at the D7, D8, or the remaining Golden Visa categories.
This is orientation for UK, US, and Brazilian buyers, the three groups that drove most of the old property-based Golden Visa demand. It is not legal or immigration advice. Rules in this area change often, and the authority that decides your application is AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), the successor to the old SEF since October 2023. AIMA has a backlog and its own procedural quirks. Before committing money on either side of the deal, talk to a Portuguese immigration lawyer.
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.
| 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 |
| Existing applications | n/a | Grandfathered if filed before the cut-off, subject to AIMA review |
| Capital transfer | Eligible | Still eligible, with a higher minimum than under the old rules |
| Fund investment | Eligible | Still eligible, with non-real-estate fund restrictions |
| Job creation | Eligible | Still eligible |
| Scientific / cultural / artistic support | Eligible | Still eligible |
| D7 visa (passive income) | Available | Still available |
| D8 digital nomad visa | Available | Still available |
| NHR (Non-Habitual Resident) tax regime | Open to new applicants | Closed to most new applicants from 2024. A narrower successor regime exists |
| 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.
The routes that still exist
The Golden Visa (officially ARI, Autorização de Residência para Investimento) was not abolished as a programme. The property option was abolished. The remaining options:
- Capital transfer. Move a defined sum into a Portuguese bank or qualifying instrument. The minimum was raised when the property route closed, and the current figure is the one to verify with your lawyer, both because it moves and because the eligible instruments narrowed.
- Investment fund subscription. Subscribe to a qualifying Portuguese investment fund. The 2023 reform explicitly excluded funds whose underlying assets are real estate, directly or indirectly. Read the fund prospectus carefully, and have it read by someone independent of the fund's distributor.
- Job creation. Create a defined number of jobs in Portugal, or capitalise an existing Portuguese company that does so. Minimums are lower outside Lisbon and Porto.
- Scientific research support. A capital contribution to public or accredited Portuguese research entities.
- Cultural and artistic heritage support. A capital contribution to cultural production, recovery, or maintenance of national heritage.
All routes share the same outcome: a residence permit that, after the qualifying period and subject to physical presence, language, and clean-record requirements, leads to permanent residence and potentially citizenship. The presence requirement is famously light, historically around seven days a year on average, which is one reason the programme drew global demand.
What changed is that you cannot bolt the residence onto an apartment purchase. The fund or capital route is now the closest functional substitute, and it comes with very different risk and tax characteristics.
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 tracks the Portuguese minimum wage and rises each year). You apply at a Portuguese consulate before moving, and then finalise residency with AIMA after arrival. You become a Portuguese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year there, with all the obligations that brings.
Two practical notes:
- The D7 leads to the same long-term destination as the Golden Visa, permanent residence after five years and potentially citizenship, but it requires you to actually live in Portugal. That is feature, not bug, for a retiree planning a move.
- It is generally cheaper to obtain than the Golden Visa, but it is also more administratively involved on the income-evidence side. UK pension statements, US 1099 / Schedule E summaries, and Brazilian INSS or rental statements all need to be translated, apostilled, and presented in a Portuguese-recognisable format.
The D8 digital nomad visa is the analogous route for people earning active income remotely. It has a higher income threshold than the D7 and requires the income to come from work performed for clients or employers outside Portugal.
What buying property in Portugal still gets you
A clean answer: a Portuguese home, on the same terms as before. The property purchase mechanics are unchanged. That includes the NIF tax number, IMT transfer tax, IMI annual tax, CPCV promissory contract, and notary deed. Non-residents can buy without restriction. The market did not collapse when the Golden Visa route closed. In coastal Algarve and central Lisbon the foreign-buyer share simply rotated from residency-motivated purchases to lifestyle-motivated purchases.
What it does not get you:
- Residency. The property is real estate, not an immigration document.
- A NHR tax slot, in most cases. The Non-Habitual Resident regime was closed to most new applicants from 2024. A narrower successor exists for specific scientific and innovation professions. Your situation needs to be checked individually.
- Any kind of fast track on your 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 by itself.
If the home is the goal, whether for retirement, a second residence, or a rental investment, see the full mechanics and pitfalls in our Portugal buyer guide. The guide covers NIF, IMT brackets, 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 inventory across Portugal as a whole, Lisbon district, Porto district, or the Algarve / Faro district. The median €/m² by region page is refreshed daily from live listings.
Common pitfalls
- Reading old articles. A surprising amount of 2022 and early-2023 content still ranks on Google for queries about the Portugal Golden Visa property route. Anything that quotes a specific euro threshold for buying property in exchange for residency is out of date. Check the publication date.
- Confusing the Golden Visa with the D7. They are different programmes with different requirements, different fees, and different physical-presence rules. The D7 requires you to live in Portugal; the remaining Golden Visa routes do not.
- Assuming NHR is still available. The Non-Habitual Resident tax regime, which gave a flat 20% rate on Portuguese-source qualifying income and favourable treatment of foreign income, was closed to most new applicants. The successor regime is narrower and aimed at specific innovation and research roles. Don't budget on NHR assumptions without confirming you qualify under the new rules.
- Underestimating AIMA timelines. The agency inherited a large SEF backlog and is still working through it. Both Golden Visa and D7 applications can take longer than the published indicative times.
- Buying first, planning the visa later. With the property route gone, this sequence makes less sense than it used to. If the visa is the actual goal, structure the investment around the eligible Golden Visa route or the D7, and have the property be 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. The Golden Visa itself still exists through capital transfer, qualifying investment funds, job creation, and scientific or cultural support routes. Property purchases are no longer a recognised investment category for residency.
What replaced the Golden Visa property route?
Nothing one-for-one. The remaining Golden Visa categories (capital transfer, non-real-estate funds, job creation, research and cultural support) are the closest direct substitutes for investors who want residency without relocating. For retirees and remote workers planning to actually live in Portugal, the D7 (passive income) and D8 (digital nomad) visas are the practical alternatives. They lead to the same long-term destination but require physical presence.
Is Portugal still a good place to buy property?
That is a different question. Foreign demand has rotated from residency-driven buyers to lifestyle and rental buyers, and the buying mechanics (NIF, IMT, CPCV, notary) are unchanged. Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Silver Coast, and Madeira remain active markets with distinct price levels. A home in Portugal is a perfectly reasonable investment or lifestyle decision on its own merits. Just decouple it mentally from the residency question.
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 your income covers Portuguese living costs and apply through a Portuguese consulate. You become a Portuguese tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year there. For UK retirees post-Brexit, US retirees, and Brazilian pensioners, it is the most-used route in 2026.
Is NHR still available?
For most new applicants, no. The Non-Habitual Resident tax regime closed to new entrants starting in 2024 under the same housing reform package. A narrower successor regime targets specific scientific, technological, and innovation professions. Whether your particular profile qualifies needs individual checking with a Portuguese tax adviser. Assumptions made on out-of-date blog posts have already cost people money.
Who is the authority now, SEF or AIMA?
AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo) took over migration and asylum functions from SEF in October 2023. All new applications, renewals, and queries go through AIMA. SEF as the historical name still appears in older paperwork. References to SEF for new procedures point to the wrong body.
One more time: this is orientation, not advice
Portuguese immigration rules are still settling after the 2023 reform. The text of Lei 56/2023, AIMA's procedural notices, and the regulations around the D7 and the successor NHR have all moved more than once in the eighteen months since. The cost of a one-hour call with a Portuguese immigration lawyer is a rounding error against the cost of getting the route wrong. Make that call before signing any reservation contract, fund subscription, or visa application.