Opening a Portuguese Bank Account as a Non-Resident

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• You live outside Portugal and want a Portuguese account before you move.
• You own, or are buying, property in Portugal but live in another country.
• You live in another EU country, or outside the EU, and want to know your rights.

Not for you if: you already live in Portugal. Read Opening a Bank Account in Portugal instead.

Yes, you can open a Portuguese bank account while you live abroad. First get a Portuguese tax number (NIF), which is free. Then bring or send an identity document, proof of your address abroad, proof of income, and your foreign tax number. Banks may open accounts remotely, but each bank decides whom it accepts. If you live in another EU country, you have a legal right to a basic account. Your bank will report the account each year to the country where you pay tax.

Can a non-resident open an account?

Yes. The Banco de Portugal says the standard account (conta base) that banks sell is open to adults, resident or not, for personal use.

A bank does not have to accept you for an ordinary account, though. It must check who you are and where your money comes from under the money laundering rules. If it cannot do that to the legal standard, it can say no.

Your rights depend on where you live:

• If you live in another EU country, EU law gives you the right to a basic payment account in Portugal. A bank cannot refuse you just because you do not live here. Some banks may ask why you need an account here, for example because you work or own property in Portugal.
• If you live outside the EU, that EU right does not cover you. The bank decides, after its checks.

Do you need a Portuguese account?

Not always. If a company in Portugal accepts euro transfers or direct debits from Portuguese accounts, it cannot refuse an account from another EU country. That covers employers, utilities, and the tax office.

In practice, many people still open a Portuguese account. Landlords and local services often expect a Portuguese account number (IBAN, which starts with PT50). If you own property here, a local account makes it easy to pay property tax, the condominium, and utilities by direct debit.

Step 1: get your NIF

Every bank asks for your tax number (NIF). It is free.

• You can book an appointment at a tax office (Finanças) by calling 217 206 707.
• If you live outside the EU, you can also apply online through the Portal das Finanças e-balcão.
• You do not need a fiscal representative just to get the NIF.

Later, a fiscal representative may be needed. You may have tax dealings in Portugal, such as a property, a car, or work here. If so, and you live outside the EU and the EEA, you must appoint a fiscal representative. The free alternative is to switch on electronic tax notifications on the Portal das Finanças. See Appointing a Fiscal Representative in Portugal.

For every way to get the number, see Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal.

Step 2: gather your documents

By law, a bank records your full name, signature, date and place of birth, nationalities, identity document details, NIF, profession and employer, and home and tax addresses. You prove them with original documents or certified copies.

Bring or prepare:

• Identity: your passport or EU identity card. The name must match your NIF record exactly.
• NIF: the proof of NIF (comprovativo) printed from the Portal das Finanças.
• Proof of address abroad: a recent utility bill, bank statement, or similar document in your name.
• Proof of income or activity: a job contract, payslips, a pension statement, a tax return, or recent bank statements.
• Your foreign tax number. Banks ask every customer where they are tax resident. US citizens also fill in US tax forms.

Each bank's money laundering checks decide exactly what it accepts. If you are retired or live on savings, a short note on where your money comes from saves questions. Ask the bank in advance whether it needs translations of documents that are not in Portuguese.

Step 3: open the account

At a branch. If you visit Portugal, book an appointment and bring originals and copies. Before you sign, the bank must give you a standard information sheet (ficha de informação normalizada) with the account's features and costs.

From abroad. Banks may open an account without you being present, as long as they can identify you to the legal standard. Many banks offer this in their app or website, often with a video call. Each bank decides who it accepts online, and some limit remote opening to certain countries. Ask before you start.

Through someone else. If someone in Portugal will sign for you, the bank will want a power of attorney (procuração). Ask the bank which form it accepts before you have one made. See Using a Notary and Certifying Documents in Portugal.

Banks send cards by post. No official timescale is published for opening an ordinary account. Ask the bank how long it takes and whether it will post the card abroad.

The basic account for EU residents

Every bank that takes deposits must offer a basic bank account (conta de serviços mínimos bancários) to people with no other current account in Portugal.

• Cost: no more than €5.37 a year in 2026.
• Deadline: the bank must open it, or refuse in writing with reasons, within 10 days of a complete request.
• What you get: a current account, a debit card, online banking, deposits, withdrawals, payments, and direct debits.

The bank can close a basic account, with 60 days' notice, if you no longer live in the EU. So if you live outside the EU, plan on a standard account instead. The full rules are in Opening a Bank Account in Portugal.

What an account costs

• Monthly fee. Each bank sets its own fee for the standard account. The fee cannot depend on your balance.
• Stamp duty. A 4% stamp duty (imposto do selo) is added to most bank fees.
• Fee documents. Before you open an account, the bank must give you a fee information document. Once a year it must send a statement of the fees you paid.
• Other charges. Transfers outside the EU, card replacements, and counter services are priced in each bank's fee schedule (preçário). Ask for it before you sign.

Compare current fees on the Banco de Portugal's fee comparator before you choose.

How your account is reported for tax

Portuguese banks collect information on accounts held by people who are tax resident in other countries. Under EU rules and the international Common Reporting Standard, this includes the account balance and income such as interest. The information goes each year to the tax authority of your country of tax residence. This is routine and applies to every non-resident account holder.

Give the bank your correct foreign tax number and tell it when your tax residence changes.

When you move to Portugal

You usually become tax resident in Portugal when you spend more than 183 days here in any 12-month period. You also become resident if you have a home here that you seem to intend to keep as your usual home. See Becoming a Tax Resident in Portugal.

