How much does Portugal's Golden Visa cost in 2026: investment, government fees, lawyers, family expenses

Why the "Golden Visa price" isn't one figure

When someone first becomes interested in Portugal's Golden Visa, they usually hear one sum - "from €500,000". And this creates a false sense that the programme's budget is exhausted by the investment size. In practice the budget is layered, and each layer is a separate expense item that needs budgeting in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises at the filing stage.

The investment is the principal. Part of it (for example, a share in an investment fund) theoretically returns after the holding period expires. But around the investment principal a whole perimeter of mandatory payments is built: government fees for reviewing the application, AIMA immigration service fees for issuing and renewing cards, integrity check costs (due diligence), the fund management company's fees, and the fee for the lawyers handling the case.

Fundamentally important: a significant portion of these expenses is calculated not per family, but per each of its members. So the budget for one investor and the budget for a family of four differ quite substantially. We break down the full programme logic and investment routes inour detailed guide to Portugal's Golden Visa, and here we'll focus specifically on money.

The investment principal: routes and minimum sums

First let's fix the main point: since October 2023, after the Mais Habitacao law took effect, the real estate purchase and direct capital transfer routes for Portugal's Golden Visa have been abolished. Those who remember the programme by the "buy a €500,000 apartment - get a residence permit" scheme should understand that this route is closed. Today the investment goes through other channels.

Current investment routes (approximate as of 2026, check before filing):

• Investment funds- from €500,000. The most in-demand route: subscribing to units of regulated funds accredited in Portugal.
• Scientific research- from €500,000 to support scientific or research activity.
• Cultural heritage support- from €250,000 (the lowest entry threshold).
• Job creation / share capital- an investment in a company creating jobs.

Investors most often choose funds - this route is broken down in detail in our article onGolden Visa investment funds. The full list of investment options is in our overviewPortugal's investment options. Further in the text we calculate the budget using the fund route as an example, being the most popular.

Government fees for processing the application

The first category of expenses on top of the investment is government fees for reviewing the application. This is a payment for the immigration service accepting your dossier and conducting an initial check. The fee is charged per applicant - both the main investor and every included family member.

Approximate parameters (check at filing time, tariffs are periodically indexed):

• The application filing/processing fee- roughly around €500-600 per applicant. This is a one-off payment at initial filing.
• A similar fee at renewal- charged at every residence permit renewal during the programme's term.

It's important to understand the structure: the filing fee isn't the card-issuance fee. These are two different payments. First you pay for the application to be accepted and reviewed, then - separately - for the physical residence permit card's issuance. We break down this second, much larger item in the next section.

Since the processing fee is calculated per person, a family of four applicants pays it four times. Against a large investment this sum looks small, but it needs to be accounted for in the overall budget.

AIMA fees: issuing and renewing the residence permit card

The most substantial of the "near-investment" items is the fee for issuing the residence permit card. It's charged by AIMA (Agencia para a Integracao, Migracoes e Asilo) - Portugal's immigration service, which became the successor to the abolished SEF. It's exactly AIMA that processes Golden Visa dossiers and issues and renews cards today.

Approximate parameters (check before filing):

• Issuing the initial residence permit card- roughly around €5,300-6,000 per family member. This is the main government fee for the Golden Visa, and it's calculated per person.
• Card renewal- a separate fee is charged at every renewal cycle, roughly comparable to the initial one or somewhat lower.

It's exactly this item that makes the difference between the one-person and family budgets dramatic. If for one investor the card-issuance fee is a one-time ~€5,000-6,000, for a family of four it multiplies fourfold and turns into roughly ~€21,000-24,000 just at the initial issuance stage.

This is the key reason you can't assess the Golden Visa's cost "per family" by simply adding investment and lawyers. AIMA's government fees are personal, and with a large family they become a noticeable part of the budget. Current tariffs should always be checked on the official portalPortugal's government services (gov.pt).

Due diligence and integrity checks

Before accepting the investor's capital, both the fund and the state conduct a check of the source of funds and the applicant's integrity - the so-called due diligence. For investors from Russia and the CIS, this stage is especially significant: compliance has strengthened in recent years, and the origin of every euro must be transparently confirmed.

What the expenses at this stage consist of:

• The fund management company's due diligence.Most regulated funds conduct their own investor check. The cost is roughly from €1,000 to €5,000 depending on the fund and the complexity of the capital structure.
• Preparing the source-of-funds evidence base.Gathering and translating documents confirming the origin of capital (business sale, dividends, inheritance, property sale).
• Apostilling and sworn translationof documents into Portuguese - a separate but necessary item.

