Before Moving to Portugal: Checklist for Americans and Britons

Our suggested order, built from the official pages: choose the route and visa, get the Portuguese tax number (NIF), collect and apostille your documents, prove your means and your housing, buy the insurance the visa asks for, apply, and only then ship belongings and pets. After the move, the next deadline is the residence permit application with AIMA.

This is an overview of the order, drawn from official pages read on 19 October 2026. Each step is short on purpose and points to the guide that covers it in full. It is not legal advice, and the consulate or AIMA store that handles your file decides what it accepts.

Which route and visa fit my situation?

Portugal sorts long stays by purpose. The MNE visa site lists the visa for each purpose: work, study, retirement or living from passive income, remote work, family and others, and says a third-country national needs a long stay visa to stay in Portugal for over 90 days. It also says a residence visa allows two entries and is valid for four months, and that during that time the holder applies to AIMA for a residence permit.

Pick the route before anything else, because the document list that follows depends on it. Start with the residence routes for Americans and Britons.

How do I get the NIF before I leave?

The tax authority says registration as a taxpayer is compulsory for anyone who is subject to tax obligations or wants to use their rights before the authority, and that the NIF is a condition for many everyday acts, among them employment, contracts and bank accounts. A foreigner can ask for it at a tax office or Loja do Cidadão by appointment, or through a legal representative with a power of attorney. If the conditions are met, the NIF is issued as a resident abroad, that is, a non-resident.

The tax authority’s leaflet, dated July 2025, adds that naming a fiscal representative is not required when the NIF is issued. The leaflet says that, within 15 days of a tax relationship such as owning a home in Portugal or signing a work contract there, you must name a fiscal representative or sign up for a dematerialized notification channel. The detail is in the NIF guide.

Which documents need an apostille or a translation?

The MNE list for a residence visa asks for a criminal record certificate from the country of nationality, or the country where you have lived for over a year, with the Hague Apostille or legalized. AIMA says foreign documents must be duly authenticated and, in most cases, translated into Portuguese to have value in Portugal. For a country in the Hague Convention, authentication is the apostille. The same AIMA page says documents in English, French and Spanish do not need translation, and lists who can make a certified translation: a Portuguese notary, a registrar, a lawyer or solicitor in Portugal, a chamber of commerce and industry, a Portuguese consultant in the country where the document was issued or that country’s consulate in Portugal, or, if the translator is not one of these, a certification by one of those bodies.

Americans and Britons get their apostilles from different offices, so follow the apostille and translation guide. That rule is on AIMA’s page, so ask the consulate that receives your visa file what it wants.

What proof of funds and housing will they ask for?

The MNE says proof of means of subsistence is mandatory for a long stay visa application. It sets the criterion from the minimum monthly salary, which it gives as 920 euros for 2026 under Regulatory Decree 139/2025 of 29 December, net of social security, with 100 percent for the first adult, 50 percent for each other adult and 30 percent for each child. AIMA’s list for the residence permit also asks for a sworn declaration of your address and how you live there, with a land registry certificate for an owner or a landlord’s declaration for a tenant.

Both proofs take time to gather, so do them before the application. The detail is in proving funds for the visa and proof of accommodation for the visa.

Do I need health insurance for the visa?

Yes, as a rule. The MNE list for a residence visa asks for valid travel insurance covering necessary medical expenses, including urgent medical assistance and possible repatriation. A footnote says the requirement may be waived where a bilateral or international agreement covers it, and names the United Kingdom S1 as an example. AIMA later asks for health insurance or proof that you are covered by the national health service. Which policy fits is in the private health insurance guide.

Where and how do I apply for the visa?

The MNE page on where to lodge lists the Portuguese post by country. For the United States it names the embassy in Washington, the consulates general in Boston, Newark, New York and San Francisco, and the consulate in New Bedford. For the United Kingdom it names the consulates general in London and Manchester, and the London consulate says visa applications are done exclusively on the VFS Global platform. For the states it covers, the Washington embassy says applications go through VFS Global centers and, because of high demand, suggests applying at least two months ahead; see our guide to applying from the U.S. for the other posts, which differ. The MNE says a residence visa decision is 60 days, except in circumstances set by law.

The steps, by country, are in the US visa application guide and the UK visa application guide. Passport submission is mandatory and the Washington embassy says the passport is kept for the whole analysis, so plan any travel around that.

What about my passport?

The MNE residence visa list asks for a passport or travel document valid for 3 months after the estimated date of return. For a visit, the Washington embassy says a U.S. passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the intended return date, and GOV.UK says a British passport must be issued less than 10 years before arrival and expire at least 3 months after you plan to leave the Schengen area. Those two statements are about visits. For the visa, use the MNE rule. AIMA’s permit list also asks for a valid passport or travel document.

How do I ship my belongings and my pet?

For household goods, the Portal das Comunidades describes a baggage certificate. It says the certificate can be issued to anyone, whatever their nationality, if the items were in your possession and, when not consumable, used in your previous normal residence for at least six months, and if they are declared within twelve months of fixing your normal residence in Portugal. The page also describes a commitment to settle in Portugal within six months, with the import of the goods then subject to a guarantee. The papers it lists are proof of the start and end dates of your residence abroad, proof of use for six months, and a list of the goods.

For a dog or cat, the DGAV page says the animal must be identified, for example by microchip, vaccinated against rabies at 12 weeks or older and after identification, tested for rabies antibodies when coming from a country with rabies risk, and accompanied by health documents. The page covers up to five dogs and cats traveling with the owner or with a person authorized by the owner, up to 5 days before or after. Details, and the waiting times that decide how early to start, are in shipping belongings and pets to Portugal.

What do I carry when I arrive?

Carry the originals, not in the shipment: the passport with the residence visa, and the documents AIMA lists for the permit application, which is made by appointment, in person, with a signed form. AIMA’s list also covers proof of means, the sworn address declaration, proof of tax and social security registration where applicable, and health insurance. The first weeks, including the bank, are in the first month paperwork guide and the bank account guide.

If you travel with children, see moving to Portugal with children.

Date of the information

The latest dated information we rely on is GOV.UK’s entry requirements page for Portugal, public update of 11 August 2026, whose change note reads “Updated information on European Entry-Exit System (EES)” and is the date of this guide’s update; our EES and ETIAS guide covers that system. The tax authority’s NIF leaflet is dated July 2025. The MNE, AIMA, DGAV, Portal das Comunidades and Portal das Finanças pages carry no update date of their own. All were read on 19 October 2026. Rules change, so check the page of the office handling your file before you act.

Official pages read for this guide: the MNE visa pages on visa types, who needs a visa, where to lodge, deadlines, residency documents and means of subsistence, AIMA’s pages on the general residence permit and on the recognition of documents, the Portal das Finanças NIF page and the tax authority’s NIF leaflet for foreign non-residents, the DGAV page on dogs and cats entering from outside the EU, the Portal das Comunidades baggage certificate page, GOV.UK entry requirements for Portugal, and the visa pages of the Portuguese embassy in Washington and the consulate general in London.