Portugal startup visa (StartUP Visa)

Status in September 2026: the program is open

In short: StartUP Visa is in force. Applications are accepted all year round via the Portuguese agency for innovation and competitiveness, with no cancellation or suspension. The legal basis dates from 2018: Despacho Normativo n.º 4/2018, Portaria n.º 344/2017 on incubators and articles 60 and 89 of Foreigners Law n.º 23/2007.

Signs that the program is alive:

• from 28 November to 30 December 2025 the innovation agency ran another incubator certification call, and the list was updated on 23 January 2026;
• official statistics in 2026: 94 certified incubators, 722 incubated projects to date and 126 applications in 2026;
• article 89(4) on the startup residence permit, temporarily repealed in June 2024, was restored by Lei n.º 61/2025 in October 2025;
• Portugal's Foreign Ministry still lists the innovation agency declaration as the key document for a program visa.

What the program is and who it suits

StartUP Visa is not an investment program and not a freelancer visa. The state assesses the project: innovative, technology-driven, with potential for growth and hiring in Portugal. There is no fixed investment, but you have to convince an incubator first and then the innovation agency.

• A project without a company (type a). An idea, a prototype or an early-stage startup. The company is incorporated in Portugal during incubation and must exist by its end. This is 94.6% of all incubated projects.
• An existing company from another country (type b). A startup under 4 years old moving its activity to Portugal, with stricter requirements.

A project can have up to 5 founders, and each gets their own visa. You cannot file two projects at once.

It suits founders of technology projects with a clear scaling model who will actually work from Portugal. It does not suit those who want a permit without a real business, traditional businesses, holders of Schengen permanent residence or anyone counting on a fast passport.

Requirements for the founder and the project

The requirements are set out in article 5 of the regulation. They must be met at filing and maintained throughout the program.

The social support index is reviewed every year: in 2026 it is $604 (537.13 euros). The Startup Portugal website still shows $5,780 (5,146.80 euros), the 2018 figure; rely on the innovation agency. For the permit itself the Portuguese migration agency separately checks means of subsistence under Portaria n.º 1563/2007, so keep a buffer.

The $365,000 (325,000 euros) is a year-five forecast, not a starting point: the innovation agency wants it backed by market segments, your expected share and pricing. The five assessment criteria are innovation, scalability, market potential, team strength and qualified hiring in Portugal.

How many applications are approved: official statistics

The innovation agency runs a public statistics dashboard for the program. Data for 2026:

• Most decisions are refusals. In 2023-2026 there were 198 positive and 399 negative decisions, roughly one approval for every three decisions. In 2022 approvals still outnumbered refusals.
• Demand has more than halved: from 455 applications in 2022 to 191 in 2025.
• Russia used to be the main source of applications: 480 over the program's lifetime, with 215 approvals and 217 refusals. In 2025 there were 15 applications from Russia and 12 so far in 2026; Pakistan and Iran now lead.

The 2026 figures are incomplete, and the innovation agency does not publish reasons for refusals. An incubator's letter does not guarantee approval: the incubator earns money on incubation, while the innovation agency assesses independently.

How much the Portugal startup visa costs in 2026

Only amounts from official sources: the innovation agency, the Foreign Ministry visa portal and the migration agency fee table (Portaria n.º 307/2023, applicable from 1 March 2026). Dollar amounts are converted at the market rate of 20 October 2026, 1.1229 dollars per euro, and rounded up.

Government fees per founder up to the first card, filing in person, come to about $401 (357 euros). The main costs sit outside the table: a 12-month renewable incubation contract, housing (proof of it is mandatory for the permit), translations and apostilles, insurance, support, company registration and living costs until the project earns money.

For its fee, an incubator must cover management, marketing, legal support, product development and intellectual property protection, and funding and investor access, report to the innovation agency quarterly and run no more than 20 program projects at a time. Incubation is in person only.

Step by step: process and timelines

Three stages: selection at the innovation agency, the visa at the consulate and the permit at the migration agency. The table shows legal and regulatory maximums.

The legal maximums from filing with the innovation agency to a permit decision add up to roughly 8-10 months, excluding the incubator search.

A second route: article 89(4) exempts program participants from the requirement to hold a residence visa, so in theory you can apply while legally present in Portugal. But this provision was repealed from June 2024 to October 2025, and there is little practice. The predictable route described in the innovation agency guide is a visa from the consulate.

Documents at each stage

• The innovation agency, for each founder: a motivation letter, a copy of the passport and your residence document in your country of residence, an apostilled and translated police certificate, certificates of no debts in Portugal or a statement that you have no tax number, a bank statement for 12 times the social support index with a commitment to transfer the funds to Portugal, a CV and a project description with a 5-year forecast; for type b, the company's documents and accounts.
• Consulate: application form, the innovation agency acceptance declaration, a passport valid 3 months beyond the stay, 2 photos, medical insurance, proof of legal stay in the country of filing, consent to a Portuguese records check, a police certificate and proof of funds. Check your consulate's procedure in advance.
• The migration agency: application, acceptance declaration, passport, photos, proof of funds, proof of accommodation, consent to the records check and a police certificate.

Family: new reunification rules since October 2025

The family is not part of the innovation agency application: only founders get visas. Spouses, children and parents follow the general rules of the Foreigners Law, which became stricter on 23 October 2025 (Lei n.º 61/2025):

• general rule: the right to reunification arises after 2 years on a permit;
• 15 months for a spouse if you lived together for at least 18 months before the move;
• no waiting for dependent minor children and a spouse who is their co-parent with you;
• dependent parents wait the general 2 years.

