Moving to Portugal? You’ll need a “NIF”

Posted on April 11, 2024

Here at ClickMoves we’ve seen a huge increase in the numbers of enquiries from clients moving to Portugal, so we thought we’d put together a post to talk about one of the most critical things you’ll need if you’re planning on relocating to Portugal – your nine digit number NIF.

What Is A NIF?

A NIF is your personal tax number, and like National Insurance number in the UK, or a social security number in the US, you’ll use your NIF in every part of life. 

NIF stands for número de Identificação fiscal, but we’ll just call it a NIF for now (because that’s easier to pronounce). 

You need this NIF when: 

  • Moving to Portugal as a non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizen and applying for a visa like the D7, D8, or Golden Visa. 
  • Opening a Portuguese bank account.
  • Applying for a job in Portugal. 
  • Buying a property in Portugal.
  • Renting a property in Portugal. 
  • Getting a home internet or phone contract. 
  • Receiving inheritance from a Portuguese estate. 
  • Applying for other numbers, like the Portuguese healthcare number (número de utente). 
  • You can even use your NIF when you’re out shopping because there’s different taxes on different products and services. Using your NIF can reduce your tax bill in certain categories (e.g. for groceries, haircuts, buying metro tickets, or and at the mechanic’s). As you’ll use this number a lot, it’s a good idea to memorise it (in Portuguese).
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How to Apply for a NIF

So we’re going to asssume that you’re not an EU national (coming from the EU makes the process easier), you have the option of:

  1. Paying somebody to do it for you. You can try ,  or these guys
  2. You can apply online 
  3. In-person at a Finanças or Loja do Cidadão office in Portugal. Don’t assume that the staff here speak english so if your Portuguese is rusty, you might need some translation help. Plus these offices get busy, so get to the office early before opeing times. Some of these offices will ask you to make an appointment to come in at a later time. You’ll need your Passport proof of address such as a driver’s licence, bank statement, or utility bill (if you have one), and if your documents are in a language other than Portuguese or English, you may be asked to provide a certified translation.

Once you have your NIF you are generally concidered as a tax resident in Portugal, so you will be responsible for making tax returns.

ClickMoves is an International Moving company, offering door to door removal service to and from most major cities worldwide. They specialize in high quality, affordable removal services to Portugal. Contact them at: enquiries@clickmoves.com