Hungary
Hungarian guest investor programme
Hungary's guest investor programme grants a 10-year residence permit for investments starting at EUR 250,000, renewable for another 10 years.
News · Portugal
Portuguese government: AIMA to process the Golden Visa backlog in 2026
On 29 October 2025, during the parliamentary debate on the 2026 budget, Portugal's Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, announced that the AIMA (Portugal's immigration agency) will clear the backlog of investor residence permits (Golden Visa) next year. The government deliberately placed investors' cases at the end of the queue.
Summary
In brief
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On 29 October 2025 Minister Leitão Amaro told Parliament: "Next year we will resolve the remaining backlog, which for reasons of social equity we left to the end, namely those who pay more: the golden visas."
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The AIMA's 2026 budget includes EUR 85 million in own revenue; according to the government, this comes largely from the fees payable once the investor permits are processed.
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According to Secretary of State Rui Armindo Freitas, when the task force for clearing the backlog was set up in September 2024, there were around one million pending cases at the AIMA, including 374,000 permit renewals and 184,000 family reunifications.
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On 18 December 2025 the government presented the task force's results: 750,000 appointments and 300,000 documents issued; the statement does not mention investor permits.
Background
What happened
In the parliamentary debate on the 2026 state budget on 29 October 2025, Minister of the Presidency Leitão Amaro said that the AIMA will close the still pending investor residence permit cases next year. In his words, for reasons of social equity the government gave priority to vulnerable immigrants, nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) and people with expired residence cards, and left the cases of investors, who pay more, to the end. According to the minister, most of the investor permits will be decided next year and the applicants will pay the fees; this is why the AIMA's budget counts on EUR 85 million in own revenue.
Rui Armindo Freitas, Secretary of State for the Presidency and Immigration, explained in the same debate that when the task force (estrutura de missão) was set up in September 2024, there were around one million pending cases at the agency, including 374,000 permit renewals and 184,000 family reunification applications. According to the government, 93% of the regularisation cases have already been closed.
On 18 December 2025 the government presented the results of the task force: 750,000 appointments, 300,000 residence documents issued, 60,000 refusals and 448,000 criminal records checked. The statement contains no data on the status of investor permits.
For you
What it means for you
- Processing time: by the government's own account, investor applications were left to the end of the queue; if you are considering an investor residence permit, processing time is a real factor when choosing a programme.
- Comparison: the Hungarian guest investor programme operates under a different procedure; we will brief you on the expected processing time when you request a quote.
- A promise, not a deadline: the minister's announcement refers to 2026 and contains no specific deadline or timetable.
- Information: when you request a quote, we will brief you in detail on the conditions of the Hungarian guest investor programme and how it differs from the Portuguese Golden Visa.
Programmes
Related programmes
Sources
Sources
Last checked:
- Observador: AIMA vai resolver pendências dos vistos gold em 2026, anuncia ministro da Presidência – 29 October 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- RTP: Governo diz que AIMA vai resolver pendências dos "vistos gold" no próximo ano – 29 October 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Portuguese government: Apresentação de resultados da Estrutura de Missão para Recuperação de Processos Pendentes na AIMA – 18 December 2025 (opens in a new tab)