Skip to content
Move with confidence.
Destination  Portugal

The first 30 days in Portugal – AIMA, the NIF and the other steps in the order that works

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Your first 30 days in Portugal decide whether the rest of the move runs smoothly. Almost everything hangs on one nine-digit tax number, and the rules around AIMA, residence and registration changed several times between 2024 and 2026. Here is the order that works.

Woman with a suitcase on the phone outside Rossio station in Lisbon
Photo: Forewer/Adobe Stock

Three dates shape a move to Portugal in 2026. Since 23 October 2025, Lei 61/2025 has tightened family reunification and abolished the general job-seeker visa; since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps; and since 11 September 2026, under Lei 62/2026, AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo – the immigration agency that replaced SEF) must decide residence permits within 90 days. The order of your first 30 days in Portugal is unchanged.

Almost everything hangs on the NIF (número de identificação fiscal – tax number): no lease, bank account or job without it. So the checklist starts there, then adds the NISS (social security number) and the SNS (Serviço Nacional de Saúde) user number – which Portuguese citizens get bundled on the Cartão de Cidadão (citizen card) and you collect separately, or at 12 counters in one visit.

Before you travel: settle your right to be in Portugal

As an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you need only a valid ID card or passport for three months. To stay longer you register within 30 days after those three months at the câmara municipal (town hall) where you live and receive the CRUE (certificado de registo de cidadão da União Europeia) – a national rule under Lei 37/2006; the câmara decides only opening hours, appointments and proof of address (part 3).

Everyone else needs a long-stay visa from a consulate for a stay over 90 days. A residence visa allows two entries and four months, in which you must apply to AIMA for the autorização de residência (residence permit); it comes with a pré-autorização de residência carrying provisional NIF, NISS and SNS numbers. Arriving as a tourist and regularising later – the manifestação de interesse – ended on 4 June 2024; the last transitional applications were due by 31 December 2025 (part 2).

You areRight to stayFirst step
EU, EEA or Swiss citizenThree months on ID, then the CRUECâmara municipal, within 30 days after three months
Non-EU family member of an EU citizenWith the EU citizenAIMA, for the Cartão de Residência, in the same window
Third-country national with a residence visaTwo entries, four monthsThe AIMA appointment within those four months
UK citizen resident by 31 December 2020Withdrawal AgreementAIMA's Brexit line; later UK arrivals are third-country nationals

Source: AIMA and the visa portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, read 24 September 2026.

Which numbers do you need – NIF, NISS and the SNS user number?

The NIF is nine digits, currently starting with 3, and never changes. You apply free, always by prior appointment, at a Serviço de Finanças (tax office) or Loja de Cidadão (citizen shop), booked on the Portal das Finanças without logging in or on (+351) 217 206 707 on weekdays. EU citizens who want to be tax resident bring ID and the CRUE; others a passport and the residence permit, or the AIMA appointment or receipt.

The NISS is assigned only once you have a link to Social Security – a contract, self-employment or a benefit claim – and is requested online only, free, with no fixed deadline. An employer must first sign and report the contract on Segurança Social Direta, and can request the number for you. The SNS user number (número de utente) comes at your first visit to a public health unit.

The Government's ePortugal portal (updated 17 September 2026) lists 12 Espaços Cidadão (citizen counters) in Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Setúbal, Lagos and Olhão where a foreigner with a Portuguese address gets all three numbers in one free visit. Bring a residence permit or AIMA receipt, or the CRUE, proof of address and a Chave Móvel Digital (CMD – the state digital ID) linked to your passport; the counter can create it on the spot (part 3).

Your first 30 days in Portugal: the order that works

Every authority keeps its own record of you, and each wants proof of an address – a lease, a comodato (loan-for-use) contract, a utility bill, a land-registry certificate or a landlord's declaration. So start there.

StepWhatWhere
1An address and one proof of itLandlord or land registry
2The NIF, or all three numbers at onceFinanças, or an Espaço Cidadão
3EU citizens: the CRUE; others: the AIMA appointmentCâmara municipal, or a Loja AIMA
4Contract reported, then the NISSSocial Security portal
5Register at your centro de saúdeSNS 24 can tell you which one
6Activate the Chave Móvel DigitalEspaço Cidadão or IRN registry
7Bank account, then the Portal das Finanças passwordAny bank; the password comes by post
8Report your address to the Tax AuthorityWithin 60 days of becoming resident

Source: AIMA, the Tax and Customs Authority, the Social Security Institute and the Government's ePortugal portal, read 24 September 2026.

AIMA after the reforms: what to expect

AIMA runs 35 Lojas AIMA, and the application is still delivered in person, by appointment, with form Modelo 1: passport, visa, proof of means, a sworn declaration of address with a land-registry certificate or landlord's declaration, NIF and NISS registration where applicable, and health insurance or SNS cover. An online platform for visa holders was 'being implemented' on 24 September 2026. Reception and analysis cost €133.00 and the temporary permit €114.30, 25 per cent less digitally.

The card comes by registered post; in-person delivery costs €29.90, an urgent issue €47.80 extra. The receipt is not a travel document. Since 11 September 2026 AIMA must decide within 90 days, plus 30 in justified cases, and give reasons for a refusal – its own pages and FAQs had not caught up on 24 September 2026. Contact centre: (+351) 217 115 000, Monday to Friday 08h00–20h00.

Health, digital ID and the numbers to keep on your phone

An SNS user number alone does not mean the SNS pays: your record must also hold an ID document, a Portuguese NIF, a full address and a valid residence permit, or after 180 days it lapses and you pay as a third-party payer until you complete it (part 8).

The Chave Móvel Digital is free and, for foreigners, activated only in person – at an Espaço Cidadão, an IRN conservatória (registry) or a consulate – with a passport, or a residence document plus a Portuguese NIF. It is the login for SNS 24, Segurança Social Direta and the job-seeker registration (part 4).

ServiceNumberWhen
Emergency (INEM)11224 hours, free
SNS 24 health line808 24 24 2424 hours
AIMA contact centre(+351) 217 115 000Monday to Friday 08h00–20h00
Social Security line210 545 400 or 300 502 502Weekdays 9h00–18h00
Linha Cidadão, for the Chave Móvel Digital210 489 010 or 300 003 990Weekdays 9h–18h

Source: AIMA, the Government's ePortugal portal, the Social Security Institute and SNS 24, read 24 September 2026.

Three mistakes that cost time or money

MistakeWhat happensHow to avoid it
Missing the CRUE deadlineA fine of €400 to €1,500 under Lei 37/2006, halved for negligenceDiarise the date
A junta de freguesia (parish council) certificate for AIMANot accepted as proof of accommodationSworn declaration plus lease and last rent receipt, land registry or comodato
Travelling on the AIMA receiptNot a travel document; AIMA issues no travel declarationsWait for the card

Source: AIMA and Lei 37/2006, read 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check your route (part 2); outside the EU, book the consulateBefore you book the move
2One proof of address, then the NIF or the one-stop visitYour first week
3EU citizens: the CRUE at the câmara municipalWithin 30 days after three months
4Others: the AIMA appointment with Modelo 1Within the four months of your visa
5NISS, health centre, Chave Móvel Digital, bankWeeks two to four
6Address to the Tax AuthorityWithin 60 days of becoming resident

Source: AIMA, the Tax and Customs Authority and the Government's ePortugal portal, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.