Before we moved here, everything we read mentioned the incredible red tape that permeates every aspect of Portuguese life. What you are about to read is not a complaint; it’s simply proof that all the resources we studied were definitely not lying!
After jumping through the regular hoops that all nations have a right to impose as part of their immigration process, we were issued a visa that allows us to apply for residency in Portugal. (This is different from the tourist visa that is automatically bestowed by virtue of having an American passport.) Among the hoops we navigated in pursuit of our visas were several related to financial worthiness. These were not difficult tasks. We had to show bank records confirming we had a certain minimum amount of cash per person. The required amount is not especially big, and we surpassed it by a little. We had to show we had a per person, guaranteed monthly income equal to the monthly income of an average Portuguese citizen. We met that requirement with plenty to spare. Finally, we had to show proof of pre-paid accommodations for a period of three to six months. Naturally, we also needed to show clean criminal background checks from both the US and Portugal.
In short, we proved that we were law-abiding citizens with solid, albeit modest, financial resources.
We also knew we’d be required to do three “administrative” tasks when we arrived. In no particular order, they are: 1) Schedule an immigration interview to obtain our residency permits, 2) open a Portuguese bank account, and 3) obtain our NIF numbers. The latter seems to be some sort of tax ID that is required to do almost any significant financial transaction in the country. We’ll need the numbers to file our tax returns, lease an apartment, rent a car, etc.
We accomplished task #1 within a couple of days of our arrival, after just a minor hiccup. Then we went to the Bureau of Finance to obtain our NIF number – a process we’d been assured could be accomplished in five minutes. We were turned away. We were told by someone whose English was far better than my Portuguese, but not quite sufficient for the conversation we had, that they could not assign an NIF without proof of where we live in Portugal. We whipped out the signed copy of our lease (in Portuguese). The staff smiled kindly and said that would not do. What we needed was a Portuguese citizen to come to the office with us to testify that we actually resided in our apartment.
The only Portuguese citizen that we know (who also speaks English!) is the guy who works at a neighborhood cafe across the street. He also has the bonus of knowing our landlady whose apartment we currently occupy while she winters in Guinea Bissau. But we felt like we didn’t know him well enough to ask him to close his cafe for whatever time would be needed on a weekday to complete our mission.
We turned to our favorite expat Facebook group to seek guidance. There we met a woman named Sonia who has a business called Expat Solutions. She said she could help. After some discussion with her, she sent us to a local public office that is in the business of providing letters that document a person’s place of residence. Lucky for us, it was a very short walk from our apartment.
We arrived at that office today, armed with passports, visas, lease (in Portuguese), a letter addressed to us at that leased apartment, and Sonia’s phone number in case there were any questions. We met a very friendly clerk who spoke passable English, and showed her Sonia’s text (in Portuguese) about exactly what we needed from her. She understood immediately and began looking through our documents. We had everything we needed to obtain our proof of residency required by the Finance (NIF) office…except for one simple thing. We didn’t have our NIF numbers. Without them, this young lady’s hands were tied.
To summarize, we need a proof of residency to get our NIF and we need our NIF to get the proof of residency.
Sonia, who speaks in heavily accented, rapid-fire English began to explain that what the Finance office staff meant earlier this week was that we would need to bring a financial guarantor with us. This is a Portuguese citizen who will vouch for us financially and is considered by the government to be financially responsible for us for a period of five years! But we just got here! What person in their right mind would commit to that sort of burden for a total stranger? Apparently, there are agents who will do this for a fee. I can only imagine what those fees might be!
We’ve put the whole issue to rest until tonight. That’s when we’ll be attending a social gathering of expats in the Setubal area. We were already looking forward to meeting potential friends and learning from them about where to buy pillows, get our hair cut, find a rental agent, or buy clothes and shoes to fit us. Now, it seems like an act of survival to learn tips for traversing the famous Portuguese bureaucracy! Fingers crossed!