I’m British and moving to Portugal next month and plan to become a resident. My question is about proof of address: to obtain the NIF - and indeed to become a resident - what counts as proof of residency?
We have been in touch about a few apartments: all with relatively short term contracts (2/3 months). What kind of contract would we need? One landlord has said he could write a letter as the owner of the apartment stating that it is our current address. He also said he could offer us a ‘holiday short term rental agreement’. Would either of these be enough?
Hello everyone,
I have got a question. Is it possible to apply for Portugal NIF as a resident if one is visiting Portugal as opposed to being in possession of a residency visa? - as this would remove the requirement of having finding someone resident in Portugal when applying for NIF.
If you are not resident in Portugal or in another EU country, then the answer is no. You’ll need a person or an entity resident in Portugal to act as your tax representative.
Thank you for your reply. I understand that if one is not resident in Portugal or in EU, one needs a tax representative ?
But my question is , can someone become a tax resident in Portugal on a visitor pass? I am an American and do not need visa for up to 3 month stays. My intention is to open an N26 bank account and use that bank statement as proof of address in Portugal in order to apply for a NIF without a tax representative. Will financas even accept this?
I don’t think N26 can be used as proof of address because they don’t verify that information. The only thing N26 ask for is a mailing address for your debit card, which could be an office, a friend, etc.
If you’re a non-EU citizen you’ll have to provide official government proof that you’re a resident in an EU country (e.g. a residency card) to avoid having to appoint a tax representative.
If you were an EU citizen, an N26 statement might have worked, but it won’t as an American.
Thank you for your quick reply. Now that I need a tax representative - As I understand this can be anyone friend, lawyer etc.
When you apply for NIF and if the paperwork is okay, Do you get your NIF over the counter? I have heard that the financas website password gets sent to the tax representative. Is it possible to reset the password without having the original password or ger another one over the counter by verifying your identity?
That is not possible, no. The password is sent to the address you have registered with Finanças (this also serves for them to somehow verify the address).
Thank you once again Guifig for your reply. what happens if I run into problems with my tax representative when it comes to getting my password. If for instance, I am unable to get the password, can I nominate another tax representative? At that point, I will have NIF already issued and is it possible to nominate another tax rep in place of the original tax rep only to get the password or do I have to start the procedure from scratch?
Does one get NIF over the counter no matter which Finance office I apply to or it varies from office to office?
Once you get your NIF, it does not change, irrespective of who is your tax representative.
If you are not happy with your tax representative, you can appoint a new one (without having the password to make the change online, I guess the new tax representative would have to go to a tax office to make the change effective). As a non-EU resident, you must keep a tax representative at all times.
Thank you so much for you reply. In relation to my second question, is it safe to assume that one gets NIF over the counter no matter which office it is? or it varies.
I have another question. Now that I know what it takes to apply a NIF, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with opening a non resident account with millennium bank.
Thank you for your reply. I understand I can get a NIF without needing to live in Portugal. But that still requires a tax rep in Portugal.
My question about the bank account for Non residents, is not necessarily for purposes of getting a NIF but rather opening a Non resident account domiciled in Portugal, for having access to SEPA payments- prefer not opening none of those online ones without a physical location.
I wonder why would non resident account opening even require a NIF ? the checklist agrees with me but not the forms. Was wondering inf anyone has had any experience when it comes to this?
Has anyone used nifonline? Assuming it isn’t too good to be true, it seems like a great deal: 60 euros for obtaining the NIF and providing one year of fiscal representation, renewable annually. I’m still getting my act together to start the bigger process but it seems like a good move to get my NIF and get some momentum going on this project. Opinions and perspectives welcome!
I completed the paperwork without any undue difficulty. I’m waiting for the NIF to be delivered. They said it would take 5-10 business days; it has been 5 so far.
Update: another month has gone by and there has been no progress on my NIF request through nifonline.pt. A few weeks ago they replied that COVID was slowing down processing by the government. They have a banner on their site advising that processing has been slowed down by the virus but that all customers would be served eventually. They haven’t responded to my most recent inquiry within 24 hours.
I’d be delighted to hear about others’ recent experiences with obtaining a NIF through full service, high cost providers. We’re getting on toward “go time” in 2021 and I don’t want to linger forever in limbo. I’m ready to start throwing money at the problem if it will help.