Golden Visa for the Family: Who Can Be Included and How Reunification Works

For many Brazilian families, the Golden Visa only makes sense if the spouse, the children and sometimes the parents can accompany the investor. The good news is that the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI) was designed for this: family reunification can be requested together with the investor's application and is not subject to the two-year waiting period that the law now requires in most other cases. But the list of who can be included is closed, each family member has their own process and their own fees, and some details, such as the age and study status of adult children, decide whether the application is accepted.

In this guide, we explain who can be included in the application, who cannot, how reunification works on the ARI Portal, which documents AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) asks for and what happens to the family over the renewals. For an overview of the investment options in force, see the article Golden Visa in 2026: the investment options still in force.

Quick summary

• Who can be included: a spouse or de facto partner (união de facto), minor or legally incapacitated children, unmarried adult children who are studying and dependent, dependent 1st-degree ascendants (parents) and minor siblings under guardianship.
• Waiting period: none. Family members of ARI holders are exempt from the two-year rule (Art. 98(3)(c) of Law 23/2007).
• Timing of the application: it can be filed together with the investor's, but depends on the investor's application being approved.
• Government fees: each family member pays their own processing fee and their own grant fee.
• Validity: the family member's permit lasts as long as the investor's and is renewed with it.

Who can be included in the Golden Visa

According to AIMA's official page on the ARI, the following are family members for reunification purposes:

• the spouse;
• minor children (up to age 17) or legally incapacitated children dependent on the couple or on one of the spouses;
• children up to age 17 adopted by the applicant or the spouse, provided the adoption is recognized by Portugal;
• adult children aged 18 to 25 who are dependent on the couple or on one of the spouses, unmarried and studying;
• 1st-degree ascendants (parents) of the investor or the spouse, provided they are dependent on them;
• minor siblings under the investor's guardianship, with a decision recognized by Portugal.

A partner in a de facto union (união de facto, the Portuguese equivalent of the Brazilian stable union) can also be reunited, as can the partner's minor children legally entrusted to them (Art. 100 of the Foreigners Act (Lei de Estrangeiros)).

Spouse and partner

Since Law 61/2025, the marriage or de facto union must be valid and recognized under Portuguese law, and the investor and the spouse or partner must be at least 18 years old on the date of the application (Art. 99(6)). For a de facto union, AIMA asks for documents proving the union for more than two years, according to the family reunification page. In practice, a stable union deed (escritura de união estável) with a start date, accounts and contracts in both names and proof of a shared address help build this proof.

Minor children

Minor children are included without difficulty when they are the couple's children. When the child is the child of only one of the spouses, AIMA asks for the written authorization of the other parent, authenticated by a Portuguese consular authority, or the decision that granted custody to the resident or their spouse. This point often delays blended families, because the authorization must be ready before the application is submitted.

Adult children who are studying

Here the Golden Visa has an advantage of its own. In ordinary reunification, an adult child can only be included if they study at an educational institution in Portugal. For an ARI holder, it is enough that the child is studying, even in Brazil or another country, provided they are unmarried and dependent on their parents. AIMA indicates an age range of 18 to 25. Enrollment and financial dependence must be proven, and this proof is reviewed again at renewals.

Dependent parents

The parents of the investor or of the spouse can be included if they are dependent on them. Financial dependence must be shown with documents, such as regular transfers, payment of expenses or tax returns that show financial support. Parents with enough income of their own are unlikely to fit this category and may need to seek another type of permit, such as the one for people with their own income.

Who is left out

The legal list is closed. For this reason, the following, for example, cannot be included in Golden Visa reunification:

• adult children who are not studying, are married or support themselves;
• children over 25, according to AIMA's guidance;
• adult siblings, nephews and nieces, grandchildren and grandparents;
• parents-in-law or parents who are not financially dependent on the investor or the spouse;
• partners without a marriage or a proven de facto union.

These family members may have other routes, such as their own study, work or passive income visa. It is worth reviewing each case before deciding on the investment, because the family's composition sometimes changes the choice of investment option or the timing of the application.

No two-year wait

Law 61/2025 amended Art. 98 of Law 23/2007 and, as a rule, now requires the resident to have held a valid residence permit for at least two years before applying for reunification. However, the same law excluded from this rule the family members of holders of a permit granted under Art. 90-A, which is the ARI (Art. 98(3)(c)). In practice, the investor and the family can join the process at the same time.

The law also allows residence applications for family members who are already in Portugal, provided they entered and are staying legally in the country on the date of the application (Art. 103(2)). For family members of people who do not hold an ARI, this route is much more restricted. See our article on the D6 family reunification visa to compare.

How the application works

1. Pre-registration on the ARI Portal. The investor, each family member or the legal representative with a power of attorney registers the applications and uploads the documents. The portal also generates the Single Collection Document (DUC) to pay the fees (AIMA's ARI FAQ).
2. Linking to the main application. Each family member must be linked to the investor on the portal. According to AIMA, reunification can be requested at the same time as the ARI is granted, but it always depends on the investor's application being approved.
3. Payment of the processing fee. The fee is charged per applicant, including each family member.
4. Scheduling and in-person appointment. Biometric data is collected in Portugal. AIMA states that a family member's appointment may not coincide with the investor's, because of differences in the status of the process or in the documents, and that this does not mean a refusal.
5. Decision and issue of the cards. Once the investor's application is approved, the family members' applications are decided and each one receives their own residence card.

