Golden Visa record in Portugal: Turks became the fourth largest investor group with 188 permits

A new record was broken in 2025 in Portugal's residence program by investment, known as Golden Visa. According to AIMA data, 2,685 Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI) were granted throughout the year.

One of the most striking details of the data for PTNewsHub readers is Turkey: 188 Golden Visas were granted to Turkish citizens in 2025, and Turkey ranked fourth in the number of permits after the USA, China and the United Kingdom.

The record is also noteworthy because it occurred in the period after Portugal excluded real estate purchases from the scope of Golden Visa.

Turks rank fourth in Golden Visa

According to AIMA data, the top rankings of Golden Visas issued in 2025 by citizenship were as follows:

USA — 535

China — 392

United Kingdom — 252

Türkiye — 188

India — 170

Russia — 160

Brazil — 154

South Africa — 97

Thus, Turkish citizens became the fourth largest national group in Portugal's residence by investment program.

Among the total 2,685 permits, 188 permits given to Turkish citizens correspond to a share of approximately 7%.

This figure does not only show all Turks living in Portugal or Turkish citizens who have a normal residence permit. It only refers to the permits granted in 2025 within the scope of ARI/Golden Visa.

New record with 2,685 permits in 2025

A total of 2,685 Golden Visas issued in 2025 since the program launched in October 2012 The highest annual figure achieved.

In 2024, 2,081 permits were issued.

Therefore, the increase in one year is approximately 29%.

The previous record was recorded with 2,091 permits issued in 2023.

The 2025 result is nearly 600 traces above the previous record.

Real estate has been removed but Golden Visa is not over

The changes made by Portugal in 2023 are sometimes interpreted as the complete end of the Golden Visa program.

The program was not actually removed.

What has changed are investment options.

Purchasing real estate directly is no longer one of the valid investment methods for obtaining the new Golden Visa.

In the current system, suitable options include methods such as investment funds that meet certain conditions, capital transfer to scientific research, investment in cultural and artistic activities and employment creation.

For example, one of the available options is to invest at least 500 thousand euros in certain non-real estate collective investment organizations.

There is a threshold of at least 250 thousand euros for some investments aimed at preserving culture, art or national cultural heritage.

AIMA no longer discloses investment amount

One of the most important changes in the 2025 data is the undisclosed data rather than the number of permits granted.

AIMA no longer publishes the total amount of investments coming to Portugal through the Golden Visa program.

This situation is different from the old SEF period.

Until September 2023, when SEF's operations end Within the scope of the program, a total of 12,718 Golden Visas were issued and approximately 6,451 billion euros of investment were recorded.

In the period after the closure of SEF, 5,536 additional permits were issued, increasing the total of the program to 18,254 permits.

However, due to AIMA's new reporting method, it is no longer possible to calculate in the same way how many euros of total investment these new permits brought to Portugal.

Data on investment types also decreased

It's not just the total amount of euros that's missing.

AIMA no longer publishes detailed data from the old SEF period regarding the investment types on which Golden Visa permits are granted.

While data was published monthly during the SEF period, AIMA's current reporting does not include the same detail and periodicity.

For this reason, for example, it cannot be determined from the publicly available data how many of the 188 Turkish investors received a Golden Visa through fund investment, cultural investment or employment creation.

This distinction is important; It would not be right to draw conclusions about which method Turkish investors prefer from the data we do not have.

Russian investors are also on the list again

Another striking element in the 2025 data is Russian citizens.

Russia ranks sixth with 160 permits.

The issuance of Golden Visas to Russian citizens was suspended after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Therefore, the reappearance of Russian citizens in the top ranks is one of the remarkable changes in the program. someone.

Which Golden Visa routes are open to Turkish investors today?

It is no longer possible to obtain a new Golden Visa in Portugal simply by purchasing a house.

On the other hand, the program continues through investment funds and other suitable investment types that meet the conditions stipulated in the legislation.

Golden Visa also has a different residence obligation than regular residence permits.

Therefore, the program is still available to third-country nationals who wish to maintain investment-related residence rights without living permanently in Portugal.

However, residence permit by investment and Portuguese citizenship are not the same thing.

Golden Visa provides a residence permit; Citizenship is also subject to the conditions in Portuguese citizenship legislation and a separate application process.

Why is the figure important for Türkiye?

It is necessary to distinguish between general immigration statistics about the Turkish community in Portugal and Golden Visa figures.

The number 188 does not indicate the total Turkish population in Portugal.

However, the fact that Türkiye comes right after the USA, China and the United Kingdom clearly shows that Turkish investors have become one of the largest groups in Portugal's Golden Visa program.

The next important data to follow for PTNewsHub is which investment instruments these 188 permissions originated from.

Since AIMA does not disclose this detail in its current report, it is not reliable as of today. It is not possible to say it that way.

Resources

AIMA — Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2025, 22 September 2026

https://aima.gov.pt/pt/noticias/um-retrato-das-migracoes-em-portugal-aima-divulga-relatorio-de-migracoes-e-asilo-2025

ECO — “‘Vistos gold’ batem recorde em 2025, mas AIMA deixa de divulgar investimento captado”, 25 September 2026

https://eco.sapo.pt/2026/09/25/vistos-gold-batem-recorde-em-2025-mas-aima-deixa-de-divulgar-investimento-captado/