Your first weeks after moving to Portugal: what to do, in order

Secure your housing and keep every proof of address

If you have not found housing yet, start there: without an address it will be harder to deal with the bank, the Centro de Saúde (health centre), school, the Atestado de Residência (certificate of residence) and updating your address with the tax office.

Ideally you want a contrato de arrendamento (tenancy agreement) registered by the landlord with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, AT (tax authority). If the flat is unfurnished, that is normal in Portugal: furniture and appliances are often bought separately, including second-hand.

In practice landlords may ask for a deposit and rent in advance. In one case the flat was found remotely a month before arrival, options requiring six months or a year paid up front were ruled out, and the contract was signed the day after the move on 2+2 terms.

Get or check your NIF at Finanças

The NIF, Número de Identificação Fiscal (tax number), is needed almost everywhere: the bank, a mobile contract, renting, utilities, private insurance, sometimes school and healthcare. It is issued by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, AT (tax authority), through a Serviço de Finanças (tax office) or a Loja de Cidadão (citizen’s service centre).

If you got your NIF before moving, check which address is registered and whether you have a representante fiscal (tax representative). Once you have a Portuguese address, you usually need to change your morada fiscal (tax address) to it.

Through e-balcão (online enquiries to the tax office) they may ask for unnecessary documents. From real experience, going in person is often simpler: one person arrived at the Loja de Cidadão do Saldanha in Lisbon 2 hours before opening, got a ticket, and when applying in person did not need the notarised copies that had been demanded online.

Open a bank account and sort out a SIM card

For the bank, usually have your passport, NIF, proof of address, visa or cartão de residência (residence card) ready, and sometimes a contrato de trabalho (employment contract) or proof of income. Conditions vary a lot between banks and depending on your status; for basic needs people often look at Millennium bcp, ActivoBank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and others.

For your mobile, it is easier to start with a prepaid SIM. For a contrato móvel (contract with an operator), eSIM and family plans you may be asked specifically for a Portuguese NIF. If the contract is in someone else’s name, changes can often only be made with that person present.

If you urgently need a phone in the first days, do not tie yourself straight away to a long contract: get a prepaid SIM, and once you have your NIF, bank and address, switch at your leisure.

No account or MB Way yet: how to pay in the first weeks

An account cannot always be opened in the first weeks, or not straight away, so it makes sense to know in advance how to pay without one. Portuguese bills for housing, phone, nursery and fees do not come with bank details but with three numbers: entidade, referência and the exact amount. You cannot pay them at a cash machine with a foreign card — for a foreign card the machine only offers to withdraw cash and check your balance.

What works in the meantime is cash through the Payshop and Pagaqui networks. These are ordinary tobacconists, kiosks, cafés, launderettes and shopping centres; locations are on payshop.pt and pagaqui.pt. You show the cashier the same three numbers from the bill and hand over the money. For some payments Payshop asks for a NIF (tax number) or a residence card; Pagaqui usually asks for nothing (2026).

MB Way is the second thing worth setting up, but not before you have a card: it needs a Portuguese phone number and a card from a bank in the Multibanco network. The Nickel card is not part of this network, Wise and N26 have no Portuguese card at all, while Revolut with a Portuguese account number does work with MB Way. As soon as you have the card, register in the MB Way app straight away: without registering you can only send money, not receive it, and you find this out at the worst possible moment.

To be honest about neobanks as a stopgap: since autumn 2025 they hardly ever open an account without a residence card, and Nickel, which held out longest, has not opened accounts on Russian or Belarusian passports at all since December 2025. So in the first weeks the order is: NIF, then try to open an account, and until you have one — cash, Payshop and an arrangement with your landlord about the first month.

And larger sums: a deposit for an agency or school is paid in cash directly at the bank into the recipient’s account using their IBAN — you do not need your own account for this. Be ready to explain where the money comes from: the bank asks this even of people who have no account.

