As we enter the middle of the first quarter of 2025, here is a quick status check on the Portugal Golden Visa, D7 visa and other types of immigration visas for Portugal.
Is the Portugal Golden Visa (Investor Visa) and the D7 visa still available?
Yes, the Golden Visa, D7 visa, D2 visa, HQA visa are all still available and operational as before. The programme has NOT shut down.
What kind of investments are eligible for a Golden Visa?
Real Estate as an investment is no longer eligible for the Portuguese Golden Visa since October 2023. As of now, only the following 4 kinds of investments are eligible for the Golden Visa: - Fund Investments: In eligible, regulated Portuguese Venture Capital funds, minimum of €500,000
- New/Existing Business Investment: Starting a new business or investing in an existing business, minimum of €500,000 + creation of 5 permanent jobs in Portugal.
- Job Creation: Starting a new business and creating at least 10 permanent jobs in Portugal (no minimum stipulated investment)
- Donation: Towards the development of Art & Culture in Portugal (minimum donation of €250,000) or towards development of Science & Technology (minimum donation of €500,000)
How long does it take to get the Golden Visa Resident Permits after making the investment and applying?
There have been significant delays in processing immigration applications over the last 2 years. As of now, most of the Golden Visa applicants upto 2021 have received their resident permits. For the investors who invested and applied from 2022 onwards, AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration & Asylum), has been taking several measures to expedite processing of applications. As per the latest update from January 2025, AIMA is digitising all pending applications and hence has asked all pending applicants who have NOT yet received their appointment for Biometric collection, to resubmit updated documents related to the investment and the application. Applicants and their respective lawyers are currently working to provide and upload these updated documents (passports, criminal records, marriage certificates, bank statements etc) on to AIMA's portal.
AIMA has committed that as soon as the applications are updated, appointments will be issued to the applicant for the biometric collection visit within a window of the next 90 days (i.e. appointment date could purportedly be any business day from now to April 2025). Resident Permit cards are usually issued within one to three months of completing the biometric submission.
Has AIMA started issuing appointments for Biometrics for those who have updated their documents?
As on the date of writing this blog post, we are not aware of any appointment dates being issued even for those who have submitted their updated documents. However, the appointments are expected any day now.
Can one choose the date and/or city for the appointment? Unlike in the past when one could choose a convenient date and city within the given window of available dates for the biomteric appointment, at this time, it will not be possible to choose either. AIMA will assign the date and city. The applicant may, however, appeal for a change in date providing reasonable justification for the request.
What about family members of the Golden Visa applicant?
The family members (dependents) of the main investor/applicant will also be required to resubmit their updated documents. However, as on the date of this post, AIMA is not yet accepting updated documents for family members. It is currently only accepting updated documents of the main investor/applicants. The window for family members is expected to open soon, but there is no definite date.
Can an existing Resident Permit holder apply for renewal of the card?
Renewals of expired/expiring cards will also require personal visits. However, AIMA is not yet issuing appointments for renewals of existing Resident Permits. It is only working on processing pending applications. Resident Permit cards that have already expired will be considered valid by Portuguese authorities till 30th June 2025.
Please do contact us in case you wish to discuss your options.
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