Citizenship by investment news Portugal - What is the increase in Russian investments for Golden Visas in Portugal since the war in Ukraine?
Since the war in Ukraine, Russian investments in Portugal have soared by 49% to reach 450.6 million euros in 2024.
In 2021, a year before the war in Ukraine, citizens from Russia were among the five countries that topped the ranking of countries with the most Golden Visas granted, reaching a total of 65 Golden Visas.
Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme, that was suspended in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine leading to EU sanctions against Russia, were once again granted to Russian citizens since August 2024 after the Portuguese Government lost its court case against freezing visas of Russian citizens. This is due to the fact that suspending the issuance of visas to Russian citizens was based on a recommendation of the European Commission, and was therefore not binding and could not override either the Portuguese law on foreigners or the constitution. The Portuguese Constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of nationality, so any ban on Russian applications would have effectively been illegal. After this ruling, the Portuguese authorities are now effectively forced to process Russian applications for the Golden Visa program.
According to Vera Chalaça, a lawyer at Valadas Coriel e Associados (VCA), the law firm had several cases between 2023 and 2024 in which Golden Visas were granted to Russian citizens through judicial intervention, even before the official end of the suspension.
The stock of Russian FDI in Portugal increased by 50 million euros in 2024, and one of the main reasons is to obtain Portugal’s Golden Visa through the citizenship by investment regime, also known as Residence Permits for Investment Activity (ARI). Portugal has one of the best citizenship by investment migration options in the world and one of the Top 10 best European countries to obtain residency by investment in 2025, according to the 2025 reports by Henley&Partners.