The Donation Golden Visa (ARI Cultural): Portugal's residence permit by cultural donation
Portugal grants residence to non-EU citizens who make a qualifying investment. One of the qualifying acts is a donation to a cultural project approved by the Ministry of Culture. Legally, this is the cultural strand of the ARI programme, known in Portugal as ARI Cultural. We call it the Donation Golden Visa.
- €200,000Donation to a government-approved cultural project
- 7 daysMinimum stay in the first year, then 14 days every two years
- 2 yearsRenewable residence permit, with Schengen access
- 10 yearsPath to Portuguese and EU citizenship
What is the Donation Golden Visa?
The Donation Golden Visa is a Portuguese residence permit granted in exchange for a €200,000 donation to a government-approved cultural project. Its legal name is ARI Cultural: the cultural strand of Portugal’s Autorização de Residência para Investimento (ARI), the investment residence permit.
The ARI was created in 2012 under Portugal’s Immigration Act (Lei 23/2007, as amended by Lei 29/2012). It gives the holder and their family a renewable residence permit, the right to live, work and study in Portugal, and visa-free travel across the Schengen Area. The cultural strand was added in 2015 and first used in 2020, when GEPAC issued its first declaration under the route.
What does the law require?
The law admits an investment of at least €250,000 in artistic production or in the recovery or maintenance of national cultural heritage. When the activity takes place in a low-density territory, the threshold is reduced by 20%, to €200,000.
The rule sits in Lei 23/2007, Art. 3.º, n.º 1, d) vi). Low-density territories are defined by law on population density and income, and cover most of Portugal’s interior.
Why €200,000. With a €200,000 option available for the same permit, it is the one investors choose. Low-density territories hold 43% of the activities approved under the route but have received 58% of all the money donated to it. Cascais Ventures specialises in this tier: every project in our portfolio is located in a low-density territory and structured at €200,000.
What kinds of projects qualify?
Two kinds of cultural activity qualify, and the government approves each project before any donor commits.
Heritage preservation.
Restoration and maintenance of historic buildings, archaeological sites and museums. 58% of the money donated since 2020.
Artistic production.
Film, documentary, theatre, music, exhibitions and performing arts. 42% of the money donated since 2020.
Two examples from projects Cascais Ventures produces: Convento da Orada, the rehabilitation of a historic convent in Monsaraz, and BOSK, a living forest of a thousand trees for Évora 2027.
Who can apply?
All non-EU citizens can apply. The applicant can include their spouse, children, parents and parents-in-law in the same process.¹
Every route of the programme leads to the same residence permit, with the same rights and the same stay requirement: 7 days in the first year, then 14 days in each following two-year period.
What changed in 2023?
In October 2023, the Mais Habitação law (Lei 56/2023) closed the real-estate and capital-transfer routes. For a private individual who does not intend to run a business in Portugal, two main routes remain: a CMVM-approved investment fund, or a donation to culture.²
The programme now directs investment to productive activity, research and culture. Since then, the cultural route has grown faster than any other.
GEPAC official data. €104.7M donated in total since the route opened. All the figures
| Route | Minimum | Qualifying act | What happens to the capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural donation | €200,000 (low-density territories) | Donation to a heritage or artistic project approved by the Ministry of Culture | Irreversible, non-returnable donation to the beneficiary entity behind the approved project |
| Investment fund | €500,000 | Units in a CMVM-approved, non-real-estate fund; 5-year minimum maturity; 60% in Portuguese companies | Returned at the fund’s exit, net of fees and subject to performance |
| Company | €500,000 plus 5 permanent jobs | Incorporation or recapitalisation of a Portuguese company | Business risk; jobs maintained for at least 3 years |
| Research | €500,000 | Scientific research by public or private research institutions | Not returned |
CMVM: Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários, Portugal's securities market regulator. Sources: Lei 23/2007, Art. 3.º, as amended by Lei 56/2023; stay requirement, Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007.
Who receives the donation?
The donation goes to the project’s beneficiary entity, most often a private foundation with public-utility status or a public cultural body. The beneficiary receives it in a dedicated account opened for that project alone, applies it to the project and carries the legal responsibility for executing it.
Share of 141 approved activities.
See the figures: beneficiaries by legal nature
| Beneficiary, by legal nature | Approved activities | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Private foundations of public utility | 78 | 55.3% |
| Municipal and intermunicipal entities | 23 | 16.3% |
| State-owned business sector | 19 | 13.5% |
| Public foundations under private law | 18 | 12.8% |
| Public institutes | 3 | 2.1% |
| Total | 141 | 100% |
Source: GEPAC, data to 31 August 2026.
Depending on the project, the donor transfers the donation from a Portuguese bank account or directly from their international one.
How is a project approved?
The government approves the project before the donor commits. GEPAC, the Ministry of Culture’s Office for Cultural Strategy, Planning and Evaluation, appraises each project and declares it eligible under the route.
- 1
Project submitted
The beneficiary entity submits the cultural project to GEPAC, at the Ministry of Culture.
- 2
Project approved
GEPAC appraises it and declares it eligible under the route.
- 3
Donation made
The donor transfers the donation to the project's dedicated account.
- 4
Donor declaration
GEPAC issues a declaration for the individual donor.
- 5
Residence granted
AIMA grants the residence permit, provided all other conditions are met.
GEPAC’s appraisal covers the legal nature of the entity, its corporate purpose, the adequacy of the amount to the territory and to the proposed activity, and the activity’s objectives. Because approval is given by name before any money moves, the donor commits only to a project the government has already approved.
AIMA: Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, Portugal's immigration agency.
Can the donation be refunded?
No. The donation is non-refundable, and the legal obligation to develop the project sits with the beneficiary entity.
The donor has no fund to monitor and no exit to manage. At each renewal, the beneficiary entity supplies the declaration the application needs, and Cascais Ventures provides the project’s reports to support it.
What does the permit give?
Residency in Portugal.
Live, work and study with a renewable residence permit.
Schengen access.
Visa-free across the 29 Schengen countries, 90 days in any 180.
Family included.
Spouse, children, parents and parents-in-law.¹
7 days a year.
7 days in year one, then 14 in each following two-year period.
Permanent residence.
Available after five years of legal residence.
Path to citizenship.
After 10 years of legal residence (7 for CPLP nationals).³
¹ Children under 18, or older if unmarried, dependent and studying; parents and parents-in-law if dependent on you or your spouse.
² A third route, a €500,000 contribution to scientific research, also remains and is rarely used.
³ Counted from the issue of the first residence card, under Lei Orgânica 1/2026. CPLP: the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste).
Sources: Lei 23/2007 (Immigration Act), Art. 3.º, n.º 1, d) vi), as amended by Lei 29/2012, Leis 56/2015 and 63/2015, and Lei 56/2023 · Decreto Regulamentar 84/2007 · Lei Orgânica 1/2026 (Nationality Law, in force 19 May 2026) · GEPAC, Ministry of Culture, official data to 31 August 2026.
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Updated 5 October 2026 · Cascais Ventures · Primary sources linked on this page (links checked 9 October 2026)