The EU citizen registration certificate in Portugal
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa and no AIMA appointment to live in Portugal. If you stay longer than three months, you register at the Câmara Municipal (city hall) where you live and get a registration certificate, often called the CRUE (certificado de registo de cidadão da União Europeia).
Short answer. Go to your Câmara Municipal within 30 days after your first three months in Portugal, with your ID card or passport, and sign a declaration that you work here, study here, or have enough resources and health insurance.
What to bring
- Your valid national ID card or passport.
- A signed declaration on your honour of one of these: that you work in Portugal (employed or self-employed); that you have enough resources for yourself and your family, plus health insurance where your own country asks the same of Portuguese citizens; or that you study here.
You apply in person, by appointment, or online where your municipality offers it.
Your family
Family members who are EU citizens get their own certificate: they bring proof of the family relationship and your certificate. Family members who are not EU citizens apply through AIMA for a residence card for family members of EU citizens.
What the certificate unlocks
- Registering at your health centre for an SNS number.
- Changing your Finanças address to Portugal, which makes you a tax resident in their records.
- Registering your EU driving licence with IMT, which residents must do within 60 days. It is free.
- A NISS from Social Security, if you will work (see how to get a NISS).