Documents to work in Portugal: the complete checklist

You have landed a job in Lisbon or Porto and you are wondering which documents to work in Portugal you need before you fly? The answer is reassuring: for an EU citizen, three documents are enough to sign a contract, a valid national ID card or passport, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and an IBAN, which can stay the one from your home bank. The tax number (NIF) and the social security number (NISS) are created by the employer when you arrive. Everything else is comfort: an English CV, a copy of your diploma, your prescriptions. Here is the complete checklist, document by document, with realistic lead times.

The complete checklist: mandatory, recommended or unnecessary

The table below lists every paper people think of before moving abroad for work, with its real status for a customer advisor or content moderator position in Portugal. The right column tells you who takes care of it: you or the employer.

One detail deserves attention: the validity of your ID. Signing a renewable 12 month contract with a card that expires in four months means renewing it from abroad, through your consulate. Check the date today.

What the employer handles when you arrive

This is the part that worries candidates most, and yet it is the part that needs the least effort. In the jobs with housing offered in Lisbon and Porto, the employer, a large international company, takes care of the Portuguese formalities:

• the NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal), needed to get paid and to sign any contract in Portugal;
• the NISS (Número de Identificação da Segurança Social), which registers you with Portuguese social security;
• the employment contract, handed over for signature in a bilingual version;
• the company health insurance and access to the occupational doctor;
• the shared accommodation, ready on the day you land;
• the airport pick up and the transfer to your flat.

So there is no appointment to book at Finanças or Segurança Social before you leave. Everything happens in the first days, during paid training. To see the positions concerned, browse the jobs in Portugal with housing included.

What to sort out in your home country before leaving

The real preparation happens before departure, and it comes down to five points.

The EHIC. Order it free of charge from your health insurer, online or in its app. It covers your care during the transition, between landing and your registration with Portuguese social security. The European Commission explains how it works on the official European Health Insurance Card page. For what comes next, our guide to healthcare in Portugal explains how the SNS, the public health service, works.

Consular registration. Optional, free and done online in ten minutes. It makes renewing an ID in Lisbon easier and lets you vote from abroad.

Taxes. Do not close anything, simply inform your tax office of your departure and your new address. In the first year, your tax situation depends on your arrival date: you will declare income in both countries, each for its own period.

Your bank. Keep your account. Portugal is part of the SEPA area: your salary can be paid into your current IBAN without fees. Opening a Portuguese account remains possible later, see our guide to a bank account in Portugal.

Your phone. EU roaming works at no extra cost during the first weeks. After a few months abroad, your operator may add surcharges: a Portuguese prepaid SIM solves this for around ten euros a month.

The admin suitcase: originals and digital copies

One simple rule: every document travels twice, the original in your hand luggage and a digital copy on your phone, backed up in an online storage space. If your bag goes missing, you keep everything.

• ID: original plus a photo of both sides.
• EHIC: original plus a photo.
• Diploma: paper copy plus scan; the original can stay at your parents’ place.
• English CV: PDF version emailed to your own address.
• Prescriptions: original with the international non proprietary name (INN) of each medicine, so a Portuguese pharmacy understands it.
• Passport photos: four, 35 x 45 mm.
• Contract or job offer: as a PDF, handy at the airport if anyone asks.

The English CV deserves an evening. Portuguese HR teams read it in English, even for a French, German or Dutch speaking position. Keep it to one page, with your languages and their level at the top. If you are planning the move more broadly, our moving to Portugal checklist covers the rest, from the suitcase to the first week.

Lead times: start with the EHIC

Between application and departure, 3 to 6 weeks usually go by. The EHIC and your ID are the only two documents that can delay you: request them right after the presentation call, without waiting for the final offer.

The documents you receive after arrival

In the first weeks, your admin file completes itself almost on its own.

• Your signed employment contract, handed over on day one or at the end of training, with your NIF and NISS printed on it. Keep a copy.
• Your SNS user number (número de utente), your ID in the public health system. The employer often gets it together with the NISS; otherwise your local health centre (centro de saúde) issues it on presentation of your ID and NIF.
• The EU citizen registration certificate (CRUE), compulsory for any stay over three months. You request it at the town hall (Câmara Municipal) of your municipality, it costs about 15 € and is issued on the spot. The ePortugal portal lists the online services and the documents to bring.
• Your first payslip, at the end of month one, which proves your residence and income for any future procedure.

Your rights as an EU worker are the same as those of a Portuguese employee: the European Union’s Your Europe site sums them up clearly, and the EURES network publishes working conditions country by country.

Moving with Expat-U: the checklist gets even shorter

Expat-U is a recruitment agency based in Lisbon. We recruit French, German and Dutch speakers for customer advisor and content moderator positions in Portugal, and the service is free for candidates. In concrete terms: a renewable 12 month contract, shared accommodation provided for the whole duration of the contract (rent, utilities and internet paid), the flight reimbursed for French speaking candidates and paid directly by the company for German and Dutch speaking candidates, a paid initial training of 2 to 4 weeks and a salary of about 1,060 € gross per month, paid 14 times a year. Since housing is covered, the real monthly budget for daily life sits between 900 and 1,000 €, bonuses included. On the paperwork side, the recruiter checks your valid EU ID, your availability and your departure date; everything else, from the NIF to the airport pick up, is organised for you.

FAQ

Do I need to get a NIF before moving to Portugal?

No. In the jobs with housing in Lisbon and Porto, the employer creates your NIF and NISS in the first days, during paid training. There is no appointment to book before you leave.

Does my diploma need a sworn translation?

Usually not. A simple copy of your diploma, at least a secondary school certificate, is enough for these positions. Sworn translations only concern regulated professions such as healthcare or law.

Can my salary be paid into my home country bank account?

Yes. Portugal is in the SEPA area: your current IBAN is accepted for salary payments, with no fees and no extra delay. Opening a Portuguese account remains an option, not an obligation.

How long does it take to get the EHIC?

Allow 2 to 3 weeks depending on your insurer. It is free, usually valid for two years and requested online. Apply right after the presentation call so it does not delay your departure.

Is a criminal record extract required to work in Lisbon?

It is rarely requested for customer advisor or content moderator jobs. If the employer asks for it, the extract is available online, free of charge in most EU countries, within a few days. Check with your recruiter.

Last updated on 21 October 2026.