Portugal proposes tighter Golden Visa fund rules and a new €250,000 route

Portugal's governing parties have submitted an amendment that would tighten the country's Golden Visa residency-by-investment rules and add new investment routes. The proposal, filed on 6 November 2026 by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the CDS-People's Party (CDS-PP), would change what qualifying investment funds must do with applicants' money.

Key facts

• Share of fund investment required to go into Portuguese companies: rising from 60% to 80%
• Minimum fund investment: unchanged at €500,000
• New route: €250,000 for eligible social-care facilities
• Scientific research minimum contribution: cut from €500,000 to €250,000
• Committee votes on the budget amendments: 18–23 November; final vote 24 November
• Separately, the minimum residence period for citizenship rose from five to ten years in May 2026

What is changing?

The amendment would require qualifying investment funds to place 80% of the money into Portuguese companies, up from the current 60%. The minimum investment would stay at €500,000.

The proposal also says the money must be used to increase the share capital of those companies, which could make some existing fund structures less suitable for applicants.

Two further changes are proposed: a new €250,000 investment route covering eligible social-care facilities, including those supporting children, older people and people with disabilities, and a cut in the minimum contribution for scientific research from €500,000 to €250,000.

When do the new rules start?

No start date has been set. The measures are budget amendments, with committee votes scheduled for 18 to 23 November and a final vote on 24 November. The PSD and CDS-PP hold 91 of the 230 seats in Portugal's parliament, so they will need support from other lawmakers for the amendments to pass.

Who is affected?

Foreign investors seeking Portuguese residency through the programme, including South Africans. According to AIMA's latest report, Portugal granted 97 investor permits to South African nationals in 2025, placing the country among the eight leading nationalities that year. The programme issued 2,685 permits to main investors in 2025, a 29% increase from 2024, plus 3,967 permits for family members.

The United States topped the nationality chart in both 2024 and 2025, with 535 investor permits in 2025, followed by China with 392 and then countries including the UK, Turkey, India, Russia and Brazil. South Africa ranked eighth with 97 permits; its total from 2012, when the programme began, to September 2023 was 574.

What about citizenship timelines?

In May 2026, Portugal raised the minimum legal residence period for citizenship from five to ten years for nationals of most countries. Citizens of the European Union and countries where Portuguese is an official language, including Angola and Mozambique, face a seven-year requirement instead. This means South Africans, along with Nigerians, Ghanaians and Kenyans, fall under the ten-year rule.

The change was published in the official gazette on 18 May and entered into force on 19 May 2026, although applications already pending at that time remain subject to the previous rules. Portugal's Council of Ministers approved implementing regulations on 29 October.

What this means for travellers

The proposed Golden Visa amendment does not, by itself, mean existing residence permit holders will lose their permits. Investors considering the fund route should note the higher 80% Portuguese-company requirement and the proposed share-capital condition before committing money, and watch the parliamentary votes on 24 November.

The direction of travel is clear from the source: residency through investment remains possible, but the route to citizenship is now longer for many nationalities, and the government is seeking to channel more investment into Portugal's domestic economy.