Key Takeaways
- Portugal Golden Visa costs fall into three main categories: government fees, legal and consultancy services, and investment fund charges.
- Government fees are standardized per family member, while legal fees and fund charges vary with family size, case complexity, and fund structure.
- Total five-year costs usually range from just over €520,000 for single applicants to about €570,000 for larger families, including the €500,000 fund investment.
- The process usually spans 12 to 18 months, requires maintaining the investment and residency conditions over five years, and now involves a 10-year residency before most applicants can request citizenship.
- For clear cost planning and support with fund selection and legal coordination, contact VIDA Capital through the advisory team at this form.
Portugal’s Golden Visa remains one of the few European programs that can lead to citizenship without relocating. Spain no longer offers a Golden Visa program, and Greece requires seven years of residence, while Portugal requires only 14 days in the country every two years, which suits families building a long-term Plan B.
Secure your Portugal residency and a future path to EU citizenship with a Golden Visa strategy tailored to your family. Understanding the full fee structure supports accurate budgeting and smoother decision-making.
Understanding Portugal Golden Visa Fee Categories
Total Golden Visa costs typically include three main groups:
- Government fees
- Legal and consultancy fees
- Investment fund charges
Government fees are standardized by the Portuguese authorities and apply to every applicant in the family group. These cover application analysis, residency card issuance, biometric data collection, and renewals over the five-year residency period.
Legal and consultancy fees vary with family size, personal circumstances, and the law firm selected. These services usually include document review, sworn translations, NIF registration, bank account opening, application submission, and support through renewals. A specialized immigration lawyer is essential, as each step of the process and every online submission must follow current regulations.
Fund-related charges apply when you use a qualifying investment fund to meet the €500,000 requirement. These expenses often include subscription fees, annual management fees, and, in some cases, performance fees. Each fund details these items in its private placement memorandum.
Government Fees: Fixed Costs for All Applicants
Government fees follow a standardized schedule per applicant. The 2025 fee table listed an initial application fee of €618.60 per family member for digital submissions, with higher fees for in-person or paper filings.
The largest single government cost is card issuance. The card issuance fee in 2025 was €6,179.40 per person for digital processes, charged at the biometric appointment and covering production and processing of the residence permit.
Renewal costs repeat during the residency period. The renewal fee in 2025 stood at €3,023.20 per family member for each renewal. As the approval card issuance usually takes a year, you will most likely only need to do a single renewal instead of two in the five-year period.
The Golden Visa grants a temporary residence permit valid for two years. You then renew it for two additional two-year periods, maintaining your investment and minimum-stay requirements throughout the five-year period. At that point, you can apply for permanent residency in Portugal.
For citizenship, Parliament approved a new framework in October 2025. Applicants now need 10 years of legal residence in Portugal before applying for citizenship, with a reduced seven-year requirement for citizens of Portuguese-language countries (CPLP) and EU nationals. Citizenship applications carry an additional fee of about €250 per family member.
Legal and Consultancy Fee Structure
Legal and consultancy fees often represent the second-largest cost after the investment itself. For a standard case, initial legal fees usually range from €6,000 to €12,000, depending on family size and complexity. These fees generally cover:
- Strategic planning and eligibility assessment
- Document list, review, notarization, and sworn translations
- NIF (tax number) setup and Portuguese bank account opening
- Online application preparation and submission
- Representation with the Portuguese authorities
Support usually continues beyond the first approval. Across the full five-year residency journey, including renewals, total legal fees often reach €15,000 to €20,000, depending on scope and complexity.
Portuguese VAT at 23 percent applies to professional services. A €10,000 legal invoice therefore becomes €12,300 after VAT. Some firms also charge for acting as a tax representative for non-residents, typically €500 to €1,000 per year.
Legal oversight is critical at every stage of the Golden Visa process. The application usually spans 12 to 18 months, and having an experienced lawyer coordinating documents, family inclusion, and fund paperwork reduces the risk of delays or refusals.
Investment Fund Charges and Management Fees
Investment funds that qualify for the Golden Visa have their own fee structures on top of the €500,000 capital contribution. Subscription fees often fall between 1 percent and 3 percent of the total investment, paid once at the time of subscription.
Annual management fees usually sit between 1 percent and 2 percent of committed or invested capital. These charges cover portfolio management, reporting, audits, and regulatory compliance. Some funds also charge performance fees, commonly 10 percent to 20 percent of returns above an agreed benchmark, aligning the manager’s compensation with investor outcomes.
