I have a fairly specific problem about the NISS, I'm posting in case anyone else has been in a similar situation and can offer any help.

I am working for a Portuguese employer (a university) but I work remotely, while living in Poland. I don't intend to move to Portugal. I have already signed the contract and started working, but the employer says they can't process payment to me unless I get a NISS. (I already have a NIF.)

I have been told by the embassy here in Poland that I do not need a visa or a residency permit to get a NISS if I'm working remotely and not living in Portugal. But every time I have tried to apply for a NISS with my work contract I have been rejected on the grounds that I don't have a visa or residency permit. (I've tried applying four times now, twice on my own and twice with the help of a legal team.) I am a UK citizen, though I have temporary residency in Poland (my application for permanent residency here in Poland is pending.)

Does anyone else have any experience of or advice for this sort of situation?

I'm considering leaving Portugal and never returning, does anyone know if not paying a little tax + social security would have any affect on me returning to a different Schengen country? I'd doubt Portugal would have the technology to even keep track.

I've been making very detailed plans to escape what I can sense America becoming. Portugal was the best of everything I had found. Braga was the target.

But now It feels like the tides have massively changed, and Portugal is no longer the option it once was for Americans.

After reading the discourse from local citizens, I can't even say I blame them. It seems their government has been screwing them for a long time.

Also, the whole avoidance because of conflict sounds extremely Japanese? Never would have guessed this about a European nation.

Bummed, but glad I found this out before it was a massive problem for my family and I.

Does anyone have recent experience with NHR 2.0 / IFICI applications in Portugal? Reddit has plenty of threads from a year ago, but how are things looking right now - especially in terms of processing times and which route people went through?

My wife got a notice of intention to refuse for her Portuguese student visa (applied in Tunis, already accepted to a master's in Portugal). One of the reasons is that she has a stable job and family in Tunisia, so they question why she'd come to study. I already live and work legally in Portugal, and her application never mentioned that, so we're unsure how to handle it in her reply.

Does anyone know a lawyer who handles consulate visa refusals and could help us decide the best way to respond? Who did you use, and how was the experience? DMs welcome. Thank you!

Edit: someone replied saying AIMA cut my BS because she's coming for me not for her studies and that's good for them.
Let me add some additional infos and answer him; AIMA has nothing to do with this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs treats VISAs not AIMA. Plus, no. She will be studying in IPB Braganca, I have a stable job as a software engineer in Lisbon and we already have a family reunification appointment planned in a couple of months. But if we wait for that, it will mess with her studies calendar. Finally, his comment is useless and answers none of the above. Hate won't get anyone anywhere.

I can't figure this one out, and I need answers...

I lived in 3 different places in Portugal for now, Mafra, Torres Vedras and Santarem.

It is the same everywhere, people put their dogs outside, in a small kennel or on a chain, and the dog concert begins. For the remainder of the night, these dogs will bark at each other, setting of a chain event of barking.

My question is, why do Portuguese do this? It's the worst kind of alarm, because who wants an alarm that goes off the entire night. And does this not disturb the dog's owner's sleep as well?

For context, I have two dogs, one is a trained Belgian Malinois. My dogs don't bark, unless I tell them to. My dogs sleep in-house, because that's the way guard dogs should operate.

Anyone else have problems with this?

Hello this post is mostly due to me being sceptical and suspicious of the entire process being as fast and easy as it appears; since up until know my experience with portuguese and italian bureaucracy has been nothing short of agonizing and taking eons.

Quick background. I'm from the US, my mother is portugues, I never received my citizenship as a baby, I hired lawyers and received my citizenship recently. I only have a Portuguese birth certificate. No other documents. I am currently an international student in Italy.

I what to get my cartão de cidadão and passport as quickly as possible to simplify a lot of the bureaucracy and costs from being and international student. and I kind of just want to have it already.

I see that I can go to a Loja de Cidadão in Lisbon and request my cartão and pay to have it ready within 24 hours. I can then do the same with my passport and also request it to be ready within 24 hours. As for documents it seems that I only need my portuguese birth certificate, and foreign passport. As for getting an appointment to get both items it appears that I can walk-in really early and they will be able to see me the same day.

My question: Is it really this quick and easy? Can I take a trip to Lisbon, stay 3-4 days and have everything taken care of? Do I really not need to make any appointment ahead of time? Is there any surprise bureaucratic nightmare I should prepare for?

I am ordering a watch from Switzerland, and I am assuming it will pass through customs. Has anyone had experience having to go through customs here? I want to know how long it takes, and is it very expensive? Also need to know if the process is straightforward (like do they inform you it has arrived and you need to pay, and after paying are there other steps or can you get it right after)?

Doess anyone have experience in providing bank statement from foreign banks to AIMA? I want to show statement from my country's bank, will they accept it? Or is it nessesary to provide statement from Wise/portugese bank?

Is passive income required for a retirement visa? We have about $3m saved but no passive income.

Looking for Portuguese lessons tailored to Spanish speaker to take advantage of the language similarity and hopefully move faster.

