portugal golden visa cost
Portugal golden visa cost: the government fee nobody multiplies
Most Portugal golden visa quotes show the investment and one government fee. The published AIMA table, in force since 1 March 2026, charges 842.80 euros to receive and analyse the application, 8,418.90 euros to grant the residence permit and 4,210.30 euros to renew it — and each of those applies per person, including family members. For a family of four the state fees alone run past 35,000 euros before any lawyer is paid.
Five routes, and the one that is gone
AIMA lists the qualifying investment activities directly. Creating at least ten jobs, which drops to eight in a low-density territory. Transferring 500,000 euros or more into research carried out by public or private scientific institutions inside the national science and technology system. Transferring 250,000 euros or more into artistic production or the recovery and maintenance of national cultural heritage. Transferring 500,000 euros or more into units of Portuguese collective investment undertakings that are not real-estate funds. Or transferring 500,000 euros or more to incorporate a Portuguese company combined with creating five permanent jobs.
Low-density territory is defined rather than argued: under Portaria 208/2017, areas with fewer than 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or GDP per capita below 75 percent of the national average. That 20 percent reduction in the job requirement is one of the few genuine discounts in the programme.
What is gone is property, and AIMA states the exclusion in unusually blunt terms: the investment activity may not be directed, directly or indirectly, at real estate investment. The word indirectly is doing real work there. It is why the fund route specifically excludes real-estate funds, and why structures marketed as a way back into Portuguese property through a fund deserve to be read very carefully with a lawyer.
The government fee is public, large, and per person
AIMA applies a new fee table from 1 March 2026, and the ARI charges in it are far above the figures still quoted across most comparison sites. Receiving and analysing an application, whether for a grant or a renewal, costs 842.80 euros. Granting the residence permit under Article 90-A(1) costs 8,418.90 euros. Renewing it under Article 90-A(2) costs 4,210.30 euros.
A reduced rate applies to in-person and digital service under point XIV of the table, which brings the same three items to 632.10, 6,314.20 and 3,157.80 euros — exactly 25 percent lower. Ask which rate your file is being charged at, because the difference on a family application is thousands of euros.
The line most quotes omit is that family members are charged at the principal rate, not a discounted one. Granting a residence permit to a family member reunified with an ARI holder is also 8,418.90 euros, and renewing it is also 4,210.30 euros. A second copy of a permit costs half the applicable fee.
Do the family arithmetic before you compare programmes
Take a couple with two children on the 500,000 euro fund route. At the standard rate, the analysis fee is 842.80 euros per person, so 3,371.20 euros. The grant is 8,418.90 euros per person, so 33,675.60 euros. State fees at the first stage alone therefore come to roughly 37,000 euros, on top of the 500,000 euro investment.
Then the permit has to be renewed, and each renewal is 4,210.30 euros per person plus the 842.80 euro analysis fee per person. A single renewal round for that same family is close to 20,000 euros. Across the years it takes to reach any citizenship question, the renewals can approach the size of the 250,000 euro cultural route's entire investment.
This is why comparing Portugal with Greece or Hungary on the headline investment alone misleads. Portugal's investment can be the recoverable part, sitting in a fund you still own, while its government fees are non-recoverable and repeat. Compare non-recoverable totals across the full holding period, per person, or you are not comparing the same thing.
Where the lawyer's fee sits, and what to demand of it
A great many people searching this topic are specifically looking for solicitor or lawyer fees, and the honest position is that these are commercially negotiated and not published anywhere. What has changed is that you can now anchor the conversation, because the state's side of the bill is public to the cent.
So ask for a quote that lists the AIMA fees at their published amounts, per person, for both the initial grant and each expected renewal, and states the professional fee as a separate line. Any quote presenting one bundled number is concealing which part is fixed by the state and which part is margin, and you can now check that arithmetic yourself against the table.
Ask two further questions. Whether the professional fee covers renewals or only the initial application, since the renewals are where the recurring state fees land. And what happens if the fee table is revised again mid-process, which it has just been.
The conditions that sit alongside the money
The document set is ordinary but time-sensitive. A valid passport or travel document, proof of lawful entry and stay in Portugal, and evidence of health protection, either coverage by the Serviço Nacional de Saúde or an internationally recognised health insurance policy covering the period of legal residence or renewable automatically.
The criminal record certificate is the item that most often expires mid-file. AIMA requires one from your country of origin, or from any country you have lived in for more than a year, certified by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular mission, issued no more than three months before the full document set is submitted, and translated into Portuguese. You also need a tax identification number and must sign the form authorising AIMA to check the Portuguese criminal record.
For the investment itself, the proof is a declaration from a credit institution authorised or registered in Portugal with the Banco de Portugal, attesting to the actual transfer of at least the required amount. The investment may be made individually or through a single-member private limited company in which you are the shareholder, evidenced by a commercial registry certificate.
Common questions
How much does the Portugal golden visa cost in government fees?
Under the AIMA fee table in force since 1 March 2026, receiving and analysing an ARI application costs 842.80 euros, granting the residence permit costs 8,418.90 euros, and renewing it costs 4,210.30 euros. A reduced rate for in-person and digital service brings those to 632.10, 6,314.20 and 3,157.80 euros. Every one of these is charged per person, and family members reunified with an ARI holder pay the same amounts as the principal applicant.
What is the cheapest Portugal golden visa route?
By investment amount, the 250,000 euro transfer into artistic production or the recovery and maintenance of national cultural heritage is the lowest. But it is a donation-like contribution rather than an asset you keep, whereas the 500,000 euro fund route puts your money into units you still own. Investors who value recoverable capital frequently prefer the larger figure, and the government fees are identical either way.
Can you still buy property for a Portugal golden visa?
No. AIMA states that the investment activity may not be directed, directly or indirectly, at real estate investment, and the qualifying fund route specifically requires collective investment undertakings that are not real-estate funds. The word indirectly matters: structures marketed as a route back into Portuguese property through a fund wrapper should be reviewed by a lawyer before you commit anything.
How much are Portugal golden visa lawyer fees?
They are commercially negotiated and are not published, so no honest figure can be quoted here. What you can do is anchor the negotiation: the AIMA fees are public to the cent, so ask for a quote that lists them at their published amounts per person for the grant and every expected renewal, with the professional fee as a separate line. Also ask whether that fee covers renewals or only the initial application.
Do golden visa renewals cost extra in Portugal?
Yes, and they are the most commonly omitted line in a cost comparison. Each renewal costs 4,210.30 euros per person under Article 90-A(2), plus the 842.80 euro reception and analysis fee per person, at the standard rate. For a family of four that is close to 20,000 euros per renewal round, and it recurs for as long as you hold the permit.
How many jobs does the Portugal golden visa job creation route require?
At least ten, reduced by 20 percent to eight when the investment is made in a low-density territory. Low-density territories are defined by Portaria 208/2017 as areas with fewer than 100 inhabitants per square kilometre or GDP per capita below 75 percent of the national average. A separate route allows a 500,000 euro transfer to incorporate a Portuguese company combined with the creation of five permanent jobs.
Official sources to verify
- ARI - Residency Permit for InvestorsPortuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Autorização de Residência para Investimento — Art. 90.º-AAgência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA), Portugal
- Tabela de taxas e demais encargos a cobrar pelos procedimentos administrativos (em vigor desde 1 de março de 2026)Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA), Portugal
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