Documents AIMA asks for from family members

According to AIMA's ARI FAQ, the family members covered by reunification must submit, among other documents:

• a criminal record certificate from the country of origin and from the country where the person has lived for more than one year, issued less than three months earlier, translated when necessary and certified by the Portuguese consulate or apostilled;
• certificates of no debts to the Portuguese Tax Authority (Finanças) and Portuguese Social Security (Segurança Social), or a statement of non-registration;
• a statement of responsibility signed by the investor (termo de responsabilidade), with a notarized signature or signed in person at the appointment;
• up-to-date proof of the family relationship, such as marriage and birth certificates, and, for adult children and ascendants, proof of dependence;
• a valid passport and proof of health coverage.

AIMA also states that proof of accommodation and of means of subsistence may be requested, including income earned abroad, pensions or financial investments. Documents must be sent as PDF files, with a maximum of 4 MB per file. For Brazilian documents, see our page on apostille and translation of documents.

How much it costs to include each family member

Government fees are charged per person. Under AIMA's fee table, based on Ministerial Order 307/2023 (Portaria), the amounts for each family member are as follows; in parentheses, the amount with the 25% reduction for online applications:

• receipt and processing of the application: €842.80 (€632.10);
• grant of the permit to the reunited family member: €8,418.90 (€6,314.20);
• renewal of the reunited family member's permit: €4,210.30 (€3,157.80).

In a family of four, then, the fees for the three family members are added to the investor's. The amounts may be updated and should be confirmed on the date of each application.

Validity, renewal and minimum stay

The family member's permit has the same duration as the resident's, according to AIMA. Since the ARI is renewed for two-year periods (Art. 90-A(2)), the family's residence cards follow this cycle, and it is advisable to apply for all renewals at the same time.

At renewal, AIMA checks the family relationship again and, for adult children and parents, the dependence and study status. Law 61/2025 also introduced integration measures for reunited family members, such as training in the Portuguese language and in constitutional principles and, for minors, attendance at compulsory schooling, under a regulatory decree (Art. 101(3) and (4)). How these measures will be required at renewal for people who spend little time in Portugal still depends on the implementing regulations.

As for the minimum stay, the investor must stay in Portugal for 7 days in the first year and 14 days in each subsequent two-year period. Regarding family members, AIMA's answer is that they must meet the requirements that apply to their own residence card and that the check depends on age, family situation and the dates of the cards. The prudent approach is for each family member to also meet and document these days.

When the family's situation changes

The family is not tied to the investor forever. AIMA states that, in exceptional cases such as divorce, separation, widowhood, the death of an ascendant or descendant, domestic violence and when a child comes of age, an independent residence permit may be granted before the normal period, valid for two years and renewable for three-year periods. This matters, for example, for a child who stops studying or goes beyond the age accepted for reunification.

Family members can also be added later. The law allows reunification whether the family ties existed before or arose after the resident's entry (Art. 98(1)). A marriage or the birth of a child after the permit is granted allows a new application.

Permanent residence, citizenship and succession

After five years, the investor and the family members who meet Art. 80 of the Foreigners Act can apply for a permanent ARI. For citizenship, each person counts their own legal residence: under Organic Law 1/2026 (Lei Orgânica), Brazilians need seven years, among other requirements. See how to count the 7 years after Organic Law 1/2026.

Since the whole family depends on the investment, it is also wise to decide who will hold the fund units or the company shares and what happens in the event of death. This care is part of international succession planning between Brazil and Portugal.

Checklist of Brazilian documents

• an up-to-date marriage certificate or a stable union deed with a start date, apostilled;
• up-to-date birth certificates of the children, apostilled;
• authorization from the other parent or a custody decision, when the child is the child of only one of the spouses;
• proof of enrollment and attendance for adult children, and proof that they are dependent;
• proof of the parents' financial dependence, such as transfers and payment of expenses;
• a criminal record certificate for each adult family member, issued less than three months earlier and apostilled;
• valid passports for everyone;
• health insurance covering each family member;
• a power of attorney for the legal representative, if a lawyer is handling the application.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the investor's permit to be granted before adding the family, when the applications can run together.
• Including an adult child who is not studying or who is already over the age accepted by AIMA.
• Letting the criminal record certificate expire before submission or the appointment.
• Forgetting the statement of responsibility with a notarized signature.
• Not budgeting for each family member's fees in the investment plan.
• Not tracking the days of stay of each family member, not just the investor's.

How Sene & Araújo supports the family

Sene & Araújo has lawyers admitted in Brazil and in Portugal, with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira, and acts directly before AIMA. We review the family's composition before the investment, organize the Brazilian documents, register everyone on the ARI Portal, follow the scheduling and track the renewal deadlines for each residence card. The decision on the applications always rests with AIMA. To learn about the full service, see our page on the Golden Visa or talk to our team.

• Law 23/2007 (Foreigners Act), consolidated version — Arts. 3, 90-A, 98 to 107
• Law 61/2025, of October 22 (Arts. 98, 99, 101 and 103 of Law 23/2007)
• AIMA — Residence Permit for Investment (Art. 90-A)
• AIMA — Frequently asked questions about the ARI
• AIMA — Family reunification with a family member outside national territory (Art. 98)
• AIMA — Table of fees and other charges (Ministerial Order 307/2023)
• Organic Law 1/2026, of May 18 (Nationality Act)

Sene & Araújo Sociedade de Advogados team. Content prepared and reviewed by the firm's lawyers, admitted to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados), with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira. The provisions cited were checked against the official sources listed above. Meet the team.