Hi Louis
do you need an NIF to be able to open the account ?
I don’t think an NIF is required, only your ID such as a passport.
The requirements shown in their application are:
- Address proof (e.g. electricity, water, gas, driving license, credit or rental agreements)
- Proof of profession (e.g. invoice of work as self-employed person, statement of start of activity or last personal income tax return)
I went through the signup process on their app but didn’t complete it since I currently don’t have any proof of profession to show.
Your “profession” can be unemployed. You just need some document from your country saying that you’re unemployed
Probably an automated system managed by the compliance team. They probably just find it unlikely that a foreigner would bother to complain to the central bank and don’t see any consequence for acting illegally. As I said, Activo/Millennium are in a very sorry state right now
Was that for proof of occupation?
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Hi Guys,
I was in CTT Setubal yesterday to open an account (having got my NIF inside 30 minutes in the morning - thanks Thomas) and they were fixated on payment of income tax in the UK, where I have my freelance company.
They were not satisfied with my UK bank statement as proof of address and income and my payslip doesn’t have my job title or address. They wanted HMRC proof of payment of income tax and address.
I pay a small, managed, amount of income tax in the UK and can access my account record with HMRC - their beta site provides summary information that meets all their requirements. CTT is closed today (carnival), so I will be there at 9am tomorrow, to give me time to get my plane in the evening
It’s very standard here in Portugal to ask for an income statement as proof of occupation if you are self employed. There probably isn’t a way around that
Btw, be mindful of CTT’s new pricing, they now seem to have 2 different accounts, a “Banco CTT”, which is new and carries a 15€ yearly fee for the debit card and a “Conta base” which seems to be the same as their old (only) account type and has no fees but has a 100€ mandatory minimum deposit when opening the account.
They basically removed the 100€ deposit and added the 15€ yearly fee to the new account type while the other one is the same as it has always been, just be sure to choose the correct one
Hi @lealinda, 
I hope you are fine.
If your intention is to buy a property in Portugal I would suggest to open a PT bank account because you will need to pay the taxes for the property acquisition from the PT Bank Account.
All Bank service in Portugal are very lousy. But you may consider MBCP, for example.
Yes. Even having a CC and Passport you will need a tax identification number. Yes.
Kind regards,
Alexander
Does anyone know about US citizens opening bank account with Millennium bcp in PT?
I am just hearing information that Millennium bcp does not allow US citizens to have bank accounts due to FACTA issues.
This is curious because I have Millennium has raised no concerns about this with me.
There is also this:
https://ind.millenniumbcp.pt/en/Particulares/suamedida/residentesexterior/Pages/Acordo-internacional-para-melhorar-o-cumprimento-fiscal.aspx
I am not sure why this is an issue all of a sudden.
Hi all, maybe someone else already asked for this: is it possible to do it with a UK bank statement and UK proof of address?
Thanks…
Moey looks good but I don’t understand how EU/EEA citizens resident in Portugal can open an account? I just tried and failed because they want either a). a Cartão de Cidadão (which you can only get after living in Portugal for 5 years or more); or b). a Cartão de Residência (which is not available to EU/EEA citizens living in Portugal - we get given paper certificates not physical residence cards).
@anon16151502 you can open your bank account. But you can´t make investments through the Millenium BCP bank as they are not FATCA compliant.
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It took me 03 weeks in late 2019. I think now it takes even longer. I was quite upset at that time and kept asking the lawyer everyday. The response was that the bank could open an account to the customer but they cannot release it. The bank has to pass all infos to the third party (they call it as “compliance check”). Once the third party returns positive result/check, then you bank account will be activated. I think you will get it eventually.
So just try to get used to the bureaucrat in Portugal from now on. I am trying to, but sometimes i am out of patience. This thing requires practices 
!
That’s exactly what i’ve asked my lawyer. I was same to you. I 've provided all documents and have no clue why it took that long for the check. I think no one knows exactly what kind of checks it was. I think even the Manager of the local bank branch still does no know. They only follow the order to pass our infos to the next level - bank’s headquarter or security deparment…
I know how frustrated it is. I was like you before. Just stay calm and wait. They will still have to give you the bank account in order to get your money though 
.
@tinuviel @live2learn I think it may depend on which passport you use to open an account with. I’m an American and the bank account was opened within a week after the bank received our signed paperwork. (This was at the end of December 2020 before Christmas holidays.)
I believe N26 requires you to be resident in one of the countries they operate in to open a bank account. The account can used in any of their supported countries, typically without incurring additional transaction fees. Domiciled just means (in my view) that they’re headquartered/based out of Germany.
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@live2learn …I am on week 2 for opening the bank account. US passport. Same “silence” with comments of “soon”. I think the further COVID restrictions this January have added backlog on the process. 
How long did it finally take for you?
It took me 3 weeks and it was end of 2019. My passport is from third world country. I think you will get it finally because Portugal needs your money. Without giving you a bank account, they cannot get the money though. 
.
We are on the same boat. I am also from the third world country. 
I wish you all the best on this journey
Here is a link on searching for FATCA compliant banks necessary if you want to go the fund investment route
https://apps.irs.gov/app/fatcaFfiList/flu.jsf
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Wow there’s 457 in Portugal. Pretty hard to use it to narrow down your search. Though it can be useful to confirm that a bank that says they are FATCA complaint are indeed so.
Correct. Since everyone needs to open an account being FATCA compliant is essential for US residents. Not all will allow a depositary account to be opened remotely. There was an article that said Bison, Activo, Caixa will allow remote opening with a video call that takes the place of a visit.
Activo and Caixa consistently seem to be at the top of the list of banks for Expats.
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