Journey · Door 06 · Golden Visa

The Golden Visa journey

From the first call to a residence card, in six steps. You see every step, who acts and what it costs.

Start Golden Visa, $7,990 See the map

BOCEAN IMMIGRATION PORTUGAL, LDA · NIPC 519043731 · Pay by Stripe

You get: A residence card for you and your family, through a qualifying investment
Who decides: AIMA, the Portuguese immigration authority
Timing: About 6 months from kickoff to filing, then the AIMA wait: 12 to 18 months in 2026
Reside fee: $7,990, in USD
Not included: AIMA fees, the investment, translations, apostille, travel

Journey map

The whole path, in order

Six steps. Three are yours, two are ours and one belongs to AIMA.

01Start and detailsDay 1You
02NIF and fiscal setupMonth 1Reside
03The investmentMonths 2 to 3You
04The documents dossierMonths 2 to 3You
05AIMA filingMonth 3Reside
06Biometrics and cardMonths 12 to 24Authority

See how a case looks in your client area

Step by step

What happens at each step

Start and details

You

Day 1

What happens: You choose the Golden Visa, pay the Reside fee by Stripe and open your file in the client area.
What you do: Answer the details questions for each person on the application.
What Reside does: We open the case and check that the route fits you.
Documents: Passport valid for at least 6 more months.
What can slow it down: A passport with less than 6 months left.
In your client area: Received Your answers are on file.

NIF and fiscal setup

Reside Authority

Month 1

What happens: You get your Portuguese tax number, 1 year of fiscal representation and the power of attorney.
What you do: Send your passport and sign the power of attorney in the portal.
What Reside does: We request the NIF and act as your fiscal representative.
What the authority does: The tax authority (Autoridade Tributária) issues the NIF. This usually takes 5 to 14 business days.
Documents: Passport. Power of attorney, signed in the portal.
What can slow it down: An unreadable passport copy or a signature that does not match.
In your client area: Signed The power of attorney shows as signed.

The investment

You

Months 2 to 3

What happens: You place the qualifying investment: a €500,000 subscription in a regulated fund supervised by the CMVM, or a €250,000 cultural heritage donation.
What you do: You choose the route and pay the fund or the entity directly. The choice of fund and the decision to invest are yours.
What Reside does: We review the fund documents and the subscription agreement with you and flag concerns. We give no investment advice.
What the authority does: The CMVM supervises the fund. The fund or the donation entity receives your money, never Reside.
Documents: Subscription agreement or donation receipt.
What can slow it down: Time taken to decide on the fund or the entity.
In your client area: Received Your investment documents show as received.

The documents dossier

You Reside

Months 2 to 3

What happens: We build the file AIMA will read: proof of the source of funds, criminal records and family documents.
What you do: Order criminal records and apostille them in your country. Send the source-of-funds evidence and family documents.
What Reside does: We build the source-of-funds dossier, coordinate the apostille and translate everything into Portuguese.
Documents: Source-of-funds evidence, criminal records with apostille, family documents, certified translations.
What can slow it down: Criminal records or apostilles that arrive late. Documents that are not apostilled.
In your client area: Received Each document moves from Missing to Received, then Checked.

AIMA filing

Reside Authority

Month 3

What happens: We file the full application and book the earliest biometrics slot.
What you do: Nothing to upload. Keep the filing receipt.
What Reside does: We submit the application with the fund documents, the dossier and the family documents.
What the authority does: AIMA receives the application and issues a filing receipt, which is your provisional proof of application.
What can slow it down: A missing document found at filing.
In your client area: Filed The filing receipt is in your documents.

Biometrics and card

Authority

Months 12 to 24

What happens: You attend a 30-minute biometrics appointment in Lisbon. The card arrives by post.
What you do: Travel to Lisbon for the appointment. Travel is at your cost.
What Reside does: We book the appointment and tell you the date in your client area.
What the authority does: AIMA holds the appointment and issues the card, which arrives by post 8 to 16 weeks later. The 5-year clock starts on the biometrics date.
What can slow it down: The AIMA backlog. The official target is 6 months from filing. The realistic wait in 2026 is 12 to 18 months.
In your client area: The appointment date appears in your case.

Documents

What we ask for

Each document starts as Missing in your client area, then becomes Received once you upload it and Checked once we have read it.

