NIF from Abroad: Tax Representative, ViaCTT and Change of Address

In short: you can get a Portuguese NIF without leaving Brazil, through a person holding a power of attorney. To apply for the number, you do not need a tax representative. But if you buy a property or a car, or start working in Portugal, you will have 15 days to appoint a tax representative or start receiving letters from the Tax Authority online.

The NIF (Portuguese tax identification number) is the "Portuguese CPF". It is the number that identifies you before the Tax and Customs Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, AT), Portugal's equivalent of the Receita Federal, which the Portuguese call "Finanças". Without it, almost nothing moves forward: renting a home, opening a bank account, buying property or signing an employment contract.

In this article we explain what happens after the application, which is where the questions arise. For an overview of the number, see our page on the NIF.

How to apply for a NIF without being in Portugal

According to the official AT leaflet on the NIF for non-resident foreign nationals (July 2025 version), there are two routes:

• Online. An attorney-in-fact (the person to whom you give a power of attorney to act on your behalf) files the application through e-balcão. E-balcão is the online help desk of the Tax Authority portal (Portal das Finanças), the AT website.
• In person. By appointment, at a Tax Office (Serviço de Finanças, a local AT office) or at a Citizen Shop (Loja do Cidadão), in Portugal.

Those in Brazil use the first route. The second is for those who will spend some time in Portugal. Brazilians do not need a visa for short trips to the Schengen area, and the AT leaflet takes this into account when the foreign national files the application in person.

The number is issued as non-resident. This means that, for the AT, you live outside Portugal.

Documents for a remote application

• copy of your passport (or another valid identity document);
• proof of your address in Brazil, if the address is not on your identity document. The Brazilian passport does not show an address, so you usually need an electricity, water or similar bill;
• power of attorney giving the attorney-in-fact authority to apply for the NIF;
• copy of the attorney-in-fact's identity document.

Two tips from the same leaflet:

• if the attorney-in-fact is a lawyer or solicitor (a Portuguese legal professional), the power of attorney does not need a signature notarized at a notary's office;
• if you want the attorney-in-fact to also be your tax representative, this must be stated in the power of attorney.

Brazilian documents are in Portuguese and do not need translation. If the power of attorney is made at a notary's office in Brazil, see the points to watch on our page on powers of attorney between Brazil and Portugal.

Attorney-in-fact and tax representative are not the same thing

This confusion is very common. The AT itself distinguishes the two roles:

• Attorney-in-fact: the person who performs an act for you, such as applying for the NIF. Once the act is done, their role ends.
• Tax representative: the person who lives in Portugal and deals with the Tax Authority on your behalf. AT letters go to their address, and they handle the "paperwork" obligations, such as filing returns. This role is set out in Art. 19 of the General Tax Law (Lei Geral Tributária).

A point that reassures many people: according to the AT, the tax representative does not pay your taxes for you. The exception is VAT (IVA, the consumption tax, similar to ICMS in Brazil) for self-employed people. In that case, the representative is jointly liable with you (Art. 30 of the VAT Code).

When a tax representative becomes mandatory

The law says that anyone living abroad must have a representative in Portugal (Art. 19(6) of the General Tax Law). But there are three important exceptions:

• Those who live in the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein: the representative is optional (Art. 19(8)).
• Those who receive Tax Authority notifications online: they are exempt (Art. 19(15), as worded by Decree-Law 44/2022). We explain this below.
• Those who have no "legal tax relationship" with Portugal: according to the AT's frequently asked questions, there is no obligation.

"Legal tax relationship" is a complicated name for a simple idea: having something in Portugal that generates tax or obligations with the Tax Authority. The AT gives examples. You have this relationship when you:

• own a car registered in Portugal;
• own a property in Portugal;
• sign an employment contract to work in Portugal;
• are self-employed in Portugal.

The 15-day deadline

According to the AT, from the moment this relationship arises (for example, on the day of the property deed), you have 15 days to appoint the representative or sign up for online notifications. Anyone who will be self-employed must appoint the representative before starting.

The alternative: receiving Tax Authority letters online

Since 2022, those who live outside Europe can replace the representative with a digital channel (Art. 19(15) of the General Tax Law). The options are:

• electronic notifications and summonses on the Portal das Finanças: AT letters appear in your area of the website;
• ViaCTT electronic mailbox: a digital mailbox from the Portuguese postal service (CTT).

