Portugal’s golden visa scheme also known as Authorisation for Residence permit for Investment activity (ARI) since its inception in 8 October 2012, has surpassed €4 million euros by the end of 30th Sep 2018, according to the new statistics released by SEF Portugal.
Total investment: € 4,004,151,394 (4 billion €)
- 373 million € by capital transfer
- 3.6 billion€ by purchasing a real estate property
Main Nationalities
- China – 3952
- Brazil – 590
- South Africa – 262
- Turkey – 247
- Russia – 228
Residence permits by activity
Total golden visas: 6562
- 6202 ARI by acquiring real estate
- 348 ARI by transferring capital
- 12 ARI by creating, at least,10 job positions
The Golden visa scheme offers foreign investors benefits such as
- Residence visa waiver for entering Portugal and free movement in the schengen area;
- Living and working in Portugal, on condition that they stay in Portugal for a period of 7 or more days, in the first year, and 14 or more days, in the subsequent years;
- Visa exemption for travelling within the Schengen Area;
- Family reunification;
- Provision for applying for permanent residence (pursuant to the Aliens Act – Act number 23/2007 of 4 July with the current wording).
- Path to Apply for Portuguese citizenship, by naturalization, provided all other requirements set out by the Nationality Act are fulfilled (Act number 37/81 of 3 October, with the current wording);
Residence permits issued by year
- 2012 – 2
- 2013 – 494
- 2014 – 1526
- 2015 – 766
- 2016 – 1414 2017 – 1351
- 2018 – 1009
The ARI golden visa scheme in Portugal is one of the most popular and successful golden visa schemes in the world.
Since the introduction of the golden visa scheme, the economy of portugal has recovered and the annual housing prices jumped up by 11%. Lisbon property prices have also soared since the introduction of the scheme.
