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EU residency through cultural-heritage investment, with a five-year route to permanent residency and citizenship
Portugal’s residence-by-investment framework, restructured in 2023, retains a cultural-heritage route that grants EU residency to founders deploying capital into approved cultural restoration and artistic-heritage projects. It preserves the low physical-presence requirement of the previous Golden Visa while aligning capital deployment with national cultural objectives.
The permit grants full Schengen mobility, the right to live, work, and study in Portugal, and a defined pathway to permanent residency and Portuguese citizenship.
Legal residence converts into Portuguese citizenship and full European Union rights.
Among the most flexible residency requirements in Europe, with no continuous-residence obligation.
Investment flows into approved cultural and artistic-heritage projects rather than passive real estate, aligning capital with national-interest activity.
The Portuguese passport carries visa-free access to 190+ countries upon citizenship.
Tax residence is distinct from the residence permit; the non-habitual resident regime, where applicable, may offer favourable treatment of qualifying foreign income for ten years.
Founders building a structured route to a Portuguese passport.
Founders unable to commit to continuous physical presence in the EU but seeking a defensible residency anchor.
Spouse, children, and dependent parents all eligible, with access to EU healthcare and schooling.
Investors aligning capital with national cultural-heritage objectives.
Direct contribution from EUR 250,000 to approved cultural restoration, artistic-heritage, or museum-affiliated projects. The contribution is non-refundable.
Investment in approved research institutions or innovation-led entities, typically from EUR 500,000.
Subscription to qualifying Portuguese venture-capital or private-equity funds, typically from EUR 500,000.
Establishment of a Portuguese business creating at least 10 permanent jobs.
Direct residential real-estate investment is no longer eligible under the post-2023 framework.
Over 18, clean criminal record across all jurisdictions of residence, valid health insurance, demonstrable legal source of funds.
In official marriage or recognised civil partnership.
Under 18 automatically; 18–26 if financially dependent and in full-time education.
Parents of the applicant or spouse who are financially dependent.
Cross-border decisions with clarity — from relocation and structuring to long-term planning, risk reduction, and private coordination.
Speak with a partnerMirsatori reviews the founder’s family structure, capital plan, tax-residency clock, and long-term EU citizenship objectives.
The qualifying cultural-heritage project is identified, diligenced, and funded under Mirsatori’s legal supervision.
National D-type visa filed at the Portuguese consulate in the applicant’s country of primary residence.
The applicant attends AIMA, the Portuguese immigration authority, for biometrics and the permit application.
The initial two-year permit is issued, renewable in three-year increments, with derivative permits for family in parallel.
Eligibility opens, subject to language test and integration criteria.
| Category | Portugal | Greece | Spain (Startup) | France |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status Duration | 2+3+3 years | 5 years | 3 years | 4 years |
| Minimum Investment | From EUR 250,000 | From EUR 250,000 | From EUR 25,000 | From EUR 25,000 |
| For Entire Family | Yes (incl. parents) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Physical Presence | 7 / 14 days | None | Continuous | None mandatory |
| Citizenship Waiting | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years | 5 years |
From EUR 250,000 for the cultural-heritage route; the innovation and fund routes typically start at EUR 500,000.
Seven days in Portugal during the first year and 14 days during each subsequent two-year period.
The programme was restructured in 2023: direct residential real-estate investment is no longer eligible, while the cultural-heritage, innovation, fund, and job-creation routes remain active.
After five years of legal residence, subject to a basic Portuguese-language test and integration criteria.
Yes — for non-compliance with renewal obligations, criminal convictions, or failure to maintain the underlying investment. Mirsatori monitors compliance on the founder’s behalf throughout the engagement.
Send a one-paragraph brief on the decision in front of you. You will have a considered reply within one business day, under signed NDA — the first conversation carries no fee. Where the position is complex, we scope a written memo from there.
Speak with a specialist
