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Setting up a company in Portugal as a foreigner: 5 steps, from the NIF to the first month
Step Inside Accounting · Practical guide
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1. First, a NIF for each partner
Each partner needs a Portuguese tax number (NIF). Residents in Portugal apply with their ID and proof of address; people living abroad can apply too.
A non-resident partner must appoint a tax representative in Portugal or sign up for the Tax Authority’s electronic notifications. EU and EEA citizens can choose either option. People from outside the EU who work on their own account in Portugal must appoint a tax representative.
2. Choose the type of company
- Single-member private limited company (Unipessoal Lda.): one partner.
- Private limited company (Lda.): two or more partners.
In both, the minimum share capital is €1 per partner, and as a rule each partner only risks the capital they put in. In practice, capital of €1,000 to €5,000 gives banks and clients more confidence.
3. Set up the company in one day
The simplest way is to set up the company online, through Empresa Online, with a pre-approved company name and articles of association. The commercial registration costs €220. You need Portuguese digital authentication (Chave Móvel Digital or the Citizen Card). If you don’t have it, a lawyer or solicitor can file the application with their professional certificate. To do it in person, at an Empresa na Hora desk, the cost is €360.
At the end you receive the articles of association, access to the permanent certificate (certidão permanente) and the company’s Social Security number. The company needs a registered office in Portugal, which can be your own address or a domiciliation service.
4. The first weeks: what cannot fail
- Start of activity with the Tax Authority: within 15 days of incorporation. It can be filed by the certified accountant, who can also be named in the incorporation application.
- Certified accountant: mandatory for every company.
- Bank account: to deposit the capital and keep the company’s money separate from yours from day one. Banks ask for documents on the company and the partners, and for non-residents the process can take a few weeks.
- Beneficial ownership register (RCBE): within 30 days of incorporation, free of charge. Without it, the company cannot distribute profits.
- Social Security: if the managing partner is going to be paid a salary, they must be registered as a member of the statutory bodies before the first payment.
5. What the first year costs
On top of the €220 registration and the capital, budget for monthly accounting, domiciliation if you have no address in Portugal and, if you want, trademark registration.
Example
A consultant living in Lisbon sets up a Unipessoal Lda. online with €1,000 of capital. She pays €220 for the registration and, from then on, monthly accounting, for example €250 + VAT a month at Step Inside Accounting. By the end of the first month the company is set up, the start of activity is filed, the RCBE is submitted and the bank account is open.
Team tip
Talk to us before you set up the company. We help you choose the type of company and the activity code (CAE), we are named as your accountant from day one, and we handle the start of activity, the RCBE and Social Security so that no deadline is missed.
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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