Portugal grants record 2,685 golden visas in 2025

Portugal granted a record 2,685 residence permits under its golden visa scheme in 2025, but the country’s migration agency has stopped publishing the amount of foreign investment linked to those approvals. The change makes it harder to measure the programme’s economic impact.

According to AIMA’s annual report, the 2025 total was up about 29% from 2,081 permits in 2024 and above the previous high of 2,091 set in 2023. US citizens led the programme for a fourth straight year with 535 permits, followed by China with 392 and the UK with 252. Turkey, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa were also among the main nationalities.

The report does not show how much capital was raised through the scheme, unlike the data previously published by the former immigration service SEF. Between October 2012 and September 2023, SEF reported €6.451 billion in investment tied to 12,718 golden visas. Since then, another 5,536 permits have been granted, taking the total to 18,254, but there is no equivalent public data on the investment behind them.

AIMA has also stopped publishing a breakdown of the types of investment used to obtain the permits, as well as the monthly data that SEF used to release. The rise in approvals comes after major rule changes: since 2023, buying property no longer qualifies applicants for a golden visa in Portugal.

Under the current rules, applicants can still qualify through routes including the creation of at least 10 jobs, capital transfers into certain scientific research activities, investment of at least €500,000 in non-real-estate collective investment vehicles, or at least €250,000 for artistic production or the restoration and maintenance of national cultural heritage.

Originally published at Eco.pt