Portugal Golden Visa: Funds vs the Old Real Estate Route (2026)

Law 56/2023 removed the following routes for new Golden Visa applicants, at the thresholds set out in the pre-2023 text of the immigration law (Lei 23/2007, art. 3.º):

• Real estate: €500,000 (or €400,000 in low-density areas).
• Rehabilitation / 30-year-old property: €350,000 (or €280,000 in low-density areas).
• Capital transfer: the plain €1.5m transfer tier.

The driver was housing affordability: Mais Habitação was a package aimed at rising prices and rental shortages, and foreign property-for-residency demand was politically in scope. The routes that survived are funds, scientific research, arts and heritage, and business capitalisation with job creation.

If you already hold a property-based Golden Visa granted before the reform, different transitional rules may apply — confirm your position with a Portuguese lawyer.

The most-used capital route now is the investment fund:

• €500,000 into a fund regulated by the CMVM.
• The fund must have a maturity of at least five years and invest at least 60% in Portuguese companies.
• Held for a minimum of five years, with a stay requirement of roughly 7 days a year (7 in the first year, then 14 per subsequent two-year period).

One point that trips up ex-property buyers: a Golden Visa-qualifying fund cannot be a real-estate fund. Funds with direct or indirect property exposure are excluded, so there is no "buy property through a fund" workaround. Start with the full list of Portugal Golden Visa investment funds and the fund fees comparison.

Translate the property goal into a fund strategy:

• You wanted rental income / yield → look at credit, bond, and income funds. See debt and credit funds compared.
• You wanted capital growth → look at private equity and venture capital. See private equity funds compared and venture capital funds compared.
• You wanted tangible, real-asset exposure → the closest fund equivalents are renewable energy and infrastructure strategies. See renewable energy funds compared.

Not sure which fits? Use which Portugal Golden Visa fund strategy fits you and how to evaluate a fund.

Property and funds fail in different ways. Before assuming a fund is a like-for-like swap:

• No personal use or rental control: you don't hold a deed or collect rent directly.
• Liquidity is structured, not market-driven: you can't just "list it." Read fund liquidity traps and how long you must hold a fund.
• Manager and valuation risk: returns and NAV depend on the manager; understand what happens if a fund loses money or shuts down.

Separately, note the 2026 citizenship change: under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026), naturalisation for most non-EU nationals now takes ten years, though permanent residency at five years is unchanged. See is the Golden Visa still worth it in 2026.