What is a NIF in Portugal?

Requesting a NIF for a minor under the age of 18?

See the additional requirements below:

Birth certificate or Adoption certificate of minor
Copy of first parent’s passport
Copy of second parent’s passport

Were you born in Portugal or hold Portuguese citizenship?

You will need to provide a copy of your Portuguese birth certificate or your Citizen Card (Portuguese: Cartão de cidadão).

What can I use as Proof of Address?

When ordering your NIF, you will need to provide proof of address that satisfies the following criteria:

Address

Must be a residential address outside of Portugal
Must match the “Residential Address” submitted in the intake form
P.O. boxes and business addresses are not accepted

Name

If purchasing NIF only

First name and surname on your Proof of Address must match your passport exactly
For example, say that the name on your passport is “John Apple Smith”
✅ John Apple Smith
✅ John A Smith
✅ John Smith
❌ J Smith
❌ Johnny Smith
❌ Any other variations

If purchasing NIF and Bank
The bank requirements for Proof of Address are stricter than the NIF requirements. Because of this, the full name on your Proof of Address must match your passport exactly, otherwise, it will be rejected.
For example, say that the name on your passport is “John Apple Smith”
✅ John Apple Smith
❌ John A Smith
❌ John Smith
❌ J Smith
❌ Johnny Smith
❌ Any other variations

Document language

If purchasing NIF only
If the document is not written in the Roman alphabet, you need to provide an English translation. The translated document needs to be certified.

If purchasing NIF and Bank*
The document must be in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, or French.
If your Proof of Address is not in any of the languages above, please provided a translation to English. This translation needs to be certified.

For customers from the Schengen area: Documents can be certified by a lawyer or a notary outside of Portugal
For customers from other countries or residents outside the Schengen Area: Documents can only be certified by an authorized entity (Portuguese Consulate/Embassy or any other entities with the Hague Apostille).

*Schengen Areas:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Image quality

Text is legible
No shadows
No light reflections
All four corners of the document are visible

Acceptable Documents

Any of the following documents are acceptable:

1.Driver’s license

Must be valid (i.e. not expired)
Provide photos of both the front and back
Residential address must be visible
Expiration date must be visible

2. First page of bank statement

Issue date must be visible
Issued within the past 3 months
Must be an actual bank statement. Other documents from the bank (e.g. confirmation letter or bank certificate) will not be accepted.

Utility bill

Issue date must be visible
Issued within the past 3 months
Can be from any of the following providers: electricity, water, mobile sim, internet, cable, etc

For Minors

If requesting a NIF on behalf of a minor, please include a proof of address of one of the minor’s parents.

What does your ‘No Win, No Fee’ Guarantee mean?

In the event that we’re unable to successfully open your bank account, we implement our ‘No Win, No Fee’ Guarantee.

This means we will refund 50% of the total service cost, which equates to the Success Fee.

Service Fee Structure

Process Fee: 50% of the total payment, this fee covers the administrative tasks and processes involved in submitting your application.

Success Fee: The remaining 50% of the total payment, this fee is charged for the successful opening of your bank account.

It’s important to clarify that this guarantee does not cover any potential initial deposit or the bank’s recurring monthly fees.

Our guarantee ensures that if we don’t succeed in our primary service – opening your bank account – you aren’t charged the full service fee.

This policy showcases our confidence in our services and our dedication to customer satisfaction.

This is an example of a NISS pdf we provided to a client from the U.K.

Please note that name and address have been edited for privacy purposes.

This is an example of a NISS document we provided to a client.

Please note that name and address have been edited for privacy purposes.

NIF Basics