Residency, Tax and Citizenship in Portugal for Israelis: What Is Left of the Golden Visa, What Replaced NHR and What Changed in the Nationality Law and the Sephardic Route

1Does buying an apartment in Portugal still give you a Golden Visa?

No. Law Lei 56/2023, part of the “Mais Habitação” housing package published on 6 October 2023, abolished the real estate routes of the residence permit for investment activity (ARI), known as the Golden Visa. Today AIMA, Portugal’s immigration agency, states expressly on the route’s page that the investment activity may not be directed to real estate investment, directly or indirectly. A route based on a mere capital transfer, without a defined purpose, also no longer appears on the list of routes.

The practical meaning for an Israeli buyer: an apartment in Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve is an investment or a home, not a ticket to a status. Anyone marketing a property to you “with a Golden Visa”, or a fund that in practice holds real estate “with a visa”, is presenting a picture that does not match current law. Even so, the property has two consequences worth knowing. First, an apartment you own can serve as proof of accommodation when you apply for a status on another basis, such as D7. Second, under Portuguese tax rules, a person who holds a dwelling in Portugal that serves, or that he intends to serve, as his habitual residence may be considered a tax resident even if he stayed there fewer than 183 days in the year.

2Which Golden Visa routes remain in Portugal?

Five routes remain, all based on economic activity that is not real estate. According to AIMA’s route page, as of October 2026:

In all routes the applicant undertakes to maintain the investment for at least five years. The first permit is valid for two years from its issue, and is then renewed. The stay requirement has remained low: according to AIMA, at least seven days in the first year, and at least 14 days in each subsequent two-year period. Applications are filed through AIMA’s ARI Portal, followed by an in-person appointment to hand in documents and provide biometric data.

3What happens to those who already received a Golden Visa based on real estate?

The law did not cancel existing permits. Lei 56/2023 included transitional provisions under which permits granted under the previous regime continue to exist and can be renewed subject to conditions. According to AIMA’s questions and answers, ARI renewal requires, among other things, proof that the investment has been maintained, compliance with the minimum days of stay, a regular position with the tax and social security authorities, means of subsistence and accommodation. AIMA also notes that selling or changing the investment on which the permit is based may compromise renewal. Put simply: anyone holding an old real estate based Golden Visa who is considering selling the apartment should first check the effect on his status.

Renewal applications for permits that expired between 22 February 2020 and 31 December 2026 are filed on AIMA’s dedicated Renewals Portal. In practice, processing times at AIMA have been long in recent years, so it is advisable to start the procedure early and keep records of every stage.

4What are the alternatives for Israelis: the D7 visa and the digital nomad visa?

Those who want to actually live in Portugal, and not merely hold a permit, usually look at two national residence visas filed at the Portuguese consular post: D7 for those living on passive income or a pension, and the digital nomad visa for those working remotely for an employer or clients outside Portugal. Both are based on income rather than investment, and both assume real residence in Portugal.

• D7, passive income: according to the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you submit evidence of income from movable or immovable property, intellectual property or financial assets, and evidence of stable and regular means. The threshold derives from the Portuguese minimum wage, which in 2026 stands at EUR 920 per month (Decreto-Lei 139/2025). The main applicant needs income at the level of the minimum wage, with an addition for family members.
• Digital nomads: according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an average monthly income over the last three months of at least four minimum wages is required, that is EUR 3,680 per month based on the 2026 minimum wage, together with an employment contract or service contracts and a document attesting your tax residence.
• Your property: an apartment you bought can prove accommodation, and rental income can also be part of the passive income for D7. But the property itself is not the ground for the status.

Keep in mind: unlike ARI, anyone who moves to Portugal on the basis of D7 or a digital nomad visa will almost always become a Portuguese tax resident. This is where the tax questions come in, in Portugal and in Israel. In addition, in 2025 the Foreigners Law was amended (Lei 61/2025), and among other things the family reunification rules were tightened, so that two years of residence are generally required before applying. Families of ARI holders are exempt from this requirement. If your family members are not coming with you, check the current rules in advance.

5What happened to NHR and what is the new IFICI tax regime?

The “non-habitual resident” regime (NHR) closed to newcomers from 1 January 2024, under the 2024 State Budget Law (Lei 82/2023), with a narrow transitional arrangement that has already ended. Those who registered for NHR in time continue to benefit from it until the end of their ten-year period. It was replaced by IFICI, the “tax incentive for scientific research and innovation”, set out in Article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute (EBF) and sometimes called “NHR 2.0”.

According to the guidance of the Portuguese Tax Authority, IFICI is intended for new tax residents who meet all of the following conditions: they were not resident in Portugal in any of the previous five years, they carry out an activity or profession listed in the law, such as teaching and scientific research, positions in recognised institutions and companies in innovation fields and defined positions in industrial and service companies, and they have never benefited from NHR or IFICI. The application is filed on the Tax Authority’s portal by 15 January of the year following the year in which you became resident. A late application grants the benefit only for the remaining years.

