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Moving to Portugal as a freelancer: 5 rules to get everything done in the right order
Step Inside Accounting · Practical guide
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1. Start with the NIF (and check whether you need a tax representative)
The NIF is the basis for everything: you will need it to open a bank account, sign a rental contract and open activity. You can apply for it before you arrive, and at that point you are registered as a non-resident.
While you are a non-resident:
- if you are an EU or EEA citizen, you can choose between appointing a tax representative or signing up for electronic notifications on the Portal das Finanças;
- if you are not an EU or EEA citizen and you will work for yourself in Portugal, you must appoint a tax representative, even if you also sign up for electronic notifications.
Once you live here and update your address with the Tax Authority, you are no longer a non-resident and the representative is no longer needed.
2. Choose the right visa: digital nomad or independent professional activity
If you are an EU citizen, you do not need a visa. For everyone else, there are two main routes for freelancers:
- Digital nomad visa (D8): for people who work remotely for clients or employers outside Portugal. In 2026, you must prove average income over the last three months of at least four minimum wages: €3,680 a month (4 × €920). You will also be asked for the contract or documents proving the services you provide and a document showing your current tax residence.
- Visa for independent professional activity (D2): for people who will work with clients in Portugal. You need a contract or a written proposal for the provision of services and proof of means of subsistence. If your profession is regulated in Portugal, you will also be asked for a statement from the relevant professional body.
Both routes share some documents: passport, insurance, criminal record certificate and the consulate’s application form. Each consulate may ask for more, so check the list of the post where you will submit your application.
3. Sort out your bank account, NISS and activity
With your NIF, you can already open an account with a Portuguese bank, and each bank then asks for its own documents (address, income). An account here makes it easier to pay rent, Social Security and taxes.
Once you arrive, apply for your NISS – we explain how in NISS in Portugal: what it is and when you need it – and open activity with the Tax Authority. Even if all your clients are outside Portugal, if you live here and are tax resident, this is where you issue your recibos verdes and declare what you earn.
4. Understand when you become tax resident (and whether IFICI applies)
You become tax resident in Portugal if you stay here for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or if you have a home here that suggests it is your habitual residence. From the first day you are here, you are taxed in Portugal on your worldwide income; before that, only on what you earn in Portugal.
IFICI is a regime with a 20% IRS rate for 10 years for people who have not been resident in Portugal in the previous 5 years and carry out an eligible activity. For self-employed workers, it only applies in very specific cases: when they work for certain Portuguese companies covered by the regime, such as certified startups. People who work remotely for foreign clients are, as a rule, left out. If it applies to you, you must apply by 15 January of the year after you arrive.
5. Follow the right order
The order that usually works best:
- before you come: NIF (with a tax representative, if you need one) and, if possible, a bank account;
- at the consulate: visa application, with your NIF already sorted;
- when you arrive: address, rental contract and residence permit with AIMA;
- straight after: update your address with the Tax Authority, apply for your NISS and open activity before your first invoice;
- by 15 January of the following year: IFICI application, if you are eligible.
The most common mistake is to start working for Portuguese clients before opening activity, or to keep invoicing as if you still lived in your home country after becoming resident.
Example
Daniel is a Brazilian designer who works for three agencies in the United States, with average income of €4,000 a month over the last three months. He applies for the digital nomad visa in 2026: the minimum is €3,680 (4 × €920), so he qualifies.
- he arrives in Lisbon on 1 March and rents a home for two years;
- he is tax resident from the day he arrived;
- what he invoices from March onwards is declared in Portugal; what he earned in January and February is not;
- his invoices to the American agencies do not include Portuguese VAT, because the service is not located in Portugal;
- as he works remotely for foreign clients, in principle he cannot access IFICI and is taxed under the general rules.
Team tip
The best time to talk to us is before you apply for your visa, because the way you will invoice affects which visa makes sense. At Step Inside Portugal we handle the visa and residence side, and at Step Inside Accounting we take care of your NIF, opening your activity and your first IRS return – so every step is already planned with the next one in mind.
Want us to handle this for you?
Companies
Monthly accounting
Bookkeeping, tax obligations and managing partners’ salaries, all in one place.
€250 + VAT / month
Self-employed
Recibos verdes without the stress
Tax returns, VAT and Social Security handled by people who know the regime inside out.
from €80 + VAT / month
This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice. Figures and rules are those in force at the date of publication and may change.
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