When that happens:

1. Change your tax address to Portugal at Finanças.
2. Tell your bank your new address and tax residence, and give it your residence permit or EU registration certificate.
3. Check your fiscal representative. If you had one because you lived outside the EU, the duty ends once your tax address is in Portugal. Check that Finanças has updated your record.

Deposit protection

The Deposit Guarantee Fund (Fundo de Garantia de Depósitos) covers your deposits at each bank licensed in Portugal up to €100,000 per person. For a joint account, each holder is covered for their share. Deposits at a Portuguese branch of a bank based in another EU country are covered by that country's scheme, with the same limit.

App banks and accounts from other EU countries

Several app-based banks work in Portugal under licences from other EU countries. Some give you a foreign IBAN. Under the EU rule above, it must be accepted wherever a Portuguese account would be. If you plan to keep an account in another EU country, check who protects your money before you deposit large sums.

Common problems

"You need a residence permit." The standard account is open to non-residents. Try another branch or another bank, or ask for the rule in writing.

Your name does not match. Your NIF record and passport must match exactly, including second surnames. Fix your NIF record at Finanças first.

No payslips. Bring pension letters or several months of bank statements, with a short note on where the money comes from.

The card or letters go to the wrong address. Give the bank an address where you can receive post, and confirm it will send cards abroad.

Everything is in Portuguese. Contracts usually are. Read the information sheet and fee schedule with someone you trust before you sign.

If something goes wrong

1. Complain to the bank first, in writing. Under EU payment rules, it must reply in writing within 15 days, or 35 in exceptional cases.
2. Use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações). You can complain online, and the complaint goes to the bank and to the Banco de Portugal.
3. Write to the Banco de Portugal if the problem continues.

This guide is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. It does not recommend any bank. Rules and fees change; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• Banco de Portugal, Portal do Cliente Bancário, standard account: https://clientebancario.bportugal.pt/en/what-it-2 (open to residents and non-residents, fee set by each bank, not linked to balance), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Banco de Portugal, Portal do Cliente Bancário, basic bank account: https://clientebancario.bportugal.pt/en/what-it-1 (no other current account, €5.37 cap for 2026, 10-day deadline, written refusal, closure with 60 days' notice if you no longer live in the EU), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Banco de Portugal, Todos Contam, opening an account: https://www.todoscontam.pt/pt-pt/abertura (details a bank collects, originals or certified copies, remote opening, banks not obliged to open an ordinary account), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Banco de Portugal, Portal do Cliente Bancário, electronic complaints book: https://clientebancario.bportugal.pt/en/node/66033 (complaint sent to the bank and the Banco de Portugal), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Banco de Portugal, fee comparator: https://clientebancario.bportugal.pt/en/aplicacao/comparador-de-comissoes (comparing bank fees), carried from verified guide W2A-07
• European Commission, Your Europe, bank accounts in the EU: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/bank-accounts-eu/index_en.htm (basic payment account for legal EU residents, no refusal for not living in the country, genuine interest, money laundering refusal, fee information document, yearly statement of fees, €100,000 deposit protection), checked 2 October 2026
• European Commission, Your Europe, payments and transfers: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/payments-transfers-cheques/index_en.htm (IBAN discrimination rule; written reply to complaints within 15 days, or 35 in exceptional cases), checked 2 October 2026
• European Commission, DAC2: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/tax-transparency-cooperation/administrative-co-operation-and-mutual-assistance/directive-administrative-cooperation-dac/dac2_en (yearly exchange of account balances and income with the country of residence; based on the Common Reporting Standard; Directive 2014/107/EU), checked 2 October 2026
• gov.pt, how foreign citizens request a NIF: https://www.gov.pt/guias/como-pedir-o-nif-e-o-niss-para-pessoas-estrangeiras-em-portugal (free, 217 206 707, e-balcão), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Portal das Finanças, FAQs on fiscal representation: https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/apoio_contribuinte/questoes_frequentes/pages/faqs-00307.aspx (no representative needed to get a NIF; third-country residents with a tax relationship appoint one or join electronic notifications; duty ends after a move to Portugal and the record is updated), carried from verified guide W2B-33, checked 1 October 2026
• Autoridade Tributária, Ofício Circulado n.º 90054/2022: https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/informacao_fiscal/legislacao/instrucoes_administrativas/Documents/Oficio_Circulado_90054_2022.pdf (tax relationship examples: vehicle, property, employment, self-employment), carried from verified guide W2B-33, checked 1 October 2026
• Portal das Finanças, Lei Geral Tributária, article 19: https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/informacao_fiscal/codigos_tributarios/lgt/Pages/lgt19.aspx (representative duty for residents outside the EU and EEA; electronic notifications exemption), carried from verified guide W2B-33, checked 1 October 2026
• Portal das Finanças, IRS Code, article 16: https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/informacao_fiscal/codigos_tributarios/cirs_rep/Pages/irs16.aspx (183 days in any 12-month period; habitual residence test), carried from verified guide W2D-37, checked 2 October 2026
• Portal das Finanças, Stamp Duty Code and General Table, item 17.3.4: https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/informacao_fiscal/codigos_tributarios/Cod_download/Documents/CIS.pdf (4% on bank fees), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026
• Fundo de Garantia de Depósitos, FAQs: https://www.fgd.pt/en/faqs (€100,000 per depositor per bank, joint accounts, branches of other EU banks), carried from verified guide W2A-07, checked 1 October 2026

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.