Hi there,
I left in order the procedures we did in Porto after buying the house:
- Finanças – Change of address of the NIF (Tax Identification Number)
- EDP – Change of ownership of electricity
- Águas do Porto – Change of ownership of water
- Meo – Home Internet
- Câmara Municipal do Porto – Residence Certificate (5 years)
- Finanças – Registration of my property
- Finanças – Insenção de IMI
- Finanças – NHR (Non-Habitual Residence Tax Regime)
- Finanças – Register independent activity
- Social Security – NISS (Social Security Identification Number)
- Medical center – User number
- Medical center – Family Doctor
- Insurance broker – Home insurance, health insurance
- Conservatório do Registo civil – Portuguese nationality
Now I explain a little more about each procedure:
- Finanças – Change of address of the NIF
When we went to Porto to visit the houses, we took the opportunity to apply for the non-resident NIF. This number is necessary to be able to open an account at the bank. After buying the house we went to Finanças with the purchase contract so that they could change the address of the NIF. When they register you as a resident, they send a letter by post with a password so you can access the Finanças portal and do everything electronically.
- EDP, Águas do Porto – Change of ownership / Meo – Home Internet
We made the change of ownership of the electricity in the Loja de Cidadão.
At Águas do Porto we were horrified that they charged 30 euros just for changing the owner of the contract.
The largest internet companies are MEO, NOS and Vodafone. MEO is the cheapest, around 4 euros per month. They all try to sell you the pack with television and mobile, but we only wanted internet for the house.
As for the mobile, as everything we had seen cost around 10 euros per month and it was convenient for us to continue using the Spanish lines (2 euros per month), we only requested one line with Vodafone to be able to receive calls. This Vodafone line did not cost anything (not even shipping costs), and we only had to put money if we wanted to call. But for calls within Portugal, we used Skype which was free. Then we contracted another line with NOWO that cost us around 7 euros per month.
- Câmara Municipal do Porto – Certificate of Residence
You must make an appointment. The guy who attended us was bitter and was the only rude person we encountered in all the paperwork we did.
The most important thing for them to give you the residence certificate is to show that you have money. The more, the better, but the minimum is 6,000 euros a year.
In my case, since I didn’t have a job and wasn’t going to study, I had to show the amounts I had in my accounts.
Diego was working remotely, but since he did not work for any Portuguese company nor did he receive his payroll in Portugal, he also had to show the money he had in his accounts and credit a minimum of 30,000 euros.
The residence certificate lasts 5 years and costs 15 euros.
- Finanças – Registration of my property
As after a month the property still did not appear registered in my Finanças portal, we had to go personally to make a claim. Apparently, there is always a delay in registering the properties and the official simply copies the data from the purchase contract into the system.
- Finanças – Insenção IMI
Once your registered property appears on the Finanças portal, the request of “Insenção de IMI” is made through the same website. In this way, you do not pay taxes on the property for 3 years.
- Finanças – NHR / Register independent activity
NHR (Non-Habitual Residency) is a status that is also requested through the Finanças portal and is approved almost immediately. When you are considered a “non-habitual resident”, those who receive their salary from other countries will not pay taxes on that money for 10 years.
In addition, you are exempt from paying social security for one year.
We consulted with an accountant so that she could explain to us what the whole process was like, and we were not very happy because she wanted to charge us 50 euros a month when we had told her that Diego wanted to learn to do this procedures on his own. In fact, we had to pay her 50 euros for a 5-minute explanation.
In the end, we personally went to Finanças, and it was much better. In addition, they have a support number and even help you to make the income statement.
Here is some interesting information about the NHR:
https://gddc.ministeriopublico.pt/sites/default/files/documentos/instrumentos/rar39-1995.pdf
When the NHR is approved, you must register the independent activity on the same website. Then, monthly you will create the “green receipt” which is the invoice that you make to your company.
Since Diego is paid in dollars, but the money arrives in his account in euros, he makes the green receipt after the money arrives and he knows the exact amount.
- Social Security – NISS
You must make an appointment and bring a form with the documentation attached.
- Medical center – User number / Family doctor
After they give you the NISS, you must go to the medical center that is closest to you or that you like the most to ask for the ID number.
In Spain you automatically get a medical center for your residence. In Portugal you can choose the medical center and hospital you prefer.
We went to the medical center, and they gave us a sheet with all the documentation that we had to send by email so that they could give us the user number. They respond to you in a couple of days with that number.
Then, you must go to the medical center that you prefer to fill out a form to ask them to assign you a family doctor. As my friend told me, this process is traumatic because almost no doctor has a vacancy, and you may have to sign up at a medical center that is very far away.
In my case, since I made a claim, I was immediately assigned to the medical center and family doctor. Initially we wanted another medical center, but after the first consultation we liked the doctor so much that we stayed there.
In my experience, public health in Portugal works much better than in Spain. In another post I will tell you more in detail.
- Insurance broker – Home insurance, health insurance
During the first month after buying the house, we took out the insurance through a guy who had been recommended to me. Since we had encountered so many problems in the house, we were afraid that something big would happen and we would not be covered.
I also requested information about private health insurance since at that time we still did not know how public health worked.
All private insurances in Portugal have a copay that starts at 15 euros. Depending on the specialist or the tests you must do, you pay more. The prices we saw ranged from 40 to 100 euros per month depending on the coverage. In addition, they have a specific budget for each thing, so you can go for a consultation a certain number of times a year.
I didn’t like it because in Spain you pay 50 euros a month with no copay, and you can go to the doctor as many times as you need.
In the end, we ruled it out because it was cheaper for us to pay for the annual check-ups that we do and for any emergency, there is public health.
- Conservatório do Registo civil – Portuguese nationality information
In Portugal, if you have a European Union passport, they do not give you any identity document. You use your passport and NIF. The good thing is that nobody asks you to see the documents, only that you say the numbers.
Not even in the medical center do you have to show any documentation.
The only bad thing is that with the Cartão de Cidadão (national ID) you can do all the procedures online. As a foreigner, you can ask for the “chave móvel digital”, but it may not work for some things depending on how the data is registered in the various public administration systems.
That is why we went to find out how to apply for nationality and be able to have a Cartão de Cidadão. With 5 years of residence, you can already request it.
My recommendations
- Any paperwork you need to do is by appointment and the availability given by the system is for at least one month. It is best to go at 7AM to be among the first to enter, so you will always have space.
- If you have questions about taxes, income statement, self-employment, etc.; It is better that you make an appointment at Finanças so that they can explain it to you. The service is free and, in our case, they explained much better than the accountant who charged us 50 euros for 5 minutes.
Important to note regarding taxes
- Taxes on the purchase of a home are much lower than in Spain
- With the NHR certificate you do not pay taxes for 10 years on the income that comes from work for a foreign company
- If you have residence in Portugal, you are exempt from paying social security for 12 months and then you will pay based on your income from work
- After you buy a property that is your first residence, you can request the Insenção IMI so you will not pay taxes on that property for 3 years