How easy is it to open a none resident bank account in Portugal?
There’s lot of ways, lots of good providers out there.
It will depend on what you need and your citizenship/residence status.
e.g. US Residents wanting Investments held in Portugal you basically need to work with Bison Bank (maybe there’s others). It’s a bit of a process including mailing documents to Portugal but it was fairly simple (thought it took over a month).
With lawyers on the ground things are quite easy.
I just opened an account with Banco Atlantico all remotely and it was quite simple, took about a week.
I also really love the services of bordr
Michael
Many thanks for the information
My wife and I are Mexican citizens and reside in Mexico
Do you think it would be possible for us to open a joint personal bank account
(Checking, Debit card, wire in and out )
If so what Portuguese bank/banks would you recommend ?
If you could recommend an attorney/firm on the ground to facilitate the process
I would appreciate any suggestions
I’ve been in touch with the managing partner of DOMOS, a firm that offers helping
you to go through the process ( about a month) of getting an account at Novobanco, a digital platform bank ( I’m not to keen on that )
Do you think it would facilitate the process by flying to Lisbon and appearing in person.
Many, many thanks for sharing your knowledge
My kindest regards, Michael
It might be good to give people an idea on your goals/timeline/budget. And what steps you have already taken, e.g. do you already have your NIF (Portugal Tax ID)
Are you trying to rush this to get a Golden Visa application before laws may pass in April/May? Can you throw a bit more money at it to get things quicker or are you going the EUR 280,000 route to do this at very low cost (I’m more in this category)
If you’re in a rush I’d recommend doing everything in parallel, e.g. get a lawyer, get a NIF, get a bank account (usually requires a NIF). Many people on this forum will say it might be too late, but it probably won’t cost much to get a NIF + Bank Account Remotely and moving money and order needed documents (e.g. Criminal Background Check in Mexico) remotely and if the laws allow a longer transition time, then at least you’re ready to make the investment and application.
To answer your question.
Yes, being in Portugal can help, but I think simply having a lawyer/advisor you pay to do it for you is probably faster and more convenient. I have used bordr to get a NIF. They can also do bank accounts. I largely opened Bison and Banco Atlantico myself. Bison was slow in 2021 due to the extreme volume of applications. Banco Atlantico took about a week, partly my fault.
If you have a person who has bank connections/is in Portugal my understanding is you can open it on the same day in many cases.
Michael
I can’t thank you enough for all of the information
I need something rather unusual
I need to open an account, any where except the USA that receives international wire transfers through swift directly
Most banks, in most countries receive their international wires to a (corresponding) central bank of sorts, where the bank ( example Banco Atlantico) has an account with this ( corresponding ) central bank and the the funds would be further credited to my personal account
My son and daughter have accounts as Mexicans in the USA at Bank of America
& JP Mogan
International wires through swift go directly to Bank of America or JP Morgan and then are credited to there accounts
I would imagine maybe Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and other major big banks receive international wires directly
Your knowledge is greatly appreciated
Kindest regards
Michael
Great information.
I’m a US Person. Could you provide the contact information to work with Bison. I tried the contact on their website but the e-mail bounced.
Also, do you have any background on why Bison is the go-to? I see Bison mentioned many times but I can’t seem to get an explanation as to why.
I’m using Bordr and they want to open accounts at Millennium BCP Prestige or Atlantico Premium
Thanks.
“because”
they get the job done, their service has been pretty good, they were knowledgable in dealing with the fund route, and they just got used by a lot of people so they got used by a lot more people.
It’s FACTA compliance. It seems on the Funds Bank Account side, only a few do this, so US Persons have about 3 options (But I think a few years ago Bison was the only widely known option).
US Investors in Portugal were an incredibly small market and not worth the hassle of US compliance, but I guess by 2021 with an influx of US investors it became worthwhile for additional banks.
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Basically, yeah. There was another option, I’d have to go see who it was, but Bison was the easy button.
I’m not sure if Millenium ever got their custodial side facta-compliant or not.