According to Decree-Law No. 14/2013 of January 28th, Article 10, the requirements to obtain a Portuguese taxpayer number (Número de Identificação Fiscal), commonly referred to as NIF or (Número de Contribuinte) are as follows:

For Portuguese citizens, the process is very straightforward as they only have to bring any valid form of identification to the nearest tax office. For foreigners to obtain a Portuguese taxpayer number, the requirements vary according to whether or not you are an EU resident.

• For EU residents to apply for NIF in Portugal, they will have to provide both a valid passport and resident card as well as a recent utility bill proving that they are lawfully residing in the European Union.
• In case you are neither Portuguese nor hold a resident card in an EU country, then you will have to find a Portuguese tax representative who must co-sign your NIF application.

You should generally go in person to any tax authority to apply for and obtain your Portuguese Taxpayer Number. If you are not yet physically present in Portugal, you can provide powers of attorney to a third party to carry out the process on your behalf.

If you are a GrowIN Portugal‘s client, we take care of the entire process to help you get your Portuguese NIF (Numero de Contribuinte), which is the very first and mandatory step to undergo to start your company in Portugal.