The document set
The list is fixed by AIMA and by the immigration law. What varies is who fetches each item and how long it keeps its value once fetched. Two certificates are valid for 45 days and everything else waits on them.
Stage 2. Evidence of the investment
Choosing and executing the qualifying investment
| Document | Who obtains it | What limits its life |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence of the qualifying investment on the chosen route1 | Applicant, from the fund manager or receiving body | Held at least five years |
| Declaration on honour that the investment will be kept for five years1 | Applicant, signed | Runs five years from the investment |
| Evidence that no part of the investment is directed at real estate, directly or indirectly3 | Applicant, from the fund manager or receiving body | For the life of the investment |
Stage 3. Identity, record and cover
Assembling and legalising the documents
| Document | Who obtains it | What limits its life |
|---|---|---|
| Passport or travel document establishing third-country nationality2 | Applicant | The sources set no limit |
| Criminal record evidence: no conviction for a crime punishable in Portugal by more than one year1 | Applicant, from each country of nationality and residence | The sources set no limit |
| Absence of an entry ban and of an alert in the Schengen Information System1 | AIMA checks this | Checked at decision |
| Health insurance recognised in Portugal1 | Applicant | Cover has to be running at each renewal |
| Certificate of no debt to the tax authority1 | Applicant | Issued within 45 days |
| Certificate of no debt to Social Security1 | Applicant | Issued within 45 days |
Stage 4. Family and fees
Submission on AIMA's portal
| Document | Who obtains it | What limits its life |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of the family tie: spouse or partner of at least two years, minor children, dependent adult children in education, dependent parents2 | Applicant | The sources set no limit |
| Reunification request, made with the main application and conditional on it2 | Applicant | Falls with the main application |
| Government fee for the application and first card, one set per person4 | Applicant pays | Tariff set by Portaria and revised since |
Stage 5. On the day
Biometrics in Portugal and the decision
| Document | Who obtains it | What limits its life |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of lawful entry into and stay in Portugal at the moment biometrics are taken1 | Applicant | Tested on the day itself |
The 45-day constraint
The certificate of no tax debt and the certificate of no Social Security debt are each valid only if issued within 45 days1. Nothing else in the file has so short a life, and nothing else is so easy to obtain, which is why it is usually obtained first and has to be obtained last.
The papers that decide the real schedule are the slow ones: a criminal record certificate from a country the applicant left years ago, an apostille under the Hague Convention, a sworn translation, a consular legalisation. Order the file so that the two certificates are requested once the slow items are already in hand. A file returned for correction after submission can put both of them past their date, and they then have to be obtained again.
What the sources do not fix
Several practical questions have no answer in the legal texts: which language a translation must be into for a given consulate, whether a scan suffices at submission and an original later, and how long a criminal record certificate stays acceptable. Those are matters for AIMA and for the consulate concerned. Put each of them, in writing, to whoever is assembling the file. Scope of service gives the clause that covers it.
Who pays for a document twice
Every item above can have to be obtained more than once: a certificate expires, a translation is rejected, a family member is added. Government fees are charged per person and set by the state4, so the cost of a second attempt is a private matter between an applicant and whoever is instructed. It is worth settling before the first document is ordered rather than after the second.
Sources
- 1AIMA Autorização de Residência para Investimento, Art. 90.º-A aima.gov.pt/pt/viver/autorizacao-de-residencia-para-investimento-art-90-o-a
- 2Diário da República Lei n.º 23/2007, de 4 de julho (legal regime of entry, stay, exit and removal of foreigners), consolidated diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2007-34513475
- 3Diário da República Lei n.º 56/2023, de 6 de outubro (Mais Habitação), amending the ARI regime diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/56-2023-222674218
- 4Diário da República Portaria n.º 307/2023, de 13 de outubro (fee table for visas and residence permits) diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/portaria/307-2023-222805817
Last reviewed 3 September 2026. Rules change; check each source before acting.