Hello everyone,
tl;dr: What documentation does Activo Bank need from an American Citizen to open an account? Their site says “* Abroad: Taxes liquidation issued by the fiscal authority of the country of residency or Document issued by the consulate.” What are they talking about!?
long form: I am an American citizen living in the United States. My Portuguese residency permit is pre-approved but stalled awaiting an unavailable biometrics appointment. I have a Bison Bank account for my investment; it has limited retail banking features (e.g. no Multibanco support).
I would like to buy a property in Portugal this summer. I understand that life will be easier if I have a Multibanco-compatible account, for paying taxes, utilities, monthly condo fees, etc. I have reviewed every scrap of information on this site and elsewhere on the internet. Articles all say, “It’s easy!”, but it isn’t, and there is very little information about which banks will work with Americans. For example, BNI Europa politely informed me that, “We inform that Banco BNI Europa does not accept US Persons as customers, it is part of our customer acceptance policy.”
Moreover, the information about the required documentation for in-person or remote account opening is as clear as mud, even after they answer the question. For example, what is a “Taxes liquidation issued by the fiscal authority of the country of residency or Document issued by the consulate” with regard to an American citizen?? I don’t want to fly to Portugal to open a bank account and be turned away because I didn’t get some consulate stamp on my water bill.
If you are an American citizen who has recently opened a Multibanco-compatible current account at Activo or another retail bank, and you can summarize the documentation they required, as well as whether you were able to perform this remotely–then huge thanks in advance for your guidance!