Citizenship period has been extended in Portugal: What has changed for Golden Visa investors?

Portugal's new Citizenship Law did not end the Golden Visa program, but it significantly changed the conditions for investors to obtain Portuguese citizenship. While the legal residence period required for naturalization purposes for most third-country nationals has increased to 10 years, the residence by investment program continues as a separate status. The impact of the change on current and future applications may vary depending on the type and date of the application.

The ARI program, which provides residence permit through investment in Portugal and is widely known as the "Golden Visa", entered a new legal era in 2026.

Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, published on 18 May and entered into force on 19 May 2026, changed the legal residence period required to apply for Portuguese citizenship by naturalization.

According to the new regulation, the period is at least 7 years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and citizens of European Union member countries, and at least 10 years for citizens of other countries.

This change is especially important for Golden Visa investors. Because the program itself has not been removed; One of the main changing issues is the conditions that the investor must meet in order to apply for citizenship in the future.

Golden Visa and citizenship are not the same thing

To understand the new regulation, it is necessary to distinguish two legal statuses.

Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI), also known as the Golden Visa, is a residence permit based on investment activity.

Portuguese citizenship is a separate legal process.

AIMA's current ARI information states that residence permit holders by investment have the opportunity to reside and work in Portugal, visa-free movement in the Schengen area, family reunification, and apply for permanent residence or Portuguese citizenship if they meet the necessary conditions.

Therefore, the change in the Citizenship Law does not automatically eliminate the Golden Visa residence permit.

However, if the Golden Visa holder wants to obtain citizenship in the future, the new conditions in the citizenship law become important.

One of the most important changes is in the calculation of the waiting period.

There is another aspect of the 2026 change that should be considered for Golden Visa holders.

Paragraph 4 of Article 15 of the previous Citizenship Law allowed the period from the date of application for a temporary residence permit to be included in the calculation of the legal residence period required for citizenship, provided that the application for a residence permit was later accepted.

This provision was particularly important due to the long processing times at AIMA.

The said paragraph was repealed by Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026.

Article 15 of the new law now regulates how the total of legal residence periods will be calculated, but the provision in the old paragraph 4, which takes into account the waiting period from the application for residence, is no longer included in the text.

For this reason, the situation of people who have applied for a Golden Visa but have been waiting for a residence card for a long time has a legal detail that is too important to be explained simply as "5 years has turned into 10 years".

So what about old applications?

The transitional provision is particularly important here.

According to Article 7 of Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, the law is implemented as of May 19, 2026. However, when the law comes into force, the previous Citizenship Law applies to ongoing citizenship procedures.

It is necessary to understand the scope of this protection correctly.

The text does not generally say that all Golden Visa or residence applications are automatically subject to the old citizenship rules. The transitional provision foresees the implementation of the old regulation in terms of ongoing administrative procedures regarding citizenship.

For this reason, it is especially important for Golden Visa investors who have not yet applied for citizenship to individually check their legal status in terms of their starting date and residence history.

Real estate is no longer one of the new Golden Visa investments

Although the Golden Visa program continues, investment options have been significantly changed in 2023.

According to AIMA's current information, investment activity can no longer be directed directly or indirectly to real estate investment.

Among the available options:

Creating employment for at least 10 people,

Transferring at least 500 thousand euros of capital to scientific research activities,

Investment or support of at least 250 thousand euros for artistic production or the protection of national cultural heritage,

Investing at least 500 thousand euros in non-real estate investment funds that meet the specified conditions,

Provision of employment conditions specified in the law with a capital transfer of at least 500 thousand euros to a Portugal-based company

is available.

AIMA also requires that the minimum conditions for investment be generally maintained for at least five years.

A webinar for investors will be held on September 15

Portugal Pathways and Portugal Investment Owners Club announced that they will host an online webinar on September 15, 2026, between 16.00-17.00 Lisbon time, to discuss the implications of the changes for Golden Visa investors.

According to the organization's statement, new citizenship rules, current investment options and processing times of applications at AIMA will be discussed at the meeting.

The event, which will also include a live question-answer session, will be aimed at current Golden Visa applicants as well as those considering a new investment in the program.

The nature of the source of the news is also important here: The content announcing the event is not an independent news, but advertiser/sponsored content prepared by Portugal Pathways.

For this reason, the evaluations to be made in the webinar should not be considered as official legal opinions, but as information provided by the organizers to investors.

PTNEWSHUB REVIEW

People invest significant amounts in Portugal, pay taxes and bring capital from abroad to the country. On the other hand, long waiting times at AIMA, problems with residence card processes, and changes in rules while people are in the middle of the process create serious uncertainty for immigrants. In our opinion, the administrative process for immigrants who contribute economically to the country should be more predictable, faster and stable.

PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

Brief summary of the new citizenship rule

On the path to general naturalization as of May 19, 2026:

EU citizens and citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries: legal residence for at least 7 years.

Citizens of other countries: legal residence for at least 10 years.

Golden Visa continues as a residence permit program.

If there is already an ongoing citizenship application on May 19, 2026, the previous regulation is applied due to the transitional provision of the law.

On the other hand, the fact that the Golden Visa/residence application was made before May 19 and the citizenship application was already ongoing on that date are not the same legal situation.

Especially Golden Visa investors who have been waiting for a long time in AIMA need to check through their individual files which date will be taken into account for their citizenship.

REVIEWED SOURCES

The Portugal News — Portugal Pathways / advertiser content, September 4, 2026: Webinar and Golden Visa information content titled “What the new Nationality Law means for Golden Visa rejected”. The content was published as advertiser-created content, not independent editorial news.

Diário da República — Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, 18 May 2026: Official text of the amendments to the Portuguese Citizenship Law. The new residence periods of 7 and 10 years for naturalization, the transitional provision and the amendments to Article 15 were directly controlled from the legislation.

Diário da República — Lei n.º 37/81, updated consolidated Nationality Law: Citizenship provisions in force as of 19 May 2026 and definition of legal residence checked.

AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI): The current rights of the Golden Visa program, investment options, minimum investment amounts and current limitations on real estate investment were checked.

AIMA — ARI Frequently Asked Questions: Official information regarding Golden Visa applications, renewals and current ARI processes was reviewed.