Between October 2012 and October 2023, Portugal's Golden Visa program (Autorização de Residência para Atividade de Investimento – ARI) generated substantial foreign investment under SEF administration. Over this eleven-year period, the program attracted more than 33,000 beneficiaries and mobilized over €7 billion in capital before the Mais Habitação reforms ended the classic real-estate investment routes.
Period Comparison
2012–2021
Investment
€5.8B
Investors
9,767
Family Members
16,615
2022–Q3 2023
Investment
€1.5B
Investors
2,951
Family Members
3,809
The SEF-era Golden Visa demonstrated remarkable resilience across multiple market cycles. After a strong initial boom in 2014-2015, the program weathered compliance investigations, geographic restrictions, and a global pandemic while maintaining consistent appeal to international investors. The final years saw accelerated activity as investors rushed to secure positions before the October 2023 Mais Habitação reforms eliminated traditional real estate routes.
Throughout the SEF era, Portugal's Golden Visa remained overwhelmingly real-estate driven. Nearly 90% of all ARI investment flowed into property-related routes, including direct purchases, urban rehabilitation projects, and later interior-area acquisitions.
€6.45B
88–90% of total investment
€837M
11–12% of total investment
<2%
Funds, jobs, research, culture
Investment funds, job creation, research, and cultural routes represented only a small single-digit share of permits and capital through 2023. These alternative routes only began gaining traction toward the very end of the SEF era, particularly after geographic restrictions took effect in 2022.
Chinese investors dominated the program's early years, accounting for over 40% of all main applicants. As the decade progressed, demand diversified significantly, with rising participation from Brazil, the United States, Turkey, South Africa, and other markets.
| Nationality |
Investors |
Share |
| China |
5,300+ |
40–45% |
| Brazil |
1,200+ |
9–10% |
| United States |
~900 |
~7% |
| Turkey |
~570 |
4–5% |
| South Africa |
~500 |
4–5% |
| Other Nationalities |
~4,250 |
35–40% |
Nationality Trends Over Time
- Early years (2012–2015): Heavily concentrated in China, representing the majority of new investors.
- Late 2010s (2016–2019): Growing demand from Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Russia as the program matured.
- Early 2020s (2020–2023): USA and other mature economies became highly dynamic sources, though cumulative totals remained China-dominant.
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