What changed
Portugal's Mais Habitação package abolished the property route to the Golden Visa under Law 56/2023, effective October 2023. Investment funds, research financing, cultural heritage support, and business creation remain as qualifying routes — but a residential purchase, at any price, is not one of them. This is not a temporary pause or a higher threshold. The property route was removed.
Content still promising "buy in Lisbon, get residency" is not merely outdated; it misstates the law. For investors weighing Portugal against the UAE or Greece, the residency axis must be removed from the Portugal comparison entirely. Greece still offers a property-linked Golden Visa under tiered thresholds; the UAE still ties a 10-year Golden Visa to AED 2,000,000 of qualifying freehold property (visahq.news / UAE sources, as of 2026-05). Portugal does not.
What Portugal still offers
Lower mortgage rates than the UAE, EU market access, and a decade of capital appreciation remain real advantages — but they must be weighed against a new 7.5% flat IMT for non-residents (Your Overseas Home, as of 2026-04) and compressing yields. Idealista reported a 6.3% national gross buy-to-let yield in Q1 2026, down from 7.2% a year earlier; Lisbon sits at 4.3%, the weakest city yield in the country (Idealista, as of 2026-04).
Non-residents also face a flat 25% tax on net rental income and are taxed on 100% of capital gains at exit, while residents are taxed on only 50% of the gain (imin-portugal.com, as of 2025-12). Those are structural disadvantages relative to the UAE's zero personal income tax, zero capital gains tax, and zero annual property tax for individuals (polaris.ae / waves29.ae, as of 2026-05–2026-06).
Where the comparison still makes sense
If the goal is EU lifestyle and cheap euro leverage — Banco de Portugal data put variable rates roughly in the 3.1–3.6% range and fixed rates 3.4–3.9% in May 2026, against UAE non-resident mortgages typically 6.5–8.5% (portugalpropertyinvest.com / houseandhedges.ae, as of 2026-05–2026-06) — Portugal can still win on financing cost. If the goal is residency-by-property, it cannot. That distinction is the entire point of correcting the outdated Golden Visa narrative.
Readers comparing residency products should look at /markets/greece (still property-linked, with short-term rental bans on Golden Visa units) and /markets/uae (AED 2M Golden Visa still in force after the April 2026 rule changes). The 2026 UAE property-visa rules are unpacked at /insights/uae-golden-visa-property-aed-2-million; the side-by-side with Lisbon is at /insights/dubai-vs-portugal-property-investment-2026. Portugal's remaining Golden Visa routes are covered separately in the insight on what replaced the property path.
Research posture
This is research on Portuguese and comparative market rules, not personalised immigration or tax advice. CoreSpaces is not licensed to broker Portuguese property. Figures cited above may change as tax and immigration rules are amended; verify with Portuguese counsel and a qualified tax adviser before acting outside the UAE, where CoreSpaces Realty LLC is RERA-licensed.
Frequently asked questions
Did Portugal abolish the Golden Visa?
No. Law 56/2023 removed real estate as a qualifying investment from October 2023. Funds, cultural patronage, research financing and business creation remain. A residential purchase confers zero residency.
Does buying a house in Portugal give you residency in 2026?
No. Buying Portuguese property at any price confers zero Golden Visa eligibility. Greece and the UAE still offer property-linked routes, with their own restrictions.