Documents for this journey
Document	What it is for	Where you get it	Format	Starts as
Passport	Identity and NIF. Valid for at least 6 more months.	Your country's passport office	PDF or photo	Missing
Power of attorney	Lets us act for you in Portugal.	Prepared by Reside, signed in the portal	PDF or photo	Prepared by Reside
Subscription agreement or donation receipt	Proof that the qualifying investment was made.	The fund or the donation entity	PDF or photo	Missing
Source-of-funds evidence	Shows where the investment money comes from. It must be verifiable.	Your banks and advisers	PDF or photo	Missing
Criminal records, apostilled	A clean record: no conviction carrying a sentence of 1 year or more under Portuguese law.	The authority in your country, then apostille	PDF or photo	Missing
Family documents	Proof of the relationship for a spouse, children or dependent parents.	Civil registry in your country, apostilled	PDF or photo	Missing
Certified translations	AIMA reads Portuguese.	Arranged by Reside, billed at cost	PDF or photo	Prepared by Reside

Costs

Who you pay, and for what

Three payers. Only the Reside fee goes through us.

Reside fee

$7,990 in USD, one flat fee
NIF and 1 year of fiscal representation
Full AIMA application and apostille coordination
Fund due-diligence support and biometrics booking
12 months of case management, family included
Refundable on a filing error, as set out in the refund policy

Government and official fees

AIMA initial filing: about €8,060 per person
AIMA renewal: about €4,030 per person, every 2 years
Amounts follow the published AIMA 2026 schedule

Third parties

The qualifying investment: €500,000 or €250,000, paid to the fund or the entity
Certified translations, about €20 to €40 per page
Apostille and consular legalisation in your country
Travel to Lisbon for biometrics

Timeline

How long it really takes

The authority sets the pace. Our part is about 6 months. AIMA's part is the long one.

Month 1NIF and fiscal setup
NIF in 5 to 14 business days.
Months 2 to 3Investment and documents
You place the investment while we build the dossier.
Month 3AIMA filing
You receive the filing receipt.
Months 12 to 24Biometrics
The official target is 6 months from filing. The realistic wait in 2026 is 12 to 18 months.
8 to 16 weeks laterCard by post
Plan for 12 to 24 months or more from kickoff to card.

What comes next

After the card

Renewals every 2 years, with the AIMA renewal fee. Spend 7 days a year in Portugal (14 days in each 2-year period).
Permanent residency is available after 5 years of legal residency. Citizenship is a separate, later step.
Lisbon address and mail for letters while you wait. It is a postal address, not a habitual residence.
IFICI tax registration if you become tax resident and qualify. It is a separate journey.

Honest risks

What most often goes wrong

Real estate no longer qualifies. Only the fund and the donation routes are practical today.
The source of funds must be verifiable. This is the most common cause of delay.
A conviction carrying a sentence of 1 year or more under Portuguese law blocks the application.
A passport with less than 6 months left.
The AIMA wait is long and is not in our hands. Plan for 12 to 24 months or more.
Too few days in Portugal. You must spend 7 days a year there (14 days in each 2-year period).

Glossary

Words you will see

ARI: Autorização de Residência para Atividade de Investimento, the Golden Visa.
AIMA: The Portuguese agency for immigration and asylum. It decides the application and issues the card.
CMVM: The Portuguese securities regulator that supervises the fund.
NIF: Your Portuguese tax number.
Apostille: A stamp that makes a foreign public document valid in Portugal.
Biometrics: The appointment where AIMA takes your fingerprints and photo.
Source of funds: The documented origin of the money you invest.

Questions

About this journey

Can I speed up the AIMA wait?

No. We file within about 6 months and book the earliest slot. After that the pace is AIMA's.

Can my family join?

Yes. Spouse or registered partner, dependent children under 18 (up to 26 if in full-time education) and dependent parents over 65 join the same application. Each adds an AIMA fee but no separate investment.

Do you hold my investment?

Never. You pay the fund or the donation entity directly.

What do I see in my client area?

Each step with its stamp: Received, Signed or Filed, plus the documents, the filing receipt and the appointment date.

What if the file is rejected for a filing error?

The fee is refundable on a filing error, as set out in the refund policy.

Back to the service page

Open door 06

Ready when the investment is

Start with the NIF. Your file moves from NIF to AIMA filing in about 6 months.

Start Golden Visa, $7,990