📋 NIF processing time: Our standard turnaround is 3–5 business days after PoA signing, but we advise allowing 7–10 business days due to possible delays (e.g. holidays, strikes, or tax office backlog).

Application Process:

Step 1: After Payment
We review your application within 1 business day to ensure all documents are submitted correctly.

Step 2: Document Review
If your documents meet our requirements, we send you a Power of Attorney for your e-signature.

Step 3: Processing Begins
Once you sign the Power of Attorney, our partner lawyers submit your NIF application to the Portuguese tax office.

Step 4: NIF Delivery
Your NIF is processed and delivered within 3–5 business days from Power of Attorney signing. This is an estimate and your individual timeline may vary.

Important Document Requirements to Avoid Delays:

• Scanned copy of your passport or EU ID card as described here
• Proof of address document as stated here

⚠️ Using photos instead of scanned copies for ID documents or not providing good scanned/PDF copies for proof of address documents will delay your submission, as we won’t send you the Power of Attorney for signature until your documents are uploaded correctly.

When you get a NIF through us, our partner lawyer acts as your tax representative. You can choose between:

✅ One-year tax representation — We follow up by the end of the year to ask if you want to renew
✅ Tax representation with automatic renewal (Recommended)

This service includes:

• Obtaining your NIF
• Providing login details for the Finanças portal
• Guiding you through activating electronic notifications

Why We Strongly Recommend Tax Representation with Automatic Renewal Until You Move to Portugal:

Even with electronic notifications activated, certain critical tax communications are still sent exclusively by physical mail.

Since our partner lawyer acts as your tax representative, your registered address with the Portuguese tax authorities will be our partner lawyer’s office address, meaning all physical mail from Finanças goes directly to them.

Notifications from the tax authorities generally require a prompt response within 10 to 15 days, and missing these deadlines can result in major problems such as large fines.

Key Benefits of Maintaining Tax Representation:

• All important mail goes directly to your tax representative — We receive time-sensitive documents at a Portuguese address
• We forward everything to you promptly — No risk of missing critical deadlines due to international mail delays
• Complete compliance coverage — Tax office passwords and certain official documents are still sent by physical mail, even with digital notifications enabled
• Peace of mind — You won’t miss important communications that could result in penalties or compliance issues

Once you relocate to Portugal and update your NIF address to a Portuguese one, you can then discontinue the tax representation service. Until then, maintaining this service ensures you stay fully compliant with Portuguese tax obligations without any communication gaps.

🔗 Read more about which option is right for you:
When Should You Choose a NIF with 1-Year Tax Representation or Automatic Renewal?

Yes, we assist in providing access to the Finanças portal for both EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA residents.

Typically, you will receive access to the portal approximately 2–3 weeks after we have successfully issued your NIF. This waiting period is determined by the Autoridade Tributária and cannot be expedited.

Glad you asked! 😎

Activating notification channels on the Finanças portal is pretty easy, and we’ve got all the resources to help you out:

1. Check out this helpful video from Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira: Watch the Video — a visual guide that walks you through the process step by step.
2. Need a slower pace? We’ve got you covered with a detailed guide: Read the step-by-step guide — breaks down each part of the activation process.

Timing for Activation:

• Submitted on or before the 10th of the month — your notification channel will be activated on the 1st of the following month. (e.g. request made on January 7th → activation on February 1st.)
• Submitted after the 10th of the month — your notification channel will be activated on the 1st of the month after next. (e.g. request made on January 11th → activation on March 1st.)

We’ll send your NIF directly to your email in PDF format. For a clearer idea of what to expect, you can check out this example of a NIF PDF we provided to a previous client.

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

Legitimacy concerns?

We help 100s of expats every single month and take pride in the excellent ratings given to us by our clients.

Check out our reviews on Trustpilot and see for yourself why we’re trusted by many: trustpilot.com/review/novomove.com

When you obtain a NIF from us, it will initially be issued with a “non-resident” tax status.

As a non-resident you won’t be automatically required to file taxes in Portugal.

You’re only obligated to pay Portuguese taxes if you own a property or a car in Portugal and under a few other specific circumstances outlined in this article.

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

See the additional requirements below:

• Birth certificate or adoption certificate of the minor
• Copy of first parent’s passport
• Copy of second parent’s passport

Both parents will also need to sign the Power of Attorney. For details, please refer to this article.

We are proud to offer our NIF service to all nationalities.

Absolutely, safeguarding your personal data is our top priority.

We employ the Service Provider Pro (SPP) portal to ensure secure and centralized file sharing. Here’s how we ensure the utmost security for your data:

• Secure logins — Both our administrators and clients access the portal via secure login credentials.
• Regular security audits — SPP portals undergo regular checks by an ISO 27001 certified auditing firm.
• Data encryption — All databases and sensitive information are encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.

For a detailed overview, you can visit: spp.co/secure-client-portal

Once we provide you with the final NIF document, we delete all the files we have on record from our database. 🛡️🔒

If you still can’t find your answer after browsing, send us a message through our contact page and we’ll get back to you shortly.