How to Get a Portuguese NIF as an American or Briton

The NIF, the número de identificação fiscal, is the number Portuguese banks, landlords, employers and utilities ask for first. The tax authority says registration as a taxpayer is compulsory for everyone, national or foreign, resident or not, who is subject to tax obligations or wants to exercise rights before the authority, and that the NIF is a condition for many everyday acts: employment, contracts, bank accounts and social security.

This guide is an overview of what the Portal das Finanças pages say on the day we read them. It is not tax advice, and the tax office that receives your request decides what it accepts.

What the number is

The NIF for a person is a nine-digit number: eight sequential digits and a check digit. The tax authority says the initial digit is currently 3, and that the number stays the same whether you are registered as a resident or a non-resident. Each person can hold only one NIF.

Where to request it

The tax authority’s page lists two ways for a foreign citizen. A third exists from abroad: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Portal das Comunidades says a NIF can be requested by any citizen, at any time, at a Portuguese consular post.

• In person: at any tax office (Serviço de Finanças) or Loja do Cidadão. An appointment is compulsory. You book it on the Portal das Finanças under Contactos, Atendimento por Marcação, choosing the option for requesting a NIF or changing an address for people without a citizen card, with the subject Identificação and the sub-subject Pedido de NIF. You can also book by phone on the Centro de Atendimento Telefónico, (+351) 217 206 707, on working days from 9:00 to 19:00.
• Online, through a representative: the legal representative or agent files the request in the Portal das Finanças e-balcão, under Registo Contribuinte, Identific, Atrib/Alter NIF-Singulares. The leaflet says the legal representative is a different figure from the fiscal representative.

The consular page lists the information the request must carry: full name without abbreviations, the number of the identity document or passport, the residence, and the name and address of the fiscal representative in Portugal with the document that sets up the representation. The same page says that naming a fiscal representative is not compulsory at the time of the request. It does not describe how the consular post passes the request on, so ask the post.

Documents for a non-resident NIF

For someone who is not yet resident in Portugal, the tax authority lists:

• a valid passport or other civil identification document
• a document showing the address abroad, unless the address is on the identification document

If the third-country national files the request in person, the passport must carry the visa to enter Portuguese territory, except where the passport shows an entry visa to any EU country, or the person is a national of a country exempt from a visa to enter the Schengen area. We did not check in the pages we read which countries are on that exemption list, so check yours.

If someone else files for you, the agent presents the original or a certified copy of your passport and the address document. For the online route, the agent also sends their own identification and the power of attorney. The power of attorney must give powers for this purpose and, per the tax authority, the signature must be certified (reconhecida) unless it is issued to a lawyer or solicitor acting as such. If the agent is also to be your fiscal representative, the power of attorney has to say so.

The leaflet adds that documents must be originals or certified copies (plain copies are accepted only with the originals), and that documents in a foreign language must be presented with a certified translation. A notary, a chamber of commerce and industry recognized under Decree-Law 244/92, a lawyer or a solicitor can certify the translation.

With these in order, the NIF is issued as a resident abroad, that is, a non-resident. The documents are also subject to later checks, as the law provides.

Documents for a resident from outside the EU, the EEA, Andorra and Switzerland

For a third-country national registering as a resident, meaning a person from outside the European Union, the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), Andorra and Switzerland, the tax authority’s list of documents is the passport and any one of:

• a declaration that an international protection request was filed, or a temporary protection title, issued by AIMA
• a residence permit valid on the date of the request, issued by AIMA
• proof of an AIMA appointment, or the receipt of a request, in all other cases of pending AIMA processes, such as grants or renewals of a residence permit under the general or the exceptional regimes

If these documents do not show your address, the address can be set by also presenting any one of: the public deed of purchase of a home, a lease on a home, an employment contract, or a document issued by any public entity.

The law also provides, for the residence visa, a pre-authorization of residence that includes provisional tax, social security and national health service numbers. Whether that provisional number is the same as the NIF you would request at a tax office is a point our pages do not settle, so confirm it with the consular post and the tax office.

When you become a resident

If you got the NIF as a non-resident, the leaflet says you count as resident in Portugal if you stay more than 183 days, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period beginning or ending in the year, or if on any day of that period you have a home in conditions that suggest you intend to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence. After either test is met you must report your residence in Portugal within 60 days and update your registration, through the Portal das Finanças e-balcão (Registo Contribuinte, Identific, Alteração Morada/Singulares) or in person at a tax office by appointment. The number does not change.

Fiscal representative

Registering as a non-resident does not require naming a fiscal representative. The obligation arises later. The leaflet says that if the person creates a tax relationship, they must within 15 days (counted from creating the relationship, or from reporting an address in a third country or territory) either name a fiscal representative in Portugal or join an electronic notification channel (the notification and summons system on the Portal das Finanças, or the electronic mailbox ViaCTT). It lists examples of a tax relationship: owning a vehicle registered in Portugal, owning real estate in Portugal, signing an employment contract for work in Portugal, or working for yourself in Portugal.

Naming a representative or joining a channel is optional for residents of an EU country, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, and for Andorran citizens resident in Andorra. The Portal das Comunidades page, which carries no date, still describes the appointment as mandatory for people with an address in a country outside the EU and the EEA, and does not mention the electronic-channel option; the July 2025 leaflet allows either, so follow the leaflet and ask the tax office if in doubt. For a resident of a third country, the leaflet says that if the tax relationship is self-employment in Portugal, the person must name a VAT fiscal representative even if they joined an electronic channel. That representative has to be a VAT taxpayer resident in Portugal and must be named before the activity starts.

A fiscal representative can be a person or company with a domicile or registered office in Portugal. A foreigner can be one if they hold a valid residence permit on the day they accept and are registered as a resident with the tax authority.

The representative ensures that mail from the tax administration is received, that ancillary duties such as filing income returns are met, and that your rights before the administration are exercised. According to the leaflet, the representative is not liable for paying your taxes, except VAT where a non-resident works for themselves in an activity subject to VAT.

What this guide does not cover

How to use the Portal das Finanças after you have the number, how Portuguese tax residence is defined, and what the NIF means for your U.S. or U.K. tax filings are separate subjects, each with its own official pages.

Date of the information

The Portal das Finanças pages carry no date of their own. The Tax and Customs Authority’s leaflet on the NIF for foreign non-resident citizens is dated July 2025 on its last page and cites Decree-Law 85-B/2025 of 30 June 2025, so the information in this guide is that of July 2025. The leaflet gives only the month, and this guide’s update date is its first day. Procedures can be revised, so check the Portal das Finanças before you book.

Official pages read for this guide: the NIF page of the Portal das Finanças, its frequently asked questions on assigning NIFs to individuals, the Tax and Customs Authority’s leaflet on the NIF for foreign non-resident citizens, the Portal das Comunidades page on NIF assignment at consular posts, and the consolidated Foreigners Law on the Diário da República. All were read on 18 October 2026.