Guide · Moving abroad

Moving to Portugal: registration, taxes and health insurance

As of November 2026 · about 7 minutes' read

As an EU citizen you need no visa and no work permit for Portugal. You may enter, live, work and buy property there. Many older guides, however, promise tax advantages that are no longer available to newcomers. Here is what applies in 2026: registration, taxes, pensions, health insurance and your car.

Registration: NIF and residence certificate

First you need a NIF, the Portuguese tax number. Without it you cannot get a tenancy, a bank account or an electricity connection. You apply for it at the tax office (“Finanças”) or through a lawyer.

If you stay longer than three months, you register with the municipality (“Câmara Municipal”) and receive the residence certificate for EU citizens, the CRUE (“Certificado de Registo de Cidadão da União Europeia”). It is valid for five years, after which you can apply for a certificate of permanent residence. To register you need ID, proof of address and proof of how you support yourself:

• Employees: employment contract.
• Self-employed: registration with the tax office as self-employed.
• Pensioners and people not working: sufficient means, such as a pension statement or bank statements, and health insurance.

Next come the social security number (“NISS”) and registration at the health centre. Also change your address with the tax office to Portugal; only then will it treat you as a resident. In Germany you deregister at the residents' registration office.

Taxes: what applies now that NHR has ended

You are tax resident in Portugal if you spend more than 183 days a year in the country or have a home there that you use as your permanent residence. You then pay income tax (“IRS”) on your worldwide income. Rates are progressive, with a top rate of just under 50 per cent, and a solidarity surcharge on very high incomes.

If you keep a home in Germany, Germany may continue to treat you as fully liable to tax. Which country takes precedence is then set by the double taxation treaty. If you hold at least 1 per cent of a company, moving abroad can trigger an exit tax in Germany. Have that checked beforehand.

German pension in Portugal

The German pension insurance pays your pension to Portugal too. Tell it your new address, and return the annual life certificate it sends you.

For tax, the treaty between Germany and Portugal roughly provides that the statutory pension and occupational pensions are usually taxed in Portugal as the country of residence, while civil-service pensions are generally taxed in Germany. In Germany, the Neubrandenburg tax office is responsible for pensioners living abroad. Since NHR ended, you pay tax on your pension in Portugal at the normal rates, which can be more than in Germany. Before you move, ask a tax adviser to work out what you will have left.

Health insurance

The public health system is the “Serviço Nacional de Saúde” (SNS). When you register at the health centre (“centro de saúde”) you receive a patient number (“número de utente”).

• Pensioners with German statutory health insurance: your health insurer issues form S1. With it you register with social security and at the health centre. Your German insurer bears the costs.
• Employees and self-employed: registering with social security makes you insured with the SNS.
• Not working and not yet retired: you usually need private health insurance, already for registering with the municipality.

Waiting times for specialists in the SNS are often long, and not everyone gets a family doctor straight away. Many newcomers therefore also take out inexpensive private cover. The German liaison office for health insurance abroad, the DVKA, can answer questions about the S1 procedure.

Car and driving licence

A driving licence from another EU country remains valid in Portugal. Register your address with the transport authority (“IMT”), though, so that official letters reach you.

As a resident you must re-register a car with foreign plates. That triggers the vehicle registration tax ISV, which is high in Portugal. When you move house you can be exempted if you owned the car for some time before the move and apply within the deadline. Have the conditions confirmed by customs beforehand. If you do not bring a car, buying one in Portugal often costs more than in Germany, especially second-hand.

Language and daily life

In Lisbon, Porto and on the Algarve you can get far with English. At public offices, at the health centre and in the countryside you need Portuguese. Learn European Portuguese rather than Brazilian; pronunciation and many words differ.

Expect long waits at public offices and a tight rental market in Lisbon, Porto and on the Algarve. Many houses are barely insulated, and winter feels colder indoors than you might think. If you want to buy a house before you move, read Buying a house in Portugal as well. If you become tax resident within two years of buying, the new 7.5 per cent transfer tax for non-resident buyers does not apply to you.

This article gives a general overview and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and tax rates change, and in Portugal they are changing particularly often. Check them before you move with a tax adviser or lawyer in your home country and in Portugal.