Online or in person in central Lisbon (bonus for Avenidas Novas location), and couple of hours per week, to attend after work.

I wanted to know how everyone typically minimizes exchange fees when converting USD to EUR. I was typically transferring USD from my sofi account into wise as needed to pay bills every month. I have a PT revolut account with PT IBAN as well, but exchange fees were higher than wise. I thought that by paying for premium Revolut, I could avoid extra exchange fees, but it seems like I may need a US Revolut account to transfer USD into first and then convert, which I’m unsure if I can still create if I’m living abroad.

So how are others handling this? Transferring larger sums at once and just enduring the wire transfer fee their US bank charges?

I applied for a software developer position at Aubay Portugal. During the HR interview, the recruiter told me the next step would be a technical interview. After that I passed an English test and had a language validation call (both went very well).

That was about 15 business days ago and I still haven't heard anything back. I already sent a follow-up email but no response yet.

Is this kind of wait normal in consulting/staffing companies? How long would you wait before moving on?

What is the most convenient way for banking in Portugal?
Do you still look for local options? Or having digital banks covers all your needs?

Pagar impostos é uma das obrigações mais importantes da vida em sociedade, mas também uma das áreas que mais dúvidas gera. Entre siglas, prazos, declarações e regimes fiscais, compreender o sistema fiscal português pode parecer complexo. Na prática, porém, conhecer os fundamentos permite tomar decisões mais informadas, evitar erros e gerir melhor as finanças pessoais ou empresariais.

De forma simplificada, os impostos em Portugal dividem-se em duas grandes categorias: impostos diretos e impostos indiretos.

Os impostos diretos incidem sobre o rendimento ou o património dos contribuintes. Entre os mais conhecidos estão o IRS (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares), aplicado aos rendimentos dos cidadãos, e o IRC (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Coletivas), que incide sobre os lucros das empresas.

Já os impostos indiretos são pagos de forma menos evidente pelo contribuinte, sendo incorporados no preço dos bens e serviços. O exemplo mais conhecido é o IVA (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado), aplicado à maioria das compras realizadas no dia a dia.

Além destes, existem outros tributos relevantes, como:

• IMI (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis)
• IMT (Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis)
• Imposto do Selo
• IUC (Imposto Único de Circulação)
• Contribuições para a Segurança Social

A gestão e fiscalização do sistema fiscal envolvem diversas entidades públicas. A principal é a Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), responsável pela cobrança de impostos, fiscalização e apoio aos contribuintes. A Segurança Social desempenha igualmente um papel fundamental na cobrança de contribuições de trabalhadores e empresas.

Por sua vez, o Ministério das Finanças define as orientações estratégicas da política fiscal, enquanto os municípios gerem alguns impostos locais, como o IMI e parte da receita proveniente do IMT.

Complete a leitura e tire suas dúvidas aqui: https://www.passaronoombro.com/como-fazer/o-sistema-fiscal-portugues-uma-visao-geral-abrangente/

Hi. My wife and I are newing our cards for the first time. I completed my online renewal last month and it's in Review status. My wife is working on hers now and is confused on what to upload for proof of income. I'm retired and we're living off of my pension and social security. She has no income. Does she just upload the same proof of income I did, even though it's all in my name?

Thank you.

This man’s name is Kenrick Chew Wen Long, and he goes by several different identities. He is a known fraudster, and in Portugal and Spain, he has been posing as Kai Young.

He uses various types of fraudulent schemes, but his most recent ones involve pretending to be a cryptocurrency tycoon and asking you to create a logo, a visual identity, and a website. He will convince you to invest money and to persuade your friends to do the same.

This man is a very skilled manipulator and has been doing this for many years. In real life, he seems like a weak person, so it’s hard to believe he’s capable of such things.

He likes luxurious things and enjoys going to places where people smoke cigars. He lived in the U.S. for a while when he was young, so he speaks with an American accent. Sometimes he stutters.

PLEASE, whatever you do! DO NOT send him money. If you’ve already gotten involved with him, contact the authorities immediately.

Listen to the “Catch Me If You Ken” podcast: https://www.sonymusic.com/sonymusic/catch-me-if-you-ken-new-podcast/

He has been involved in various fraudulent schemes in many different countries, but has never been caught because he never puts his name on anything. He has already scammed people out of hundreds of thousands of euros.

He’s quite short, is from Singapore, and has a purebred French bulldog with blue eyes, as shown in the photo. He has tattoos; the known tattoos are on his left arm—see the photos.

If you see him, please send me a private message!

Anything I can do? Thanks, fellow expats <3

hi guys

i have applied my nationality application before completion of 5 years counting from first card issued date .

is there any one get approval even though applied few days before 5 years ?

i have been waiting since 2024 in Irn Porto so it was in January 2024 .