According to the AT, you sign up on the Portal das Finanças, under "Cidadãos > Serviços > A minha área > Notificações e Citações > Gerir Canais" (Citizens > Services > My area > Notifications and Summonses > Manage Channels). Note two limits:

• Self-employed people who charge VAT remain obliged to have a representative, even if they receive everything online. That representative must be a VAT taxpayer resident in Portugal (Art. 30(2) of the VAT Code).
• Opting out of the digital channel only takes effect after a representative is appointed (Art. 19(16)).

A practical detail: the Portal password

To sign up for the digital channel, you need to log in to the Portal das Finanças with a password. In the frequently asked questions on passwords, the AT says that, for those living outside Europe, the password is sent to the tax representative's address in Portugal. For this reason, it is worth deciding which route to take before buying the property or signing the contract, so as not to miss the 15-day deadline.

What happens if you do nothing

• Fine: from €75 to €7,500 (Art. 124 of the General Regime for Tax Offenses).
• Rights on hold: you cannot file a complaint or an appeal against a Tax Authority charge until you appoint the representative (Art. 19(7) of the General Tax Law).

When you move to Portugal

The NIF number does not change. What changes is your status in the AT's records: from "non-resident" to "resident". And you are the one who must request this change.

When you become a tax resident

A "tax resident" is someone who pays income tax in Portugal as a resident. Under Art. 16 of the IRS Code, you are a resident if, in the year, you:

• stayed in Portugal for more than 183 days, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period beginning or ending in that year; or
• stayed for less time, but have a home in Portugal that shows the intention to live in it.

What this changes in the taxes of both countries is explained on our page on tax residence between Brazil and Portugal.

Deadline and documents to update your records

You have 60 days to inform the AT that you have become a resident (Art. 19(5) of the General Tax Law). Until you do, the change has no effect for the Tax Authority (Art. 19(4)). The request is made through e-balcão or at a Tax Office by appointment, and can also be made by an attorney-in-fact.

For Brazilians, the AT leaflet asks for the passport and a document showing your address in Portugal:

• a valid residence card (the card issued by AIMA, the Portuguese immigration agency); or
• proof of the appointment or of the residence application still pending at AIMA.

If these documents do not show the address, the AT also accepts, for example, the deed of the home, the lease or the employment contract. If the address is different from the one on file with AIMA, you must prove that you also requested the change from AIMA.

Those who already have a Portuguese Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão, the Portuguese ID card, for example for those who have obtained citizenship) change their address through the Citizen Card services, as indicated in the AT's frequently asked questions. See our page on the Citizen Card and Portuguese passport.

Three common situations

1. I only want to have a NIF, for now. Ana lives in Curitiba. She applies for a NIF through an attorney-in-fact to open an account at a Portuguese bank. She has no property, car, job or activity in Portugal. She needs neither a representative nor the digital channel.

2. I bought an apartment, but I still live in Brazil. Bruno signs the deed for an apartment in the Algarve. From that day, he has 15 days to appoint a representative or sign up for the digital channel. Ideally, this should be sorted out before the deed. See our page on buying and selling property.

3. I moved with a D7 visa. Carla arrives in Lisbon, rents an apartment and receives her residence card. With the card and the lease, she asks the AT to change her status to resident, within 60 days.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the attorney-in-fact for the application is already the tax representative. This is only the case if it is stated in the power of attorney and the appointment is made and accepted at the AT.
• Forgetting the 15 days after the deed or the employment contract. The fine can reach €7,500.
• Choosing as representative someone who does not live in Portugal. The law requires the representative to live in the country.
• Remaining a non-resident after moving. This affects your income tax return and where letters are sent.
• Moving to a new home in Portugal and not informing the AT. Letters keep going to the old address, and the change has no effect for the Tax Authority until it is reported.
• Canceling the digital channel without having a representative. The cancellation does not take effect until a representative is appointed.

• General Tax Law, Art. 19 (tax domicile; paragraphs 4 to 8, 15 and 16 as worded by Decree-Law 44/2022)
• AT — Leaflet 'Número de identificação fiscal para cidadãos estrangeiros não residentes' (Tax identification number for non-resident foreign nationals, July 2025)
• AT — Frequently asked questions: Taxpayer Registration > Tax Representation (FAQ 4627, 4628, 4630, 4634)
• AT — Frequently asked questions: Access passwords (FAQ 5472 — residents outside the EU/EEA)
• IRS Code (Código do IRS), Art. 16 (residence)
• VAT Code, Art. 30 (tax representative)
• General Regime for Tax Offenses, Art. 124 (failure to appoint representatives)

Sene & Araújo Sociedade de Advogados team. Content prepared and reviewed by the firm's lawyers, admitted to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados), with offices in São Paulo and Albufeira. The provisions cited were checked against the official sources listed above. Meet the team.