• Employment or business income from a qualifying activity in Portugal (categories A and B): a special tax rate of 20%.
• Foreign-source income: generally exempt from tax in Portugal, but not pensions (category H), which are taxed under the ordinary rules. Income from jurisdictions on Portugal’s blacklist is taxed at 35%.
• Duration of the benefit: ten consecutive years, provided you are a tax resident in each year and continue to derive income from a qualifying activity.

6What changed in the Portuguese nationality law in 2026?

The Nationality Law (Lei 37/81) was amended by Lei Orgânica 1/2026, published on 18 May 2026 and in force since 19 May 2026. The road there was long: Parliament approved the amendment in October 2025, in December 2025 the Constitutional Court held several of its provisions unconstitutional, among them the provision applying the new rules to applications already filed, and the revised text was re-approved and signed by the President in 2026. According to the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, these are the main changes relevant here:

• The residence period for naturalisation was extended: ten years of legal residence for citizens of most countries, including Israel, and seven years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and of EU Member States. Previously, five years were required.
• How the period is counted: according to professional analyses of the law, the period is counted from the date of issue of the first residence permit, and not from the date of the application for the permit as provided in 2024. Since obtaining the permit itself takes time, the road is longer in practice.
• New requirements: sufficient knowledge of Portuguese culture, history and national symbols, and of fundamental rights and duties, a solemn declaration of commitment to the principles of the democratic state, and the ability to support yourself.
• Pending applications: the previous wording of the law continues to apply to applications that were pending when the law entered into force.

For Israelis there is an important practical point here. Anyone who also holds the citizenship of an EU Member State, such as Romania, Poland or Germany, falls into the seven-year group. Anyone holding only an Israeli passport should plan for at least ten years of legal residence, even if he holds a Golden Visa.

7What happened to the citizenship route for descendants of Sephardic Jews?

The route has been abolished for new applications. Lei Orgânica 1/2026 abolished the special regime that since 2015 had allowed descendants of Sephardic Jews of Portuguese origin to obtain citizenship without residence, a route used by many Israelis. The abolition followed two earlier tightenings. From 1 September 2022 (Decreto-Lei 26/2022), in addition to the community certificate, evidence of an effective connection to Portugal was required, such as rights inherited in a Portuguese property or company, or regular travel to Portugal throughout one’s life. In 2024 a requirement of at least three years of legal residence in Portugal was added, with a transitional arrangement for applications filed since September 2022.

Anyone who applied before the new law entered into force, and whose application is still being processed by the registry office (IRN), continues under the rules that applied to him before. Anyone who did not apply can today seek citizenship only through the general routes, first among them naturalisation after ten years of residence. It is advisable to follow the status of the application and to respond on time to every IRN request, because a refusal of a pending application at this stage will no longer allow refiling under the old route.

8What actually changed? A “then and now” table

9Checklist: what to check before planning residency or citizenship in Portugal

1. Define the goal. Access to Europe, actually living there, citizenship for the children or tax planning are different goals, and each has a different route.
2. Do not rely on the property. Check any offer that links buying real estate or a real estate fund to a status. Under current law, that link does not exist.
3. Check whether you hold EU citizenship. It shortens the road to Portuguese citizenship to seven years, and usually also frees you from needing any visa.
4. On the funds route: ask for the fund documents and the fund manager’s confirmation of the conditions in the law, and check the exposure to real estate before the transfer.
5. Plan your tax status in both countries before the move: the centre of life in Israel, reporting to the Israel Tax Authority, the tax treaty, and filing the IFICI application by 15 January if you are eligible.
6. Prepare documents from Israel: a recent criminal record certificate (AIMA usually requires one issued within the last three months), birth and marriage certificates, all with an apostille and translation into Portuguese.
7. NIF, bank account and power of attorney: most of the preparation can be done from Israel through a power of attorney with an apostille to a local lawyer.
8. Document your stays. Keep flight tickets and stamps, both for the permit’s stay requirements and for counting years of residence towards citizenship.
9. Pending Sephardic application: follow the status at IRN and respond on time to every request for additional documents.

10What to do before planning a move or an investment in Portugal, and how we accompany it

The decision on residency or citizenship in Portugal is usually tied to other decisions: whether to buy an apartment, in whose name to register it, how to transfer the money and what will happen to the tax status in Israel. The applications themselves are filed with AIMA, the consular posts and IRN, and representation before them is carried out by licensed local lawyers in Portugal. Our role is to see the full picture from an Israeli’s point of view: to review documents and offers, to make sure the assumptions are up to date with the law in force today, to prepare powers of attorney and apostilled documents from Israel, and to coordinate between the lawyer in Portugal and the tax adviser in Israel.

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