Canadian resident ...how to open bank account in Portugal

The ‘ how to open a non-resident bank account in Portugal’ (as below) is applicable to residents of the EU only. I’m a Canadian resident…how do I best proceed?

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The process is the same for you. You just need a tax representative when getting your NIF.

I’m a Singapore resident. I called Banco Activo reg. help to create a new account. I was told by support that there’s no way to create an Activo account without physically being in Portugal.

Try Bison Bank.

Bison looks more like an institutional/investment bank. Don’t see any retail services listed.

Do you just need a bank account that hold EUR? If so, maybe look at Transferwise. If you need an Portuguese bank, try Novo Banco. (But it may depend on who you contact at the bank. One person may say no while another may help you with the account opening) I was able to open a NB 360 account at Novo Banco with my lawyer’s help.

Trying to open a Portuguese bank account for my D7 visa application and its painful. Most banks want you to visit a branch to open an account. I was introduced to a Millenium BCP agent who said I can open an account without visiting, but she takes 1-2 weeks to respond to any email. I called the bank directly, but they tell me that I can’t open an account without visiting a branch. Kinda lost :slight_smile:

@rrpeterson3 on this thread talked about who he contacted at Millennium BCP for remote account opening:

I’ll apologies right away for not sharing the name, but I would like to wait and see if it actually gonna work.

I was able to start opening bank account via one of the banks phone apps. Used foreign PT NIF, CAD SIN and CAD passport. Whole process took maybe 40m. Once account was opened all docs submitted - we did video call to verify passport, etc. Right now my application is pending review which should take 5-10 business days. Overall very nice experience. Once verification is over, I would need to transfer money from real bank under my name (EMIs like TW or Revolut won’t work)

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Dear All

With a power of attorney to a Portuguese lawyer, this can be done remotely.