For Russians and CIS citizens we always emphasize: everything is strictly within the law, with no attempts whatsoever to circumvent sanctions restrictions. The cleaner and more complete the source-of-funds dossier, the faster and calmer the check goes. Cutting corners on preparing this block means risking refusal already after paying the investment.

The fund management company's fees

If the investor goes the fund route - the most popular path - management company fees are added to the budget. This is the fee for managing your money throughout the investment's whole holding period (usually about five to six years, until you can exit the fund).

A typical fund fee structure (approximate, specific rates are set out in each fund's prospectus):

• The entry fee (subscription fee)- a one-off payment when subscribing to units, roughly around 0-2% of the investment amount.
• The annual management fee- roughly around 1-2% a year of the asset value.
• The performance fee- a share of the fund's profit above a set return threshold, if the fund delivered results.

These fees aren't a "visa expense" in the pure sense, but part of the investment economics. But when calculating the real cost of participation, they must be accounted for: over five to six years management fees can noticeably affect the final return. We break down the logic and fund types in more detail in our article onPortugal's Golden Visa funds. Choosing a fund with a transparent, reasonable fee structure is part of competent budget planning.

Legal support: what you're paying for

The Golden Visa isn't a procedure it's sensible to go through on your own, especially when investing hundreds of thousands of euros and filing for the whole family. Legal support is a separate budget item, and it's justified: a mistake in the dossier or investment structure can cost both money and lost time.

What the legal fee includes (roughly from €5,000 to €15,000 per family, depending on the scope of services):

• Structuring the investment and choosing a fund- analyzing prospectuses, checking regulation status, helping with unit subscription.
• Preparing and filing the dossier- gathering documents, filling out forms, liaising with AIMA.
• Getting a Portuguese NIF and opening a bank account- mandatory preliminary steps.
• Support at renewal stages and preparation for permanent residence/citizenship.

The fee usually depends on the number of family members and the case's complexity. Sometimes it's fixed "turnkey", sometimes it's made up of a base rate plus a surcharge for each additional applicant. We handle getting a Portugal residence permit comprehensively: from choosing the investment route to getting cards for the whole family, so the client understands the full budget in advance, with no hidden items.

The full budget: for one and for a family of 4 (table)

Let's gather all the items into one table and calculate two scenarios: a solo investor and a family of four (main applicant, spouse, and two children). For the investment principal, we take the fund route from €500,000. All sums are approximate, for understanding the budget structure; exact figures are checked at filing time.

The main takeaway from the table: expenses on top of the investment for a family of four are roughly two to three times higher than for one person - and this is almost entirely due to AIMA's personal government fees. The investment principal doesn't change though: €500,000 is enough for the whole family, it's exactly the fees and charges that multiply.

When D7 or D8 is cheaper than the Golden Visa

a cost conversation would be incomplete without alternatives. The Golden Visa isn't the only route into Portugal, and for many it's excessive by budget. If you have stable passive income or work remotely, the D7 and D8 visas may turn out more economical routes.

• D7 (the passive income visa)suits rentiers and pensioners. Investing hundreds of thousands of euros isn't required here - confirmed stable income (pension, rent, dividends) of roughly ~€870 a month or more plus housing in Portugal is needed. This is covered in our article onPortugal's D7 visa.
• D8 (the digital nomad visa)- for those working remotely for a foreign employer. Income of roughly ~€3,480 a month or more is required.

The fundamental difference: D7 and D8 are income-based visas, not investment-based ones. Their direct costs are several times lower than the Golden Visa's, but in exchange they require genuinely relocating and residing in Portugal, whereas the Golden Visa lets you keep your main life abroad with minimal presence. The choice is always a balance between budget and lifestyle, and the decision of where to live remains yours.

The tax side: NHR is closed, what remains

The cost of holding status is also about taxes. It's important not to rely on outdated information here. The famous NHR (Non-Habitual Resident) regime, which attracted many with decade-long tax relief, is closed to new applicants since 2024. You can't count on the "old NHR" for a new application.

What exists in 2026 (approximate, check individually):

• The IFICI regime(unofficially "NHR 2.0", a tax incentive for scientific research and innovation) - a flat rate of roughly 20% on qualified Portuguese employment and self-employment income plus exemption of a significant portion of foreign income, for up to 10 years. But the conditions are narrow: qualified professions, R&D, startups.
• Standard income tax- a progressive scale roughly up to 48% for those not qualifying under IFICI.
• Tax residencyarises with residence of 183 days a year or more, or a permanent home in Portugal.

