Have you come to the Algarve and found short-term accommodation with the intention of living here?
Here are the first steps you need to take and I really RECOMMEND follow the procedure that will save you time, nerves and money!
- create NIF - Tax identification number (what is NIF here)
- create NISS (what is NISS here)
- open a private bank account (more info here)
- get a lease (more info here)
- register the car (more info here)
1. Why is the NIF the first? You can't get by without a NIF, and if you're going to handle any contract, you need a NIF. You can arrange the NIF while waiting at the office of the tax office in any "slightly" larger city.
2. If you want to live here, you will probably work or run a business, you will probably want to receive benefits in case of illness or maternity or old-age pension. Then you have to do the NISS. The situation is the same as with the NIF, i.e. you can do it while you wait at any social security office in any "slightly" larger city.
You can handle these two things in one day (in the case of small queues) and in order to go to the bank the next day, you will need a NIF.
3. Setting up a bank account for you as a foreigner is a more lengthy process due to the validation of your person and it usually takes several days.
4. During this time, you can already actively look for a rental agreement. If you are nimble and have a bit of luck, within 1 week you will have NIF, NISS and a bank account and a "signed" rental agreement. If you swim in it from the beginning, like me, and realistically have a problem getting a long-term lease for good money in a good place, it will take you months, like me..
5. Did you spend the whole morning at the cash register in the NIF processing queue? And then the whole afternoon on social media with NISS? Did you wait a few days to open your bank account and "crawl out" a few thousand € so that you could have peace of mind for a year and lay your back on the couch in peace? Everything so far has been a walk in the park. If you decide to register your car here in Portugal from a foreign country, prepare yourself for a lot of time, money, nerves and hidden pitfalls. I honestly recommend hiring someone for this process who has been through it or has carrier/IMT contacts as they can speed up a lot of things or miss things that an inexperienced person would fail at. More about car registration zde. The bureaucracy surrounding car registration is so extensive that the Portuguese themselves often do not know how to do it, and the registration of imported vehicles is handled here by specialized companies.
PS: Be prepared for queues. Officials here have a lot of time and there is a lot of bureaucracy, compared to other countries (especially in the north of the EU).