At VIDA Fund, the subscription fee is 1 percent of the invested amount. The fund focuses on asset-backed projects in Portugal’s hospitality sector and buys and transforms existing hospitality assets, giving them a second life instead of building from the ground up. This structure aims to balance capital preservation with potential upside, although historical or target returns are never a guarantee of future performance.
Discuss fund fee structures and documentation with VIDA Capital’s advisory team to ensure each cost line is clear before you commit.
Total Cost Projections by Family Size
Summary estimates help families plan the overall budget, including government, legal, and fund-related charges, together with the €500,000 investment itself. Past Golden Visa case data suggests the following approximate ranges over five years:
- Single applicant: about €520,000 to €540,000 in total costs
- Couple: about €530,000 to €555,000
- Family of four: about €545,000 to €570,000
The higher range for families reflects additional government fees per dependent and slightly higher legal workloads. These projections assume a standard profile with no complex litigation, criminal record issues, or multi-jurisdictional documentation challenges.
Family members that can often be included in one application include a spouse, economically dependent children who are full-time students, not working, and not married at any time during the residency program until the Golden Visa application is completed, and in some cases dependent parents or in-laws. Document-wise, you can present either a marriage certificate or other valid proof of relationship for partners in a stable union.
Strategic Planning and Cost Optimization
Choosing the right advisory and legal team is one of the most effective ways to control costs. VIDA Capital focuses on making every fee visible from the start so that investors in the VIDA Fund can plan their cash flow around application milestones and fund calls.
Currency planning also matters. Investors funding the €500,000 commitment in currencies other than the Euro may benefit from staged transfers or hedging so that fee payments and capital calls are not exposed to unfavorable exchange movements.
Structuring the family application in a single file often optimizes per-person costs, as most fees scale less than proportionally with each added dependent. A careful review of who qualifies as a dependent can prevent the need for separate, more expensive applications later.
The Golden Visa grants residency rights only in Portugal. During the residency period, you can live, study, and work in Portugal, and you can travel visa-free within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Once you obtain a Portuguese passport, you gain the right to live, work, study, and access public healthcare and education in any EU or Schengen Zone country, subject to the rules in place at that time.
Portugal remains one of the only European options that offers a route to citizenship without requiring relocation. Greece requires seven years of physical residence and tax residency, and Spain has discontinued its Golden Visa program. For many families, this makes Portugal a competitive long-term Plan B.
Speak with VIDA Capital about designing a cost-efficient Golden Visa strategy around the VIDA Fund, including legal coordination and long-term residency and citizenship planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typical legal fees for Portugal Golden Visa applications
For most single applicants, initial legal fees fall between €5,000 and €12,000, with higher fees for larger families or complex cases. This usually covers document preparation, NIF registration, bank account opening, and initial application submission. Over the full five-year period, including renewals, total legal fees commonly reach €15,000 to €20,000, plus 23 percent VAT.
Ongoing costs beyond the initial investment and application fees
Ongoing costs typically include government renewal fees every two years of about €3,023.20 per family member, annual fund management fees of roughly 1 to 2 percent of capital, optional tax representative fees of €500 to €1,000 per year, and legal support for renewals or compliance checks. You also need to maintain your €500,000 fund investment and meet stay requirements over the full five-year period, plus budget for travel to Portugal for biometrics and renewals.
How fund subscription and management fees are structured
Most qualifying funds charge a one-time subscription fee of 1 to 3 percent when you commit capital, ongoing management fees of around 1 to 2 percent per year, and, in some cases, a performance fee on profits above a hurdle rate, usually 10 to 20 percent. At VIDA Fund, the subscription fee is 1 percent, and the fund invests in buying and transforming hospitality assets in Portugal, giving underused properties a second life. Historical or target returns are not a guarantee of future returns.
Government fees across the Golden Visa timeline
Key government costs include an initial application fee of about €618.60 per family member, a card issuance fee of about €6,179.40 per person, and renewal fees of about €3,023.20 per person every two years. Due to processing times, most investors need only one renewal in practice during the five-year period. After maintaining residency for the required 10 years, families can apply for Portuguese citizenship and pay an additional fee of around €250 per applicant.
Ways to control total costs while staying compliant
Cost control usually comes from three areas: engaging experienced immigration lawyers to avoid mistakes, including all eligible dependents in a single application to spread fixed costs, and choosing a fund with transparent, clearly documented fees. Working with an advisory firm like VIDA Capital helps you map every government, legal, and fund-related expense before you commit, which reduces the risk of unexpected charges or delays later in the process.