“Most of the time neobanks won’t open an account without a residence card. If it’s really urgent, you can try to sort it out with tech support, in very rare cases documents proving residence get through (address, bills, an appointment with the immigration office, etc.).”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

HigherEducationPortugal21.10.2025

“The bills have the details, you find shops with Payshop signs (usually any tobacconist or something like one), show these details to the person at the till (entity, amount and payment code) and hand over the money in cash.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt03.08.2026

Get an Atestado de Residência from the Junta de Freguesia

The Atestado de Residência (certificate of residence) is issued by the Junta de Freguesia (parish council) where you actually live. This certificate is often needed for the Centro de Saúde (health centre), school, and sometimes for banks and other authorities. For AIMA (the migration agency), do not count on the Atestado any more: according to recent reports from July 2026, it uses the Certidão de Domicílio Fiscal from the Portal das Finanças to confirm your address.

What is accepted depends on the particular Junta de Freguesia. In some, a passport and one paper with your address are enough; in others they ask for a contrato de arrendamento (tenancy agreement), a water or electricity bill, a document from Finanças (the tax office) or witnesses registered in the parish.

In Paranhos in Porto, one person needed only their passport, NIF, their parents’ details and a printed certificate from Segurança Social (social security) showing their address; the certificate was made and handed over on the spot. In Amarante the certificate was issued without a tenancy agreement or witnesses — just a passport and an address given verbally. But this is no guarantee: the rules at the counter can differ even between neighbouring parishes.

Update your tax address with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira

Once you have actually moved, update your morada fiscal (tax address) with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, AT (tax authority). This matters for tax residence, letters from the tax office, the bank, self-employment and future tax returns.

If you do not have a Cartão de Cidadão (citizen card), the address is often changed through the Portal das Finanças (tax portal) and e-balcão (online enquiries). You usually attach your título de residência (residence card) or visa and the Atestado de Residência (certificate of residence), and write a short message in Portuguese asking for the address to be changed.

In one case, after the request and documents were sent through e-balcão, the reply came 16 days later: the address had been changed, and confirmation was promised by post.

If your new address turns out to be in the interior of the country, the same paper opens the way to a one-off payment from the employment service: for moving your life and work inland they pay from €2,685.65 to €5,317.59, and more if a family moves. Changing your tax address is the main proof of the move. The deadline is strict: the application must be made no later than 180 days after you start work, and the move itself must fall within 180 days before or after that day. Who is eligible, which villages count as the interior and what you will have to pay back if you leave before a year is up — in a separate guide, Payment for moving to the interior.

Register with the SNS and consider private insurance

The SNS, Serviço Nacional de Saúde (national health service), is what you need for a family doctor, vaccinations, pregnancy, referrals and hospitals. You need a número de utente (SNS patient number). People usually go to the Centro de Saúde (health centre) for their address or to the Unidade Local de Saúde, ULS (local health unit).

Have your passport, NIF, visa or cartão de residência (residence card), comprovativo de morada (proof of address) and sometimes your NISS, Número de Identificação de Segurança Social (social security number), ready. In practice even a registered tenancy agreement is not always accepted: they may ask specifically for a comprovativo de morada emitido pela Junta de Freguesia (proof of address from the parish council).

Private insurance is not compulsory, but in the first months it can help a lot if you are planning dental work, a gynaecologist, an orthodontist or quick consultations. One person wrote that after moving they paid €80 for the orthodontist every 1.5 months and €120 for the gynaecologist every month, and regretted not taking out insurance straight away.

Get a NISS if you work, register as self-employed or are preparing to renew your residence permit

The NISS, Número de Identificação de Segurança Social (social security number), is issued by Segurança Social (social security). You need it for employment, ENI (sole trader), social security contributions, benefits and in many immigration procedures.

Foreigners usually apply online through the Segurança Social form for a pedido de NISS de cidadão estrangeiro (NISS request for a foreign national). You will need your passport, visa or residence permit, NIF, address, and sometimes an employment contract or proof that you have started self-employed activity.

There are delays and refusals with the NISS because of unclear document requirements. One person got a NISS for their child only on the third attempt; another applied online for a child on a D7 visa and got a reply with additional requirements. So apply as early as possible, especially if AIMA (the migration agency) has already asked for your NISS for your appointment.