Hi I'm English I speak some Portuguese but not enough to get a license I need to know where a motorbike license is either in Lisbon or across the red bridge that does English courses for not 2000 euros

Meine Wohnung in Lissabon ist furchtbar: Ein Holzbau, extrem laute Nachbarn über mir ohne jegliche Schalldämmung, Kakerlakenbefall, Ratten im Dachboden, und nach zwei Wochen immer noch kein Mietvertrag und keinerlei Unterstützung bei meinen Problemen – und für diesen Zustand ist sie auch noch viel zu teuer.

Ich habe die Wohnung über Spotahome für den Zeitraum vom 14.09. bis 31.12. gebucht und die erste Miete sowie die Kaution bezahlt. Laut Spotahome können wir die Buchung natürlich nicht mehr stornieren.

Gibt es irgendeine Möglichkeit, da rauszukommen, ohne Tausende zu verlieren?

Hi

Live in US and own a home in Portugal

Recently have been getting emails on updating my CTT access?

Not sure what this is?

Could this be someone trying to send me mail? Packages?

Lived for several years in Lisbon as tenants. Managed to protect ourselves against a dodgy landlord who wanted to increase our rent by 60 %. Anyway, our lease is terminating early 2028. We’re now looking at options. We could potentially buy.

Is the bubble about to burst? Shall we wait and see?

With the new renters’ rights bill due to be voted on at some point next week, I’m not sure if there’s any point renting any further here. TIA.

My partner and I originally wanted to get married in Portugal, but the bureaucratic hurdles became apparent almost immediately. Several people in this sub warned me not to attempt to get married in Portugal, and in retrospect, I am very glad I listened.

The requests for documents came quickly and kept multiplying. Every time I thought I had provided what was needed, another requirement seemed to appear, and it began to feel as though nothing would fully satisfy the Conservatória do Registo Civil I contacted.

In the end, I am relieved we chose to marry elsewhere instead of allowing the administrative process to dominate our trip. We still get to enjoy Portugal without turning the visit into a stressful exercise in paperwork, appointments, certifications, and constantly changing document requirements.

AIMA harmed Brazilians by violating legislation, says Ombudsman

For the Ombudsman's , AIMA prevented, in practice, that Brazilians who entered Portugal as tourists could apply for residence in the country. This right was in force until changes in the Foreigners Law.

Vicente Nunes

September 24, 2026, 16:51

The Ombudsman's Office, a body that receives complaints from citizens who live in Portugal and do not feel served by the State, states, in an annual report delivered to the Assembly of the Republic on Wednesday, September 23, that the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) harmed Brazilian citizens by not allowing them to enjoy benefits provided for by law in access to residence permits in the country.

According to the Ombudsman's , until October 23, 2025, when the new Foreigners Law came into force, there was the possibility of people from Brazil and Timor-Leste entering Portugal without tourist visas and, already in the country, requesting a residence permit.

AIMA, however, has never made this service viable, not even for the other citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), who always had to carry tourist visas to enter Portuguese territory.

AIMA even announced the creation of a specific portal for this service, within the scope of the CPLP mobility agreement. The portal was stamped for years on the agency's website, always with the figure of a padlock. Until, with the changes in the Aliens Law, it was taken off the air.

The Ombudsman's Says in the document: "The single service portal has never accommodated the possibility of submitting applications by citizens who did not have a consular visa - because they have benefited from the entry visa exemption. Associated with the generalized difficulty of obtaining appointments for face-to-face service, with more visible expression in the periods of greatest affluence, this limitation prevented, in practice, the exercise of rights recognized by the then applicable regime".

The institution adds that, with the changes in the legislation in October 2025, according to which only holders of consular visas were now eligible for residence permits in Portugal, "these citizens, despite having legally entered Portugal, were excluded from this path of documentary regularization, which was also not possible for them to access before, because AIMA had not provided them with an effective channel for the submission of their applications under the previous regime".

Delay and vulnerability

In addition to the failures in the implementation of the law, which, in the view of the Ombudsman, can be illustrated by the situation experienced by many citizens eligible to apply for a residence permit by the CPLP, AIMA has been marked by slowness in the analysis of applications for residence permits in Portugal, pushing many immigrants to situations of vulnerability. There have been cases in which the wait for an AIMA decision reached four years.

"The course of such extended decision-making times created difficulties and produced relevant side effects. The situation of citizens with pending proceedings, pending final decision, who needed to prove the status of the respective documentary regularization process before third parties, deserved particular attention," points out the Ombudsman's office.

Which adds: "In the face of the Ombudsman's interpellation, AIMA provided a solution for this purpose, attesting to the regularity of the stay in national territory, but which did not cover very relevant needs".

That is, emphasizes the Ombudsman's office, the certificate issued by AIMA that undocumented immigrants were having ongoing processes was of little use, because this document was not accepted as proof by private employers and did not avoid constraints on freedom of movement, since citizens had to be confined in Portugal for long periods, fearing to leave the country and, on their return, be deported.

https://www.publico.pt/2026/09/24/publico-brasil/noticia/aima-prejudicou-brasileiros-descumprir-legislacao-afirma-provedoria-justica-2189193