Iâm also currently going through the process of moving to Portugal and applying for NHR under the transition scheme. While my process is a bit different from the one most of you face (since Iâm an EEA citizen and donât require a residence permit), I think my experience can still be helpful to some:
We arrived in Portugal last weekend and started the process of registering last Monday.
For my Portuguese wife itâs quite simple:
- Go to the local Loja do CidadĂŁo and request a change of address at the IRN counter. No proof of address needed,
- Wait for a code to be sent in the mail which sheâll need to enter online to change the address associated with her Cartao do CidadĂŁo. That also updates the address with Finanças and other government entities.
For myself, the process has been a bit more bureaucratic. Essentially, as an EU/EEA citizen I need t obtain a document called CRUE which I can then show Finanças to update my tax address. Hereâs how that process has looked so far:
- Go to the local Loja do CidadĂŁo to check if I could change my address there directly, which apparently some of them allow, it seems to vary per city/town. However, as expected they asked me to first get an Atestado de ResidĂȘncia from the local Junta de Freguesia.
- Go to the local Junta de Freguesia, which apparently required me to bring the original NIF document that I was issued many years ago when I was assigned my non-resident NIF. Not sure if this is required in other parishes, but at least it was the case for me.
- Since I didnât have the original NIF document with me to Portugal I had to go to Finanças to have a new one issued. However, since the office was already closed for walk-ins that day I had to come back the next day. Tuesday morning I waited about 1.5 hours to be seen, and the helpful lady there said that they could issue a new document as long as they made a small change to my file. I added a phone number which allowed her to issue a new document. This was free of charge and was issued on the spot.
- Armed with an original NIF document I went back to the Junta de Freguesia, which luckily was one minute walk away. Since we havenât purchased a property in Portugal yet weâre staying with my wifeâs family while looking for a place to stay long-term. I had brought a utility bill in their name as well as my mother-in-law to vouch for me, which (again unsurprisingly) wasnât enough to get the Atestado de residĂȘncia. Instead, they prefilled two sets of forms (which looked something like the ones listed here) to be signed by two neighbors to confirm that I had moved to the address I claimed at the stated date. These âneighborsâ can technically be anyone with a Cartao do CidadĂŁo (meaning Portuguese nationals) registered to vote in the same parish, but crucially it can not be someone living in the same household.
- Tuesday night we somewhat awkwardly ask two neighbors to sign the forms, which they did.
- Wednesday we went back to the Junta de Freguesia, which verified the signatures and gave us a date for a week later to pick up the Atestado de ResidĂȘncia. I already paid the issuance fee, which was âŹ4 (this varies per parish). Some parishes will let you pay a bit more to speed up the wait, however this one did not offer it any longer since they said they often didnât manage to meet the faster deadline anyway.
So now Iâm waiting for the Atestado de ResidĂȘncia to be issued (hopefully this coming Wednesday), which hopefully will be sufficient to have the CRUE issued at the city call!
So for anyone planning on relying on a Atestado de ResidĂȘncia to change your tax residence, do note that it may take a while to actually receive the document and take that into account when booking your flights.