Buying a house and living here are two different things.
Anyone of any nationality can buy property in Portugal. Whether you may then live here depends on your passport, and the two questions get confused constantly, sometimes by people who benefit from the confusion. The table below covers most situations.
| Your situation | Can you buy? | To live here |
|---|---|---|
| EU or EEA citizen, including Norway, Sweden and Denmark | Yes, on the same terms as a Portuguese citizen | No visa of any kind. After three months you register at the câmara municipal and receive a residence certificate (CRUE). |
| Non-EU, living on a pension, rent or dividends | Yes, no restriction | The D7 residence visa, applied for at the Portuguese consulate in your country. Owning a home here helps evidence your accommodation. |
| Non-EU, working remotely for a foreign employer or clients | Yes, no restriction | The D8 visa, known as the digital nomad route. It is assessed on your income and your accommodation. |
| Non-EU, visiting for under 90 days in any 180 | Yes, no restriction | No visa needed for the stay itself, though it gives you no residence rights. |
Golden Visa: property no longer counts.
Buying property stopped qualifying as an eligible investment for the Golden Visa (ARI) in October 2023, when the Mais Habitação law came into force. This applies to residential and commercial property alike, anywhere in the country, including the interior regions that were exempt from earlier restrictions.
The programme itself continues. What remains are investment funds, job creation, scientific research and cultural heritage, none of which involve buying a house.
We build and sell houses. We are not immigration advisers, we do not arrange residency, and if the ARI is what you are after then you want a law firm that specialises in it rather than a builder.
You already have the right. There is nothing to apply for.
Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, French, Spanish and Italian citizens can live, work and retire in Portugal without a visa. For stays beyond three months you register at the local câmara municipal and receive a residence certificate. You will want a tax number in any case, and if you become tax resident it is worth taking advice early on how Portugal and your home country will each treat your income, because that is the part that catches people out rather than the immigration side.
Visa questions we get
Do I need a Golden Visa to buy a house in Portugal?
No, and buying a house has not qualified for the Golden Visa since October 2023 in any event. Buying is open to every nationality. Whether you may live here afterwards is a separate matter that turns on your passport.
I am Swedish, Norwegian or Danish. What do I need?
For the purchase, a Portuguese tax number and a bank account. For living here, nothing at all. As an EU or EEA citizen you hold the right of residence already, and after three months you register at the local council for a certificate confirming it.
Does owning a house here help a visa application?
It can help evidence your accommodation on a D7 or D8 application, which is one of the things the consulate assesses. On its own it grants you nothing. No property purchase in Portugal leads to residency today.
Questions about the house, not the visa?
That part we do know. Tell us what you are looking for and we will reply with the plans, a video and a written breakdown of the costs.