If you are starting a job as an employee, there is another reason you need your NISS: your employer must notify Segurança Social of your hiring before the contract starts — that is, before your first working day — and give your NISS, the type of contract and the amount of the fixed part of your salary in that notification. You can check for yourself whether you have been registered in your Segurança Social Direta account. If they are dragging their feet over it, raise it straight away: My employer won’t give me an employment contract.

Sort out your everyday transport

In Lisbon and the surrounding area, look at the Navegante system (Lisbon region transport card). In Porto — Andante (Porto transport card). Cards are issued at ticket offices and transport customer service points; personalised cards usually need an ID document, a photo or a digital photo taken on the spot, and sometimes a NIF.

If you live in the hilly parts of Lisbon, check which lifts, funiculars and trams are on your route. For example, travel on the funicular with Navegante still applies, while a single ticket bought on board the funicular has a separate price.

In the first weeks, do not rush to buy unusual season tickets or long-term parking arrangements until you know your actual route to work, school and the shops.

Deal with household matters: deliveries, furniture, small repairs

After moving in, check the water, electricity, gas, internet, locks, letterbox, plumbing and appliances. If the utility contracts have not been transferred to you, check with the landlord who will do it and when.

Many flats are let unfurnished, so in the first weeks people often buy furniture and appliances. Deliveries are not always predictable: in one case a parcel worth about €1,000 was taken not to the home but to an access point (collection point) 15 minutes away and handed over without any ID check.

For small repairs you can look for a handyman / faz-tudo (odd-job man): in one real case after the move, a handyman was given the locks, the sink, a tap, a kitchen cabinet front and other small problems.

On your very first trip to the supermarket you will pay an unfamiliar extra 10 cents for every plastic bottle and can with the Volta symbol: since 10 April 2026 a deposit has been built into their price, and it appears as a separate line on the receipt. It is not a tax — you get the money back when you return the empty, undamaged container to a machine at the shop or to a small shop that takes them by hand. If you do not return them, you lose it: a six-pack of water carries 60 cents of deposit, a crate of beer €2.40. What is in the scheme, why the machine will not take a crushed can and how to get cash instead of a discount voucher — in a separate guide, Volta: deposit on bottles and cans.

If you have children, deal with school, language and vaccinations

For school, go to the agrupamento de escolas (school group) where you live or use the Portal das Matrículas (school enrolment portal) if enrolment is open online. You need the child’s documents, NIF, address, previous school reports or certificates of study, vaccination records, and sometimes translations of documents.

If a child arrives in the middle of the school year, settling in is harder. From parents’ experience, basic Portuguese before arrival and a tutor after the move help not only with communication but also with school subjects.

Vaccinations under the Programa Nacional de Vacinação (national vaccination schedule) are free in the public health service. Discuss BCG and other vaccines with the Centro de Saúde (health centre): sometimes they give them when they have gathered several children for one day.

If you are self-employed, get to grips with ENI, IVA and your tax regime

ENI, Empresário em Nome Individual (sole trader), is registered with the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, AT (tax authority). Do not issue recibos verdes (self-employed electronic receipts) until you understand activity codes, IVA (VAT), retenção na fonte (tax withheld at source) and Segurança Social (social security) contributions.

The old NHR regime, Residente Não Habitual (tax regime for new residents), was closed to most new applicants after a transition period, and instead there is the narrower IFICI regime, Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação (tax incentive for scientific research and innovation). Do not plan your taxes on old stories without checking the year and whether you are entitled to the transitional rules.

From real experience, people took advice even before moving, and afterwards — on activity codes, NHR, IVA and their first IRS return (annual income tax return). Mistakes at the start can later cost more than a consultation.

If you have pets, check the building rules and your relations with the neighbours

In the first days an animal may be noisy from stress, especially if the doors are thin, the building is a block of flats and the neighbours are sensitive to noise. Check that your pet is microchipped, its vaccinations are up to date and that you have a European pet passport or import documents.

In Portugal neighbours may quickly complain to the police or the building manager. In one case the police came the very day after the move: the dog was barking at home, and the neighbours decided it was being mistreated. It all ended well, but it is better to reduce your pet’s stress in advance and not leave it alone for long in the first days.