Portugal Golden Visa Application in 2026: Steps, Documents and AIMA Timelines

On paper the Portuguese process is simple. In practice the order of steps matters, documents have short lives, and the longest part is the wait for AIMA. I plan it as two separate projects: a short one that you control, from the first check to the filing, and a long one that you do not, from the filing to the card.

Step by step

BRIDGES describes the process in seven steps:

1. A preliminary check. Citizenship, family members and the source of funds are reviewed, the investment option is chosen and the full budget is calculated before any costs.
2. Choosing the fund. For the fund route, the licence, strategy, fees, life of the fund and exit terms are checked.
3. The tax number and the account. A Portuguese tax number (NIF) and an account with a local bank are opened, both possible under power of attorney.
4. The investment. The money is transferred and the management company confirms the subscription. The bank and the fund check the source of funds before crediting it.
5. Filing. AIMA requires online pre-registration on the ARI portal; the document set is then submitted and the state fees are paid at the rates in force on that date.
6. Biometrics. The single trip to Portugal, to give fingerprints and a photograph. AIMA sets the date.
7. The card and renewals. The card is issued after the decision and is then renewed while the investment is kept.

The AIMA document list

AIMA publishes the general documents for every investment option:

• a valid passport or other travel document;
• proof of legal entry and stay in Portugal;
• proof of health cover, either the national health service or health insurance recognised internationally for the period of residence, or with automatic renewal;
• a criminal record certificate from the country of origin and from any country where you have lived for more than a year, certified by a Portuguese consulate, issued no more than three months before submission and translated into Portuguese;
• proof of a tax identification number from your country of origin, residence or tax residence;
• the application form, with permission to check the Portuguese criminal record;
• a sworn declaration that you will meet the minimum investment amount and keep the investment for at least five years;
• statements, no older than 45 days, that you have no debts to the Portuguese tax authority and social security, or that you are not registered with them;
• the receipt for the fee to examine the application.

Documents about the investment

For the fund route you add a statement from a bank registered with the Bank of Portugal that the money arrived by international transfer, a certificate that you own the units free of charges, and a statement from the fund manager on the maturity and the 60% rule. If you invest through a single-member company, a commercial register certificate showing that you are its member is also needed. The other options have their own confirmations, listed in my guide to costs and investment options.

Source of funds

This is the part that decides whether the file moves. The bank and the fund both check where the money came from before they accept it, and the trail has to be complete: salary, sale of a business or a property, dividends, inheritance. For applicants from Russia and other CIS countries BRIDGES describes the checks as enhanced, and for Russian citizens the fund route itself is closed by EU sanctions, as BRIDGES explains in its article on the Golden Visa for Russians. I always start with this question, because a strong fund cannot fix a weak paper trail.

How long the wait is

BRIDGES gives 6 to 18 months on its programme page, depending on AIMA’s workload. Its October 2026 analysis reports that the minister counted 46,000 Golden Visa applications in the queue, with about 6,000 processed and about 30,000 people booked for biometrics, and that surveys put the average wait on cases closed in the second quarter of 2026 at 50.4 months. AIMA itself does not publish waiting statistics.

What this means in practice:

• a biometrics booking is a date in the calendar, not a decision;
• certificates and insurance can expire while you wait and will need renewing;
• you should not leave the fund or break its conditions before the decision, because the basis for the application disappears with it;
• BRIDGES notes that in Portugal it is common to ask the administrative court to order the agency to decide within a reasonable time; that is a decision to take with a Portuguese lawyer.

The first card

Once approved, the temporary residence permit for investment is valid for two years from the date the card is issued. What happens next, renewals, the stay rule and the path to permanent residence and citizenship, is in my guide on keeping the status, taxes and citizenship. For relatives joining your application, see my guide for families.

BRIDGES explains how it handles the file and the correspondence with AIMA on its page about residency in Portugal by investment. Last checked 20 October 2026.