Thank you (and sorry) for the long answer.
I was not arguing whether it is a bargain or not.
Just wanted to know what this “annual fee” covers, and you provided an excellent explanation.
If I am buying a property or investment in Portugal and I won’t be there during the ownership of those, yes I do need someone to deal with tax related correspondence. Got it.
Appreciate very much.
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You’re welcome 
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Did anyone try to get the NIF recently - in person? I tried the email route but got the reply that a representative is needed, also if I was clear, in Portuguese, on our EU details.
Did anyone walked in recently or had luck with an appointment? What was the wait time if you made an appointment?
We are visiting in July And will try different offices, in Lisbon, Silver coast and Lagos.
I have read the post about having success by email with the Lagos office and will try that too.
Hi mweaver, I recently moved my whole family to Portugal from the UK. I was in the same situation as you guys . We needed to do four NIFs in order to get a property lease. Unfortunately, you need a NIF for everything and you will need a representative here in Portugal to do the NIF for you. I found this company called movingto.io they did everything for us and they got better prices than anyone else. I hope that helps.
Yes, I had my account opened with Millenium BCP before I received my NIF.
But I guess it’s because I applied in-person in their representative office in my country of residence. I assume if I had applied in Portugal they would have asked for my Portugal NIF.
I want to share my experience with nifonline.pt
I submitted my request on 19 July, and had all paperwork submitted as of 22 July. They said to expect the NIF to take 20 business days from that date. It’s 13 business days today, and I’ve not heard anything.
Fortunately, I’m not in a rush. I thought a NIF would make it easier to get a sim card in Portugal when we travel there in several months, and we are wanting to retire there in several years. I was attracted to the low price, and no mention of a recurring annual fee. If I don’t have it by 19 August (20th business day) I will try and contact them. If I don’t get it I’m only out 60 euro - it’ll sting, but not much.
I’ll update this post when I get the NIF (or not).
Kurt
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I received my NIF this morning - 3 weeks and 2 days after requesting. Shorter than the 20 business day average they said.
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Just to mention that you can get a pre-paid Portugal SIM card without a NIF.
I have already got one, and I did not even need to visit Portugal for that… )
Regarding NIFonline, I don’t see a point of being concerned before their advertised lead time of 20 business days runs out.
For the reference, I got two NIFs from them so far, one was delivered on the dot on the 20th day and another with a slight delay on the 23rd.
As soon as I sent the money I thought “I’m sure I could get a sim card without the NIF.” My brain wanted a flimsy excuse for getting the NIF now.
I’m anxious to move - can you tell?
I wanted to share my experience for anyone else wanting to order a NIF.
Where did you get your sim? I’m in the US.
Of course I am not advocating for NOT getting a NIF, you will sure need it if you want to move to Portugal!
From my relatively short experience, NIF seems to be asked for pervasively in all sorts of online forms on PT websites including such things as buying insurance or even booking a COVID test…
To answer your question re Sim-card, I got it on eBay… )
I top it up online via my Portugal bank account.
In my limited experience, a NIF is requested (required?) for every business transaction that involves paperwork. I’m glad I applied for mine with several weeks to spare before I needed it.
Congratulations on getting yours ahead of schedule! Mine took 2 months from the same source (in fact I think I was the first person to mention it on this site), which may have been a worst-case result, but I still had it in time to conduct my business according to schedule. The value is excellent, and the ongoing customer service is surprisingly good.
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Has anyone use NIFonline recently. I am planning to use them or Bordr but for 2 persons, the cost difference is quite a bit. How fast do I have to wait. Bordr is pretty fast, about 3 days. 
If you are struggling for time, go with Bordr.
If not, NIFonline would be equally good, but are generally delayed (by 2 weeks or so vs. Bordr).
Thanks. Will go with NIF as it will be a saving for 2 people
Has anyone gotten their NIF successfully recently with nifonline?
It’s been over 3 weeks now and I’m starting to get anxious that the NIF will never come, already in Lisbon and just waiting on the NIF…
Recent experience would be greatly appreciated!
They have done three NIFs for me recently - two within their advertized lead time of 20 business days, one slightly delayed by a couple of days. Given that 3 weeks is only 15 business days, I’d suggest you wait another week and your NIF will probably arrive.
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It has been a year since I obtained my NIF through nifonline, and I’m back to provide an update.
The nifonline service worked fine for getting my NIF. It was weeks slower than other, more expensive services, but it was straightforward and successful. They provided responsive and helpful customer support, especially when I got confused and messed up my online login creation process. Tax representation was satisfactory, consisting of doing absolutely nothing in my case.
I received my renewal notice yesterday, in the form of a dodgy looking invoice from PayPal. The renewal price is €73.68, as opposed to €60 for the first year. I speculate that the low price for the first year was a loss-leader strategy, and they’re expecting me to shrug off the price increase. I’m just slightly piqued enough that I’ve arranged to nominate a Portuguese friend instead.
I also learned yesterday that I can arrange to receive tax correspondence through the free ViaCTT service. I completed my ViaCTT registration last night–this requires a local address (but no proof of address), a signed declaration, your passport information page, and your NIF document. I plan to sign myself up for electronic tax document delivery when I have the energy to complete more paperwork. I expect that the actual burden on my friend will be a one-time, 10 minute representation acceptance process on the Financias web site.
Just an observation that EUR73.68 seems to be their regular price, this is actually what I paid not realizing that I could use a promo code from this site…
You may have paid EUR60 initially with some promo code, so looks like fair game so far on the part of nifonline.
But of course, no need to renew if you have an alternative tax rep.
Yes, plus the VAT of 23%…