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NIF Portugal, NISS and the CRUE certificate – the numbers you need and where to register

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

There is no single desk to register at in Portugal. Instead you collect a tax number, a social security number, a health number and – as an EU citizen – a registration certificate from the town hall, each from a different authority. Here is how to get the NIF, NISS and CRUE, in which order, and what each one costs.

Woman talking with a receptionist at a hotel front desk
Photo: Zoran Jesic/Adobe Stock

Two things changed for anyone chasing a NIF in Portugal. A foreigner with a Portuguese address can now request the NIF (número de identificação fiscal – tax number), the NISS (social security number) and the SNS (Serviço Nacional de Saúde) user number in one free visit at 12 Espaços Cidadão (citizen counters). And under Portaria 13/2024 the CRUE (certificado de registo de cidadão da União Europeia) costs €18 for adults in person, though the Government's ePortugal portal still says €15.

Portuguese citizens get every number bundled on the Cartão de Cidadão (citizen card); as a foreigner you obtain each one separately.

How do you get a NIF in Portugal?

Anyone with tax obligations or rights in Portugal must register, and you need the NIF to have a job, sign contracts, rent a home or open a bank account. It is nine digits, currently starting with 3, and stays the same for life whether you are resident or not. Applying is free.

Foreigners apply in person, always by prior appointment, at a Serviço de Finanças (tax office) or a Loja de Cidadão (citizen shop): book on the Portal das Finanças, with no login, or call (+351) 217 206 707 on weekdays. Online, only a legal representative with a power of attorney can file. Foreign-language documents must be translated and certified.

Your situationDocumentsStatus
EU citizen who will be tax residentID card or passport plus the CRUE from the câmara municipalResident
Third-country national living in PortugalPassport plus a valid residence permit, or the AIMA appointment or receiptResident
Anyone applying before movingPassport (with a visa unless visa-exempt) and proof of your address abroadNon-resident
Child without a passportBirth certificate and proof of the parents' addressAs the parents

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

Do you need a tax representative? According to the Tax and Customs Authority, no: a non-resident can get a NIF without one, and the ePortugal page saying a third-country applicant must name one is out of date. Within 15 days of a tax relationship – a vehicle, property or job here – a non-resident must, however, appoint a representative or opt for electronic notifications, which EU and EEA residents may always do. Failing to appoint a mandatory representative carries a fine of €75 to €7,500.

NISS – the social security number you need to work

The NISS is assigned only when there is a link to Social Security: an employment contract, self-employment or a benefit claim. Your employer must first sign the contract and report it on Segurança Social Direta, and can request the number for you. There is no fixed deadline for the Instituto da Segurança Social to assign it, and only one NISS is issued even if you file two requests.

You apply online only, on the Social Security portal, uploading your ID and proof of the reason – a contract, or a foreign employer's contract for digital nomads – plus, for third-country nationals, the residence permit, visa or proof of a pending application, as PNG, JPG or PDF files of at most 3 MB. Since August 2025 the proof of the number comes online after biometric verification, or by video appointment booked on the SIGA platform or on 210 548 888 or 300 088 888, weekdays 9h–18h.

One visit for NIF, NISS and SNS number: the 12 Espaços Cidadão

The one-stop service is open to people who hold or have applied for a residence permit, to EU nationals with the CRUE and to applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection. You authenticate with a Chave Móvel Digital (CMD – the state digital ID) linked to your passport, or with eIDAS; without a CMD, the counter creates one. Proof of address is a lease, a comodato (loan-for-use) contract, a utility bill, a land-registry certificate or a landlord's declaration.

CityCounterNote
LisbonSaldanha; Laranjeiras; Loures; Nova SBESaldanha open weekdays 9h–19h
PortoEspaço Cidadão of the Cedofeita union of parishes; Pólo Zero/FAPCedofeita by appointment only: 226 052 740, 9h–17h
Braga, Setúbal, Lagos, OlhãoEspaço CidadãoMore counters are promised
CoimbraNot on the listUse the separate routes

Source: the Government's ePortugal portal, updated 17 September 2026, read 24 September 2026.

CRUE certificate – registering as an EU citizen at the câmara municipal

The obligation is national, under article 14 of Lei 37/2006: an EU, EEA, Swiss or Andorran citizen who stays more than three months registers within 30 days after those three months at the câmara municipal of the area of residence, with a valid ID card or passport and a declaration on honour that you work here, have sufficient resources, or are a student. The certificate is valid five years.

Take it seriously: not registering in time is an administrative offence with a fine of €400 to €1,500, and registering without meeting the conditions €500 to €2,500, halved for negligence.

CRUE fee under Portaria 13/2024In personDigital channel
Adult over 25€18€15
Under 25€15€12.50
Child under 6€7.50Not stated
Baby under 1FreeNot stated

Source: the AIMA fee table under Portaria 13/2024, third amendment to Portaria 1334-D/2010, read 24 September 2026.

Where you go, and how fast it comes, is the câmara's decision. Porto issues the CRUE at the Gabinete do Munícipe, Praça do General Humberto Delgado 266, by appointment through Linha Porto on (+351) 220 100 220 or online: in person on the spot, online within up to 10 working days. Porto accepts an atestado de residência from the junta de freguesia (parish council), a lease with the electronic rent receipt, a deed, a tax-domicile certificate or a student declaration. In Lisbon you apply at the câmara municipal – at the Loja de Cidadão do Saldanha counter; no separate Braga or Coimbra procedure could be found, so ask the câmara first. AIMA itself gives a minimum issue time of one month.

Registering your address: the tax office, AIMA and the junta de freguesia

Your address lives in several databases, and AIMA advises keeping all of them current. The tax address matters most: you become tax resident after more than 183 days here in any 12-month period, or once you hold a home you intend to keep as your habitual residence, and you must report the change within 60 days; other address changes within 15 days.

AIMA updates an address reported through its contact form within two working days. For the permit application, however, it does not accept a junta de freguesia declaration as proof of accommodation: it wants the sworn Declaração de Alojamento with a land-registry certificate, the lease and last rent receipt, or a comodato contract, plus a Tax Authority certificate of your tax address, under 30 days old, if you are not named in the contract. The junta's atestado still has its uses – Porto accepts it for the CRUE.

RegisterDeadlineProof it accepts
Tax Authority – resident status60 days; 15 days for other changesCRUE or residence permit
AIMA – residence-permit fileUpdated within two working daysDeclaração de Alojamento with land registry, lease and receipt, or comodato
Câmara municipal – CRUE30 days after the first three monthsID and declaration on honour; in Porto also a proof of residence
Health centre – SNS recordComplete within 180 daysResidence permit or CRUE, NIF, full address

Source: the Tax and Customs Authority, AIMA, Câmara Municipal do Porto and the ACSS user-registry FAQ, read 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Decide whether you will be tax resident: 183 days, or a permanent homeBefore you apply
2Book the NIF, or the one-stop visitFirst week
3EU citizens: the CRUE, with a proof of residence in PortoWithin 30 days after three months
4Contract reported, then the NISS onlineWhen you sign
5Complete your SNS recordWithin 180 days
6Address to the Tax Authority and AIMAWithin 60 days of becoming resident

Source: the Tax and Customs Authority, the Social Security Institute and Lei 37/2006, 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.