The Golden Income Fund, in terms
An open-ended Portuguese alternative investment fund built for income rather than appreciation: Portuguese corporate debt at the core, complemented by US equities and a measured allocation to digital assets. A subscription of €500,000 qualifies for a Portuguese residence permit under the Golden Visa.
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fund type | Open-ended alternative investment fund |
| Exposure | Portuguese corporate debt, US equities, digital assets |
| Minimum, share class B | €10,000 |
| Minimum, share class A | €100,000 |
| Minimum, share class D | €300,000 |
| Golden Visa eligibility | €500,000 |
| Management fee | 2.00% p.a. (B) · 1.75% p.a. (D) · 1.50% p.a. (A) |
| Subscription fee | 0% |
| Performance fee | 20% on returns above 5.0% p.a. |
| Depositary fee | 0.09% p.a., calculated monthly on net asset value |
| Supervisory fee | 0.0026% monthly (minimum €200, maximum €20,000) |
| Regulator | CMVM, the Portuguese securities market commission |
The redemption schedule, which is the real term sheet
An open-ended fund with daily subscriptions and redemptions is not the same as a fund you can leave for free. The redemption fee steps down year by year, and reading it tells you what horizon the vehicle was designed for.
| When you redeem | Fee |
|---|---|
| Within the first year | 5% |
| 1–2 years | 4% |
| 2–3 years | 3% |
| 3–4 years | 2% |
| 4–5 years | 1% |
| After 5 years and one day | 0% |
The schedule reaches zero at exactly the point the Golden Visa's minimum holding period ends. That alignment is deliberate, and it is the most useful single fact on this page: the vehicle is priced for an investor who intends to hold to permanent residency, and priced against one who does not.
◇ This page describes the fund and the residence route attached to it. It is not investment advice, and nothing here is an offer: subscription is made on the fund's own documentation, which is where the binding terms live.
How the €500,000 fund route actually works
The Golden Visa is a residence permit for investment activity under Article 90-A of Law 23/2007, and it has never been citizenship by investment. Since October 2023 it has not been a property programme either: the Mais Habitação reform removed real estate, leaving collective investment funds, capitalisation of Portuguese companies, job creation, and cultural or scientific contributions.1
What qualifies
€500,000 or more subscribed into a qualifying CMVM-regulated Portuguese collective investment undertaking, with capital transferred into Portugal from abroad and documented as such.
Why an income fund, specifically
The residency clock is long and the capital has to sit still through it. A vehicle built around corporate debt is designed for that job in a way a growth vehicle is not.
What it does not do
Produce a passport in five years. That stopped being true in May 2026, and any page still saying otherwise, including the earlier version of this one, is out of date.
The real timetable, after the new Nationality Law
Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 doubled the residence requirement for naturalisation from five years to ten for most nationalities, seven for EU and CPLP nationals, and counts that period from the date the residence title is issued rather than from the date of application.2
Months 0–3 · Groundwork
Portuguese tax number, Portuguese bank account, source-of-funds compliance. A quarter, realistically.
Months 3–6 · The subscription
Capital transferred from outside Portugal into the fund, with documentary proof of the transfer.
Months 6–18 · AIMA and the card
Application, biometrics in Portugal, issuance. This is where the variance in the whole timeline lives.
The clock starts here
At issuance of the residence title. Time spent waiting for the card is time added at the far end, not absorbed at the start.
Year 5 · Permanent residency
Untouched by the 2026 reform, and the point at which the redemption fee on this fund also reaches zero.
Year 10 · Eligible to naturalise
Seven years for EU and CPLP nationals, plus A2 Portuguese, the new civics element and a declaration of adherence to democratic principles.
Corporate debt, US equities and a digital sleeve
The three exposures do different jobs, and an investor evaluating the fund should be clear which one they are actually buying.
Portuguese corporate debt
The core. It is what makes the return profile look like income rather than growth, and it is the reason the fund can be described as an all-weather vehicle rather than a directional bet.
US equities
The growth complement, and the part most correlated with everything else you already own. Diversification within a portfolio is not the same as diversification of a portfolio.
Digital assets
A satellite allocation, not the thesis. If Bitcoin exposure is the reason you are here, the dedicated vehicle is the Bitcoin Golden Visa Fund, not this one.
What CMVM supervision actually gives you
An independent depositary holds the assets, the net asset value is struck and published on a defined cycle, and the accounts are audited. That supervision is not a marketing line: it is the condition on which a subscription can qualify for the residence permit at all, and it is the first thing to verify about any fund presented as Golden Visa eligible.3
What you have to keep doing
Hold the investment
The qualifying subscription stays in place for as long as the permit is renewed on it, five years minimum, which is also where the redemption fee reaches zero.
Seven days a year
Seven days in the first year, fourteen in each subsequent two-year period. The lightest presence requirement in Europe, and checked at renewal.
A2 Portuguese, eventually
For naturalisation, not for the permit. The certificate is the item most often left too late in the ten-year run.
Clean record at each stage
Criminal record certificates from Portugal and each country of residence, refreshed at renewal.
Five things to weigh before subscribing
1. Open-ended is not liquid
Daily dealing with a 5% first-year redemption fee is a horizon instruction, not an exit. Treat the capital as committed for five years, because that is how it is priced.
2. The passport timeline moved
Ten years, not five, from issue of the residence title. Permanent residency at year five is the milestone that survived the reform.
3. AIMA delay now costs you
Under the old counting rule, delay was neutral. Now every month before the card is issued postpones the start of the clock.
4. Credit risk is real risk
Corporate debt returns income because someone is paying to borrow. Read the concentration and the credit quality, not just the headline yield.
5. Share class matters
The management fee runs from 1.50% to 2.00% depending on class, and the €500,000 that qualifies for the visa sits above all three minimums. Confirm which class the subscription is being made into.
The Golden Income Fund: frequently asked questions
What is the minimum investment?
What does the fund invest in?
Can I redeem before five years?
Does the Golden Visa still lead to citizenship in five years?
How much time do I have to spend in Portugal?
Is the fund regulated?
Is there a subscription fee?
Can my family be included?
Where this comes from
The fund terms are the fund's own. Everything about the residence route and the citizenship timetable is sourced to the statute, because that half changed materially in 2026.
- Lei n.º 23/2007, Article 90-A, the residence permit for investment activity and its qualifying categories, as amended in 2023 to remove real estate. dre.pt (English)
- Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, naturalisation at ten years, seven for EU and CPLP nationals, counted from issue of the residence title. diariodarepublica.pt
- CMVM, supervision of collective investment undertakings: depositary, valuation and reporting obligations. cmvm.pt
- AIMA, appointments, biometrics, permit issuance and renewals. aima.gov.pt
General information about a residence route and a fund structure, not investment, immigration or tax advice. Fund terms are as supplied by the fund and may change; the binding version is its own documentation.
Last reviewed 19 August 2026. Programme terms are set by the relevant government and can change; confirm any figure before acting on it.