Families of holders of highly qualified activity permits, golden visas and the EU Blue Card are fully exempt from the waiting period. The startup permit is not on that list.

New conditions apply too: adequate housing, funds for everyone without social benefits, Portuguese and civics courses for family members and school for children, with renewals depending on it. Decisions take up to 9 months, or 18 in complex cases, although that extension does not apply to applications under the general 2-year and 15-month rules.

Article 58(5) lets family visas be filed together with the founder's, but how the migration agency squares this with the two-year rule is still unsettled, so Murblz specialists plan a joint move in advance.

Life on a startup permit: renewals, absences, changing status

The first permit lasts 2 years, renewals 3 years each. File at least 30 days before expiry; you need funds, housing, no tax or social security debts and no prison sentences over a year. Decisions take up to 60 days, and the receipt works as a permit.

Your activity must match the permit's purpose. The 12-month incubation contract can be renewed only while the incubator keeps its annual certification, and the Portuguese company must exist by the end of incubation.

• Employment. A holder of an independent activity permit can switch to an employment contract with a card replacement; the fee is $139 (123.50 euros).
• Changing the type of activity. Since 11 September 2026 (Lei n.º 62/2026) this can be done by notifying the migration agency, without a new card. Whether it applies to startup permits has not yet been tested in practice.
• Hiring a team. The company can get Tech Visa certification from the innovation agency to hire highly qualified foreigners, whose families are exempt from the two-year wait.

Absences. A temporary permit can be cancelled if, without good reason, you spend 6 consecutive months or 8 months in total outside Portugal during the card's validity. Documented professional or business activity abroad protects against cancellation.

Taxes for a founder in Portugal

Tax residence arises after more than 183 days in any 12-month period or if your main home is in the country. A resident pays tax on worldwide income on a scale from 12.5% to 48%; in September 2026 the government proposed cutting the rates of the first six brackets, the first to 12.2%. Rates and examples are on our page on taxes in Portugal.

IFICI for startups. The non-habitual resident regime is closed to new applicants and replaced by IFICI (the tax incentive for science and innovation): 20% on employment and self-employment income from qualifying activity for 10 years and an exemption for most foreign income except pensions and income from blacklisted jurisdictions. The list expressly includes employees and board members of companies certified as startups under the Portuguese Startup Law. Conditions: no Portuguese tax residence in the previous 5 years and no prior use of the non-habitual resident regime; apply by 15 January of the year after you become resident.

Contributions and the company. The self-employed pay 21.4% social security; directors pay 11% and the company another 23.75%. Corporate tax in 2026 is 19%, or 15% on the first $56,200 (50,000 euros) for SMEs, plus a municipal surcharge of up to 1.5%; dividends are taxed at 28%. Since 8 August 2023 Russia has suspended key articles of its tax treaty with Portugal.

Permanent residence and citizenship: timelines after the 2026 reform

Permanent residence. Under article 80 of the Foreigners Law a permanent permit is granted after 5 years of temporary residence if you have no prison sentences over a year, have funds and housing and can show basic Portuguese.

Citizenship. Since 19 May 2026 a new version of the Nationality Law has applied (Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 of 18 May 2026). Nationals of countries outside the European Union and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries need 10 years of legal residence for naturalization instead of 5; nationals of the European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries need 7. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are not in the preferential groups. In addition:

• residence is the sum of legal residence periods within a window of no more than 12 years;
• the rule counting the wait for the first permit has been repealed, so the migration agency delays push the passport back directly;
• you need a test or certificate in Portuguese language, culture, history and national symbols, plus a solemn declaration of adherence to the rule of law;
• applications filed before the law took effect follow the old rules; there is no transition period for new applicants.

The takeaway for a founder getting a first card in 2026-2027: plan for a passport no earlier than after 10 years of legal residence. Portugal allows dual citizenship. Children born in the country now need one parent with 5 years of legal residence; see Portuguese citizenship by birth. Other countries' timelines are in the citizenship section.

What changed in 2025-2026

Earlier context: in October 2023 the former border and immigration service was replaced by the migration agency, and Lei n.º 56/2023 removed real estate from the golden visa.

What to know before you apply

• Refusal is more likely than approval. Since 2023 about one decided application in three succeeds. Typical weak spots: no real innovation, an unfounded forecast, a weak team, no clear reason to be in Portugal.
• An incubator is a paid service. Under the regulation the incubation contract is signed only after innovation agency approval, so a demand for a large prepayment before the decision is a red flag.
• Real presence is required. Incubation is in person, and the innovation agency, the migration agency and the Foreign Ministry may inspect incubators and projects. A permit without work in the country does not fly here.
• False information. A 3-year ban on reapplying, and a permit based on false documents is cancelled.
• Outdated information. Startup Portugal shows the 2018 minimum funds, and many agencies still promise citizenship in 5 years. Check official sources on the date you apply.
• Sanctions. There are no nationality restrictions, but the law allows a permit to be refused to people subject to European Union restrictive measures.

Bottom line: StartUP Visa works for a team that was going to build a company in Europe anyway and chooses Portugal deliberately. As a mere residence route it loses to the digital nomad visa on predictability, and as a passport route to almost all its neighbours.

Alternatives in Portugal and other European Union countries

Other European Union countries have their own founder routes: Spain with an assessment by the ENISA agency, France with a card for founders of innovative projects, the Netherlands with a mandatory facilitator and Finland with a Business Finland statement. For an overview see talent and startup visas, for all options by country see residence permits, compare tax systems in taxes by country and remote work routes in digital nomad visas. Everything about the country is on our Portugal page.

What the Portugal startup permit gives you

How to get the Portugal startup visa: step by step

FAQ