Portugal’s Golden Visa program is a five-year residency-by-investment scheme for citizens outside the European Union.
The residence permit program grants qualifying investors and their family members the right to live, work, and study in Portugal and permits free movement in Europe’s Schengen Area.
To date, Portugal Golden Visa statistics show the program to be top-rated among investors. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Portuguese Golden Visa statistics as released by AIMA, when available.
It showcases how international and renowned the scheme is among non-EU nationals and what the program’s future holds.
Portugal Golden Visa Statistics: Key Takeaways
Portugal Golden Visa Statistics for 2025
Portugal’s Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo released the latest Migration and Asylum statistics for 2025 in September 2026.
The data shows that 2,685 Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI) were issued during 2025, up 29% from 2,081 in 2024. During the same time period, Golden Visa holders were granted 3,967 family reunification permits, up 36% from 2,909 in 2024.
Looking at all types of residency permits issued in Portugal, Golden Visa approvals made up only 0.8% of the 337,880 permits granted.
The agency omitted nationality statistics in the 2024 report, but the 2025 report reveals the top nationalities for Golden Visa approvals were:
- US (535)
- China (392)
- UK (252)
- Turkey (188)
- India (170)
- Russia (160)
- Brazil (154)
- South Africa (97)
AIMA didn’t include a breakdown of investment types for 2025, but according to the Ministry of Culture, €46.8 million went into cultural projects in 2025 to qualify for the Golden Visa through the donation to Portuguese arts and heritage restoration route. That’s up 298% from €11.7 million in 2024.
It also noted that 41 cultural projects received full or partial funding in 2025, and since the cultural donation route started, it has brought in €66.4 million through 293 capital transfers.
Portugal Golden Visa Statistics for 2024
According to AIMA’s latest Migration and Asylum Report, released in October 2025, it revealed that 2,081 Portugal Golden Visa residence permits were issued during 2024, along with 2,909 family-reunification permits tied to Portugal Golden Visa investors.
Therefore, out of 218,332 total residence titles issued, Golden Visa approvals represented less than 1% of all applications.
For data relating to 2024’s Golden Visa applications, nationalities, and investment routes, AIMA stopped making that information available in 2023.
Portugal Golden Visa Statistics for 2023
According to AIMA, by the end of 2023, a total of 4,455 applicants applied for the Golden Visa Portugal program. Of those, 2,901 were the main applicants, and 1,554 resident permits were issued for accompanying family members.
Nationality breakdown for 2023
According to Portugal’s Golden Visa stats from the 2023 report, the top nationalities to apply for the Portugal Golden Visa are as follows:
- 567 permits were issued to people of American nationality
- 306 permits were issued to people of Chinese nationality
- 234 permits were issued to people of United Kingdom nationality
- 219 permits were issued to people of Brazilian nationality
- 199 permits were issued to people of Indian nationality
Investment breakdown for 2023
In 2023, the program received a substantial €70,895,742 in investments. The total investment in real estate property purchasing was €50,076,668.39, and the total investment in capital transfer was €20,819,074.00.
Here’s a breakdown of the investments for the Golden Visa in Portugal for 2023:
- 99 applicants made a real estate investment
- 49 for properties valued at €400,000 or more
- 50 for renovated properties valued at €280,000 or more
- 57 applicants chose capital transfer or venture capital
- 50 for Portuguese investment funds
The Portugal Golden Visa Investment Fund option is also proving popular, particularly in the face of changes to the program. Since January 2022, investors have been blocked from buying real estate in urban cities such as Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve region, along with other investment route changes.
All-Time Portugal Golden Visa Statistics: 2012-2025
The following table shows how many Golden Visa residence permits Portugal has issued each year since the program launched in 2012.
It covers main applicants and their family members, along with the total amount invested where that figure is available, and the top nationality for that year.
| Year | Main Applicants | Family Reunification | Total Investment | Top Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | Included in 2013 | China |
| 2013 | 494 | 576 | €307 million | China |
| 2014 | 1,526 | 2,395 | €921 million | China |
| 2015 | 766 | 1,322 | €466 million | China |
| 2016 | 1,414 | 2,344 | €874 million | China |
| 2017 | 1,351 | 2,678 | €844 million | China (538) |
| 2018 | 1,409 | 2,500 | €839 million | China (485) |
| 2019 | 1,245 | 2,192 | €742 million | China (394) |
| 2020 | 1,182 | 2,043 | €647 million | China (296) |
| 2021 | 865 | 1,171 | €461 million | China (270) |
| 2022 | 1,281 | 1,588 | €654 million | United States (216) |
| 2023 | 2,901 | 1,554 | €71 million | United States (567) |
| 2024 | 2,081 | 2,909 | Not published | Not published |
| 2025 | 2,685 | 3,967 | Not published | United States (535) |
| Total | 19,202 | 27,239 | €7.3 billion | China |
Source: AIMA, SEF (archival)
In total, 19,202 main applicants and 27,239 family members have received residence permits through the program, and investment reached €7.3 billion by the end of 2023.
However, investment figures aren’t available for 2024 and 2025 because AIMA stopped publishing them after the program’s investment routes changed in October 2023. Therefore, the total of €7.3 billion is only from 2012 to 2023.
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