The Golden Visa Timeline, Stage by Stage

Since Lei 56/2023 removed the property and capital transfer routes, most applicants now qualify through the qualifying investment fund route or another route permitted under Lei 23/2007 as amended. The stages below describe the general shape of the process; actual durations depend on the applicant's own paperwork, the receiving institutions, and AIMA's caseload at the time of application.

Stage one: document gathering

This stage covers collecting a valid passport, a criminal record certificate from the applicant's country of residence (and any country of prior residence, where required), proof of the source of funds, and civil documents for any family members to be included. Documents issued outside Portugal typically need an apostille or legalisation, and non-Portuguese documents generally need certified translation. The time this takes depends entirely on how quickly the applicant's home authorities issue these documents.

Stage two: NIF and Portuguese bank account

A Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF) is needed before an applicant can open a Portuguese bank account or subscribe to a fund. Non-resident applicants from outside the EU/EEA generally need a tax representative to obtain a NIF. Bank account opening involves the bank's own compliance and source-of-funds checks, which vary by institution and by the complexity of the applicant's financial history.

Stage three: choosing and completing the qualifying investment

For the fund route, this means reviewing the fund's prospectus and management regulation, completing subscription documentation, and transferring funds through the Portuguese bank account. Subscription can only close once the fund manager and the bank have completed their own onboarding and anti-money-laundering checks.

Stage four: submission of the residence permit application

• ·The application is submitted to AIMA together with proof of the qualifying investment and the supporting personal documents.
• ·AIMA reviews the file for completeness before it is accepted for processing.
• ·Any missing or inconsistent document can result in a request for further information, which restarts part of the clock.

Stage five: biometrics

Applicants are asked to attend an appointment to provide biometric data (photograph and fingerprints). Appointment availability is set by AIMA and can vary significantly by location and by demand at the time; the current scheduling position should be checked directly with AIMA rather than assumed.

Stage six: decision and card issue

Once biometrics are complete and the file is fully reviewed, AIMA issues a decision. If approved, a residence permit card is produced and issued. Processing volumes reported in AIMA's own statistics are the most reliable indicator of how this stage is currently moving; see our companion article on processing times for how to interpret that data.

Stage seven: renewals

The Golden Visa residence permit is issued for an initial period and then renewed, subject to the applicant continuing to meet the minimum stay and investment-maintenance conditions under Lei 23/2007 as amended. Each renewal is itself a discrete process with its own document refresh and, in practice, its own queue.

No fixed number of days or weeks is quoted here for any stage because AIMA's operational capacity changes over time. Always confirm current expected timings directly with AIMA or with the fund manager concerned rather than relying on historic figures.