Golden Visas Through Culture Have Raised 104.7 Million Euros Since 2020, and Portugal's Museums Company Has Turned Away 2.25 Million From Russians

Portugal's golden visa route through culture has brought in 104.7 million euros since it was created in 2020, and the public company that runs the country's national museums has turned down 2.25 million euros of it because the money came from Russians, ECO reported on Wednesday.

The route lets a foreign investor qualify for an investment residence permit (ARI, the golden visa) by funding the recovery and upkeep of Portuguese heritage or artistic production, instead of buying property or a fund. Each investment has to be recognised by GEPAC, the Ministry of Culture's planning office, which issues a declaration that the investor then uses with the migration agency. GEPAC has recognised 479 investors so far, Cândido Pinto of GEPAC said at a session on the new cultural sponsorship rules at the Centro Cultural de Belém last week.

Growing fast

Demand has risen sharply. GEPAC issued 213 declarations in 2025, up 326 percent on the year before, carrying 47.3 million euros of investment. By 31 August this year it had issued another 184, worth 37.8 million euros.

Most of the money, 58.1 percent, has gone into restoring heritage, and much of that in low-density parts of the country. The Centro region has taken the largest share, 35.7 percent of the amount invested (37.4 million euros), followed by the North with 29.1 percent and the Alentejo with 15.5 percent.

Americans lead, as they do in the golden visa figures overall: GEPAC has issued 162 declarations to United States investors. Chinese investors come second with 149 and Indians third with 46. Russians are sixth, with nine. The Ministry of Culture told ECO that last year's largest projects were a new toy museum in Caramulo by the Abel and João de Lacerda Foundation (8.2 million euros), the restoration of the Palacete of the Fundação Alentejo in Estremoz (4.2 million) and work on the Palácio Azurara of the Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva Foundation (about 4 million).

Why the Russian money was refused

Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, the public company that manages 36 museums and monuments in 19 cities and towns, rejected the 2.25 million euros after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the EU sanctions that followed, its head of fundraising, Ana Silva, told ECO.

She said the company applies checks that GEPAC does not require. It accepts no international transfers, only payments from a Portuguese bank account, which adds a layer of anti-money-laundering scrutiny, and it holds meetings with each investor to understand the interests behind the investment. "The cultural sector needs a lot of investment, but we also need a guarantee of credibility and transparency," she said.

The Centro Cultural de Belém adds a third-party "know your client" check, and has two projects worth 9 million euros recognised as eligible. In Évora, the 2027 European Capital of Culture, an 8 million euro landscape installation of about a thousand trees in the Rossio de São Brás has been paid for entirely through golden visa investment.

What it means for applicants

The culture route is one of the few golden visa options left after property purchases were removed in 2023, and the figures show it is now a mainstream choice rather than a niche one. For investors, the practical point is that recognition by GEPAC is not the only filter: the institution receiving the money can apply its own checks and can say no. AIMA's own data show golden visa grants overall climbing 29 percent, and our golden visa guide sets out the routes that remain.