Portugal Golden Visa Renewal Guide: How to Replace Your Expiring Residency Card

The Portugal Golden Visa programme requires investors to renew their residence cards every 2 years. After 5 years of holding a Portuguese residence permit, investors can apply for permanent residence. After another 5 years, they may become eligible to apply for citizenship.

To renew a resident card in Portugal, applicants must prove that they still hold the investment and there are no reasons that prevent the extension of the residence permit status, including conviction, deportation from the country, and violation of the rules of stay. Also, visiting Portugal is obligatory: investors and their family members spend 14 days there every two years while they maintain residency.

Immigrant Invest assists Portuguese residents with the renewal process, from notifying them of upcoming deadlines to receiving new residence cards.

Investors pay government fees to renew their residence permits. Also, they need legal services and health insurance to apply.

The government fee for renewing a Portugal Golden Visa residence permit is €3,157.80 per person.

Additional costs include legal services. Also, all applicants must provide valid health insurance; it costs about €400 per person for a year. The price depends on the age and health condition.

The essential list of documents for a Portugal Golden Visa renewal includes the following:

• passport;
• expiring Portugal residence permit card;
• health insurance;
• documents proving that an applicant has sufficient funds for living and rented or owned housing in Portugal;
• certificate of no criminal record from the country of residence if an applicant lives outside Portugal;
• AIMA authorisation for criminal background checks in Portugal — except for persons under 16 years of age;
• documents proving that the applicant has no tax or social insurance debts, if necessary;
• completed application form;
• receipt on payment for the analysis of the application.

AIMA may also ask the applicant to confirm that they have met the minimum stay requirement of 14 days over the 2-year residence period. In this case, an applicant submits documents proving their stay: boarding passes, receipts from hotels and shops in the country, or others.

Immigrant Invest lawyers will provide you with a complete list of documents according to your particular situation.

An investor can enjoy several benefits after obtaining a residence permit in Portugal.

Living in Portugal

Investors can stay in Portugal for the time of their residence permits validity. The warm climate, picturesque landscapes, world-famous beaches, and golf courses can make life there pretty enjoyable.

At the same time, investors do not need to move to Portugal to maintain their status. They can visit the country for holidays while keeping Portuguese residence as a backup option.

Visa-free travel to the Schengen Area

Portugal Golden Visa holders can travel visa-free within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Time spent in Portugal does not count towards this limit, as Portugal is the country of residence permit issuance.

Tax optimisation

Portugal’s Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation, IFICI, may be available to highly qualified professionals in specific sectors, such as science, research, innovation, technology, and certain business activities. 

Eligible individuals may benefit from a 20% flat tax rate on qualifying employment or self-employment income earned in Portugal and possible exemptions on certain foreign-source income.

Getting citizenship in an EU country

To apply for a passport, investors must maintain their residence permits for 10 years, learn Portuguese at the A2 level, pass an integration test covering Portuguese culture, history, civic values, and the political system, and provide documents proving their eligibility.

Portugal citizenship allows one to live in the country or move to another EU state, get an education and medical treatment in the EU on preferential conditions, and travel visa-free to 170+ countries.

Dual citizenship is allowed in Portugal; one won’t need to renounce other countries’ citizenship if they also enable their citizens to have two or more passports. If dual citizenship is prohibited in your home state, you may apply for permanent residency in Portugal after 5 years.