In a discussion about Activobank’s policy on account openings, several users share their experiences regarding the requirement for non-residents. garrett noted that Activobank no longer allows account openings without a Portuguese ID or UK/EU passport, which has frustrated him as a US citizen seeking a debit card with low fees. rogergan68 confirmed that a residence permit is now necessary. Multiple users, including Hussain_Mesiya, reported similar information regarding the restrictive policies and mentioned that account opening rules can vary by branch. callixtus and tommigun discussed the difficulties presented by the bank’s staff and changing regulations. Some users expressed confusion about the documentation requirements and whether non-residents could successfully open accounts, with live2learn sharing challenges faced by their dependents who had previously opened accounts but were now struggling to update information due to bureaucratic demands. It appears there are inconsistencies across branches, and experiences vary based on personal circumstances and the bank staff encountered. There are recommendations for other banks, with tommigun suggesting BPI as an alternative. jb4422 highlighted the potential for Activobank attempting to reduce non-resident customers due to inactivity or the associated paperwork burden. Overall, the thread indicates significant hurdles for non-EU customers looking to maintain bank accounts in Portugal.
I just got off the phone with the activobank representative, and out of the activobank branch in Saldanha. Seems like they don’t let you open an account without a Portuguese citizens card or UK/eu passport any more. I’m a us citizen so obviously that excludes me
Frustrating but whatever, anyone have any recommendations on what accounts to try next? Mostly want a debit card and low fees
I was told by staff at Activobank last year that one needs a residence permit to open an account with them.
Edit: uploaded screenshot from ActivoBank site the document requirements for account opening:
When I looked into this five or six years ago, ActivoBank and BancoCTT were generally the ones most frequently recommended for low fees.
Not sure if the latter would accept non-residents.
I was thinking about stopping in at a branch and asking, but I caught a cold so I’m waiting for that to blow over. I’ll report back whatever I find
Yes the information is correct. They are not opening non resident accounts, I wasn’t mindful about if UK or EU non residents are allowed to open
Just visited them on Thursday
Which branch office was this? I read in this forum that sometimes it depends on the branch and who you were talking with in the branch. It’s so arbitrary. If this is true, then there’d be no point for someone who still lives outside of PT to travel to PT just to open a bank account with Activobank.
It was the branch inside Saldanha mall.
When you go to take the token that’s when you select questionnaire and the system doesn’t let you take a token, and then I asked the desk people they said the same.
Did anything ever come of this? I find myself in need of a PT bank account as well, and still waiting for residency cards, etc… so all I really have is a US passport. I do have a NIF, but that’s about it.
The only functional bank in Portugal seems to be BPI.
Love the wording 
Regardless - thanks for the info
In my experience, it is only functioning if you have a PT address or invest via them.
I did not invest via them, but I indeed had my PT address and also a reference courtesy of one of our fellow forum members (many thanks again to him!).
Following that, I referred a friend of mine who had no PT address and not even any PT visa applications pending, but he still was very successful in opening his account in a few days. It took him one visit to the same BPI branch in PT and then sending over some of his UK documents over.
Do you know what the bpi fees are like? I might consider opening an account with them
Similar to other major banks, somewhere close to 10 eur pcm with taxes.
Please note they have a three tier service apparently: ‘regular’, Premier, and Private.
For Private I understand you need to invest through them.
But for Premier they don’t require investment and that’s where I had that awesome service.
Indeed, banking service in PT is very much dependent on the account manager you are dealing with. My MillenniumBCP account manager is just fine for me, abeit at times slower response.
My recent experience opening with BPI has been fine so far. However, they are becoming very strict. After flying to Lisbon to meet my relationship manager for 1.5 hours to finalize the opening of the account (signing forms and submitting documents, etc.), and after answering a investment risk profile questionnaire with questions that seem to have come from a Securities Dealer/Broker Licensure exam, they still came back with an email asking for more documents. Now they want my net worth statements, the list of banks where my funds transfer will come from, my recent bank statements from these banks, etc. etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseam. It never ends! 
When I opened my account with CGD a few months back, it was more like a one stop shop. And this was in their overseas office and not even in Portugal. The CGD account opening process was smoother and more straight forward. Too bad that CGD does not have any open-ended funds that would qualify for Golden Visa. (If you know of any please do let me know.)
Could I ask which BPI branch you used? I’m thinking of giving up on Millennium BCP and am heading to Lisbon in a few weeks so could drop by in person. DM if you prefer.
I’m now 6 months without an account manager at BCP after my old one was transferred and no replacement made …
Activobank - Visited their branch in Lisbon, March 2025. They declined account opening after I sent them my docs via email. Had a GV residence card, non EU passport. No reason given.
My dependents opened accounts with ativo about 4-5 years ago. They got the accounts opened and bank cards at that time. However they only received the GV resident cards a few months ago. They came back to Ativo to update the personal info and requested a new bank card. Bank refused because they asked lots of documents (proof of address, tax address,…) and of course my dependents did not have these documents with them all the time…now updating info and getting a bank card for a current customer is already a big challenge.