A key nuance for Golden Visa investors: the programme, with its minimal presence, usually does NOT automatically make you a Portugal tax resident - you can hold the residence permit while remaining a tax resident of another country. A detailed breakdown is in our article onthe tax regime and NHR in Portugal. Tax planning should be done in parallel with immigration planning to avoid an unexpected burden.

What's refundable, and what isn't

When assessing the Golden Visa's real cost, it's useful to split expenses into refundable and non-refundable. This changes how the final figure is perceived: formally you're "spending" half a million euros, but a significant part of that sum isn't an expense, but an investment that theoretically returns.

• Refundable (the investment principal).An investment of €500,000 or more in a fund is an investment, not a payment. After the holding period expires, units can be sold and the capital returned (with a profit or loss - depending on the fund's results). This isn't a guaranteed return, but an investment risk.
• Non-refundable (programme costs).Government fees, AIMA fees, due diligence, fund fees, legal fees, translations - all of this is spent money that isn't refundable.

So it's more correct to put it this way: the Golden Visa's "real non-refundable cost" for a family of four is roughly that same ~€34,000-55,000 in expenses on top of the investment principal, plus investment risk on the fund itself. It's exactly this figure worth keeping in mind when comparing the programme with alternatives, rather than being scared of the half million, which in a favorable scenario comes back.

How to check a budget and not overpay: an expert's view

Over years of practice we see the same mistakes in assessing a Golden Visa budget, and almost all of them are underestimating the expense perimeter around the investment. Here's what to pay attention to for a budget.

• Calculate AIMA fees per person, not per family.This is the main item that "blows up" a large family's budget. Multiply by the number of applicants.
• Study the fund's prospectus for fees.Entry, annual, and performance fees can vary greatly. A transparent structure matters more than an attractive promised return.
• Don't cut corners on due diligence and the source of funds.This is critical for CIS investors: a weak dossier is a refusal risk already after payment.
• Budget for renewals.The budget must cover not just the entry, but maintaining status for five to six years.
• Check that the legal fee is fixed turnkeyor clearly itemized by stage and family member - with no open-ended finale.

A competent budget isn't the smallest figure, but the most complete and one. It's better to see the full expense perimeter in advance than to run into unforeseen payments midway through the process.

We'll calculate your personal Golden Visa budget

Portugal's Golden Visa cost is made up of many items, each depending on your situation: the investment route, the chosen fund, the number of family members, and the complexity of confirming the source of funds. There's no universal "turnkey" figure - there's an exact calculation for the specific case.

We handle getting a Portugal residence permit for investors from Russia and the CIS: we select a fund with transparent fees, calculate the full budget in advance with no hidden payments, and take the whole family through from filing to getting the cards.Request a personal Golden Visa cost calculation- we'll show a line-by-line breakdown for your specific family.

Hidden and recurring expenses people forget

Besides the obvious starting payments, there are items easy to miss in an initial budget assessment. They're small individually, but add up over several years of the programme into a noticeable figure.

What to pay attention to:

• Renewal fees.The Golden Visa requires renewing cards throughout the whole period until permanent residence. At every cycle government fees and AIMA fees are charged again - and again per family member.
• Biometrics and personal visits.Submitting biometrics requires presence in Portugal. Budget for flights and lodging for the whole family.
• Minimal presence.The programme requires presence of roughly about 7 days a year (14 days over two years). This isn't a fee expense, but real travel costs.
• Annual fund fees- charged for the whole holding period, not once.
• Accounting and tax supportin Portugal, if you become a tax resident.

A competent budget accounts not just for entering the programme, but the cost of maintaining it over five to six years until eligibility for permanent residence or citizenship. This is exactly why it's important to see expenses in dynamics from the start, not just the initial payment.

Bottom line: how much Portugal's Golden Visa really costs

Let's draw a line under this. Portugal's Golden Visa 2026 is an investment from €500,000 (via the fund or science route; via culture - from €250,000), on top of which lies a perimeter of mandatory expenses. For a solo investor these expenses on top of the investment principal are roughly ~€12,000-21,000, for a family of four - roughly ~€34,000-55,000, and the difference is almost entirely explained by AIMA's personal government fees per family member.

The investment principal, in a favorable scenario, is returned upon exiting the fund, so the programme's "real non-refundable price" is exactly the expense perimeter plus investment risk. All figures given are approximate: fee and charge tariffs are periodically revised, fund commissions are individual, and the exact budget needs checking at filing time, including on the official portalPortugal's government services (gov.pt).

Before deciding, it's useful to study the general logic inour guide to the Golden Visa, fund selection in our overviewinvestment funds, and budget alternatives are in our articles onD7 visaand Portugal's tax regime. We prepare an exact calculation for your family composition and investment route individually.