Portugal's golden visa: 6,000 decisions out of 46,000 and a 50-month wait

In short

• Portugal's migration agency has 46,000 golden visa applications in its queue; about 6,000 have been processed and about 30,000 people are booked for biometrics.
• The average wait on cases completed in Q2 2026 was 50.4 months according to surveys. In Q1 it was 43.9 months.
• Since 19 May 2026 the period towards citizenship is 10 years, counted from the issue of the first residence card. Years in the queue do not count.
• For those who applied in 2022-2025 the path to a passport stretches to 14-15 years from the moment the money was invested.
• For Russian citizens the programme's fund option is closed by EU sanctions on selling units. Donations remain, with the same wait.

What the minister said

The hearing was about the migration agency's work as a whole, and golden visas were a secondary item. The main news for the agency is good: of 445,000 old regularisation cases that had piled up for years, about 5,000 remain unresolved. Staff grew from 723 to 850. Freed-up people have been moved to family reunification and investment cases.

The golden visa figures are more modest. 46,000 applications in the queue, about 6,000 processed, about 30,000 booked for biometrics. An important detail the minister himself stressed: a biometrics booking is not a decision. It is a date in the calendar after which the case still has to be examined.

A year ago, on 29 October 2025, at the 2026 budget hearings, the same minister promised to clear the golden visa queue during 2026 and cited related budget revenue of about EUR 85 million. Less than three months of the year remain, and keeping the promise means turning 30,000 bookings into decisions.

What this means for you. The queue is moving, but slowly. I would not count on your case being decided by the end of 2026 just because it was promised.

Where the queue came from

Portugal's golden visa queue is old. Much of it consists of paper applications filed under the rules before October 2023, when the programme still included property and bank deposits. In 2023 the former immigration service was dissolved, its cases passed to the new agency, and with them the agency inherited the accumulated delays. The new body lacked people and technology, and its priority was hundreds of thousands of regularisation cases.

The wait is growing. According to surveys, the average time on cases completed in Q2 2026 was 50.4 months, in Q1 43.9 months. This does not mean work is slower. It means the oldest cases are being closed now, so the average time on completed cases rises.

Related: the residence card and the AIMA agency, Portugal golden visa changes in 2026.

Why waiting costs more than it seems

The most serious consequence of the queue concerns citizenship, not residence. A new organic nationality law was published on 18 May 2026 and entered into force on 19 May. For nationals of countries outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking community, the period of legal residence before naturalisation rose from 5 to 10 years. Above all, the period runs from the date the first residence card is issued. The previous rule, under which waiting time after filing counted, has been revoked.

Look at what this means in practice.

Someone invested in 2022 expecting a European passport in five years. With the average wait he receives the card in 2026 and can apply for citizenship around 2036. Fourteen years from investment to passport instead of five. Those who filed for citizenship before 19 May 2026 keep the old 5-year period, but few golden visa holders are among them: most have not even received their first card.

The fairness of this rule is being challenged. Hundreds of golden visa holders have filed a collective lawsuit, and Portuguese lawyers disagree on whether the new period can apply to those who applied for residence before the law took effect. But lawsuits take a long time, and the law applies now.

What this means for you. Every month in the queue today is a month that does not count towards citizenship. For an investor who came to Portugal for an EU passport, this is the main risk.

What it means for Russian citizens

For a Russian citizen a sanctions question is added to the queue. Since 2023 the main option of the Portuguese programme is investment fund units from EUR 500,000. EU Regulation 833/2014 prohibits selling to Russian citizens and people living in Russia units of funds that provide exposure to securities in an EU currency issued after 12 April 2022. The exception is for citizens and residence holders of EU, EEA states and Switzerland. A third-country second passport, according to the Commission, does not lift the restriction.

Formally, donations to research from EUR 500,000 and to cultural heritage from EUR 250,000 remain. They are not securities, but the money is not returned, banking restrictions on deposits from Russian citizens above EUR 100,000 apply, and the queue is the same. For most of our clients from Russia, Portugal is not the best choice today.

The same sanctions mechanism closes Hungary's programme to Russians. It is analysed in detail in Sergey Evdokimov's article on Hungary's golden visa for Russians.

In detail: Portugal golden visa for Russians, golden visa funds.

What to do if you are already in the queue

For those who have already applied I have four practical tips.

1. Do not touch the investment. If you exit the fund or breach the conditions before a decision, the basis disappears, and the years of waiting disappear with it.
2. Keep documents fresh. Criminal record certificates, insurance and proof of investment expire. When the biometrics appointment comes, everything must be valid, or the case may go round again.
3. Consider a lawsuit. In Portugal it is common practice to go to the administrative court asking it to compel the agency to decide within a reasonable time. It is not a guarantee, but for old cases it is a working tool. Decide on a lawsuit together with a Portuguese lawyer.
4. Think about a backup status. If you or your children need the EU in the coming years, you can wait for Portugal in parallel with residence in another country.

I always ask clients to separate two dates: the date of investment and the date the card is issued. There used to be a few months between them; now there can be years. Under the new law only the second date matters for the passport, so timelines must be recalculated from it.

Andres FerreiraHead of Investment Advisory, BRIDGES

How we handle the application and correspondence with the agency is shown on the page Portugal golden visa support. What changes after the card: permanent residence in Portugal.

Who should go to Portugal now and who should not

Portugal is still a strong country to live in, with a good climate, taxes for new residents and a clear system. But its golden visa is now a tool for a specific person.

• It suits those who are not Russian citizens, are in no hurry, are ready to keep EUR 500,000 in a fund for five years or more and see Portugal as a future place to live rather than a fast passport.
• It does not suit those who need EU status within a year or two, who counted on a passport in five years, and Russian citizens because of the sanctions ban on fund units.

For those who need the EU faster we now more often suggest Cyprus and Greece. Why is analysed in detail in Sergey Evdokimov's piece on EU golden visas in autumn 2026.

The full amount with taxes and fees is shown by the Portugal golden visa cost calculator. Comparisons: Portugal or Greece, golden visa or D7 visa, what the golden visa costs.

Common mistakes

1. Counting the passport period from the investment date. Since 19 May 2026 it runs from the issue of the residence card.
2. Confusing a biometrics booking with a decision. A booking is a date in the calendar; there is no decision yet.
3. Exiting the fund out of impatience. That wipes out the basis and all the years of waiting.
4. Buying fund units on a Russian passport. EU sanctions prohibit such a sale, and a third-country second passport does not help.

Conclusion

Portugal's golden visa queue is moving, but the minister's figures show that the promise to clear it in 2026 will most likely not be kept. For those already waiting, the key is not to lose the basis and not to let documents expire. For those still choosing, the key is to understand that the new nationality law has turned waiting into years that do not count. Portugal remains a good country to live in but has stopped being a fast route to an EU passport.

Sources

The Portuguese Minister of the Presidency before parliament's constitutional affairs committee on 7 October 2026 and his statement at the budget hearings on 29 October 2025. Organic Law 1/2026 on nationality, published on 18 May 2026. EU Regulation 833/2014 and Commission guidance. The average waiting time is given from surveys; the agency does not publish official statistics. Prepared by Andres Ferreira, Head of Investment Advisory at BRIDGES. Facts checked on 14 October 2026.

Related: Portuguese golden visa, Portuguese citizenship by naturalisation, Cyprus permanent residence.