How to get a Portuguese NIF for Non-Residents

Article discussion
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131

Hi Todd1

Have you sorted out your problem ? Could you please share the information of how you stopped paying the Nif service ?

I am having the similar issue as yours.

Thanks in advance !

132

My wife and I are planning to obtain D7 visa and opening a bank account. Can I do it with only one NIF and open a bank account and do the other when we are in Portugal.

133

Hi Thomas,

I tried emailing 3 different offices and all rejected, one sent attached file explaining that this requires personal presence. Is it worthwhile keep trying as per your recommendation?

134

I got my NIF with NIF online (after emailing 6 Finanças offices they all refused). My question is:

Now that I have my NIF, how do I get it added to my Citizen Card? ActivoBank won’t let me open an account online without my NIF printed on my Citizen Card. I live in CA.

135

Everything has changed, there is no need for a fiscal representative for most people.
Take a look at https://www.portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc23/comunicacao/comunicado?i=emigrantes-fora-da-ue-poderao-trocar-representante-fiscal-por-notificacoes-eletronicas
So if you don’t have assetts/tax to pay in Portugal, you don’t need one. And if you are out of EU and opt for eletronic communications you wont need one.
It is the end of many people making money just to forward emails! Good news, thank you portuguese government!

136

Hi all,

My wife and I, we both have dual citizenship (EU and Canadian passports), but we are living in Canada - no EU address though. If we want to apply for a NIF (thinking to buy a property in PT), should we use the EU passports? Is there a benefit by doing that instead of Canadian passports?
Also, with one of us getting a NIF, can we open a joint-account in PT OR both we need separate NIF for this?

Thanks,

K

137

Each person needs their own NIF.

138

Regarding whether everything has changed - I’m interested in this, because while I already have a NIF via Bordr, we’ll have a place of residence and S/O will certainly want to get her own NIF.

The gov.pt site the discusses NIF application: APPLYING FOR A TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER FOR A NATURAL PERSON

If you are a national of a third country

  • To be considered a resident for tax purposes, you will need to produce:

an identity document or a passport and residence permit.

  • To be considered a non-resident for tax purposes, you will need to produce:

an identity document or a passport, and you must appoint a tax representative (natural or legal person) resident in Portugal.

Note that here the state is clear about what “residence” means – you need the permit, not just a residential address. If you don’t have it, you need a representative, who has a residence permit.

The June 2022 electronic notification option starts with

Os contribuintes portugueses que residam fora …

I have no real knowledge, I’m just going on what I read, but my thinking on this -

  • she isn’t a “contribuinte portuguêsa”, so this wouldn’t seem to apply to her
  • the residence requirement isn’t just about needing a place to send mail - they must feel they need a permitted resident, not just some random foreign national, for the legal chain of responsibility or something like that.

For the bank account, I’m more optimistic about just walking in and showing she has a residence.

139

We bought a house a holiday house in Portugal about 10 years ago and used that address when we applied for our NIF. CLearly we were idiots because we were totally unaware that using the Portuguese address indicated that we would then be considered resident for tax purposes. We have only just this week (10 years later)realised our mistake. we have not declared any taxes or had any dealings with the tax authority in these 10 years but due to being in the process of obtaining a Golden Visa, this has now come up!!! Can you reverse a horrible mistake and change retro-actively change your tax status to non resident? HELP

140

Hi Steve, Can i ask were the first requests ignored or did you get a reply with a refusal and how long do tehy take to Reply, Thanks

141

I applied for a NIF using your discount code above and it took approx 1 week from start to receiving the NIF so dont go using the faster more expensive option unless you really need to. GREAT LINK AND DISCPUNT

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142

Hello!

I have been advised that it is no longer necessary to have a fiscal representative to obtain a NIF if you are a non EU citizen.

I am currently living in the UK and want to get a NIF. Please can you advise how I go about this?

Can I do it myself online?

Thanks

143

I am afraid you were advised incorrectly.
You still need a rep to obtain your NIF if you are non-EU.

144

if i a a student from the uk can i apply myself as the school is saying i can go in person

145

Posting a recent update for the benefit of all:
As a non-EU national on a tourist visa, I recently got a NIF in person from Serviço de Finanças de Porto 3 in Porto (this is located opposite the Lidl on Av. de Fernão de Magalhães).
The only documents I needed were Original Passport and a copy, and proof of address in country of residence, although I had also kept proof of income as backup. I reached around 8:30 am and got assigned number 3. I got called in sometime between 9:20-9:25 and was done by 9:45 am, so fairly quick considering the stories I have read. I didn’t get the name of the kind old lady who served me but she looked like Julianne Moore.

This is, however, still a trial and error method depending on the person and office serving you. A day earlier, I had tried at a Finanças office in Coimbra and got asked to provide address of a representative in Portugal.