NISS and número de utente: the two numbers that carry your Portuguese life
After the NIF come two more numbers: the NISS for work and social security, the número de utente for healthcare. Who applies for them, where, and the route pensioners take through the CAK — with a counter that arranges three numbers in one go.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Besides the NIF (the tax number that opens everything) you need two more numbers in Portugal: the NISS for work and social security, and the número de utente for healthcare. Portugal hangs your life on numbers. All three are free, and you need all three.
The order points itself out once you know who issues what:
- The NISS, in full Número de Identificação da Segurança Social, comes from the Segurança Social, the Portuguese social security.
- The healthcare number comes from the public health service.
- At twelve Espaços Cidadão (government service desks for citizens) you get them together with the NIF in one go.
How do you apply for the NISS?
If you're going to work in Portugal, employed or self-employed, you need the NISS. It is the number through which you build up rights and pay contributions, and without it your employer can't register you.
The application is free and runs online, through the form for foreigners on the Segurança Social portal. An employer can also set it in motion for you, with a power of attorney or form PA-12.
What goes into the application:
- a valid identity document, scanned (for EU citizens your ID card, passport or residence card suffices);
- proof of your employment situation: an employment contract, or the start of your activity as a self-employed person with copies of your invoices.
After that you receive a registered letter at the address you gave, saying the number is ready. You collect it in person at a Segurança Social counter, with your identity document, or have it collected by someone with an original power of attorney. You book an appointment through the SIGA platform or by phone. You follow the status of your application in the Segurança Social Direta, the social security's online portal.
Where do you get the número de utente?
You get the healthcare number from the public health service itself. Portuguese citizens get it automatically with their Cartão de Cidadão (the Portuguese identity card). Foreigners get it the first time they present themselves at a public health facility: a centro de saúde (health centre) or a hospital.
The number alone isn't cover. Gov.pt says it in so many words: being assigned the número de utente doesn't guarantee that the SNS bears your healthcare costs. Who pays the bill depends on your situation — work in Portugal, the S1 form, or your own insurance. So arrange the cover first; only then is the number worth something.
Retired? Then your route runs through the CAK
Whoever moves to Portugal with a Dutch pension or Dutch benefit is obliged to arrange healthcare through the CAK. You can't keep the Dutch basic insurance on emigration.
This is how it goes:
- Preferably report your moving date to your health insurer two months before departure, to avoid double costs.
- The CAK assesses the application within four weeks and then sends you the S1 form.
- The treaty contribution is then deducted from your pension or benefit.
You hand that S1 in in Portugal at the body the CAK designates, not at the SNS (the Portuguese public health service) itself:
- on the mainland at the Centro Distrital de Solidariedade e Segurança Social of your place of residence;
- on Madeira at the Centro de Segurança Social in Funchal;
- in the Azores at the Centro de Prestações Pecuniárias.
Once that's arranged, you're in the system like every resident, with the Netherlands as payer in the background.
If you leave before your AOW age (the Dutch state pension age), watch the date. The CAK route is expected to be open from 1 November 2026 only to new registrants with a statutory benefit: AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong. If you bring only an early-retirement pension, an RVU payment or an early-drawn occupational pension, you then fall outside it. You then arrange cover in Portugal yourself until AOW age. Whoever is already a CAK client keeps their rights. What exactly changes, and what you can do now.
| What | Cost or term |
|---|---|
| Applying for the NIF | free |
| Applying for the NISS (online) | free; collect at the counter after a registered letter |
| Número de utente | free; at the first visit to a centro de saúde or hospital |
| NIF, NISS and utente in one go | 12 Espaços Cidadão (as of 17 September 2026) |
| Reporting your moving date to your health insurer | preferably 2 months before departure |
| Assessment by the CAK, then the S1 | within 4 weeks |
| New CAK registration with only early retirement | expected no longer possible from 1 November 2026 |
The shortest route: three numbers in one go
There's a counter that shortens this whole article. At twelve Espaços Cidadão, foreigners with an address in Portugal can apply for the NIF, the NISS and the número de utente in one go.
The condition is that you have a Portuguese address and the nationality of an EU country (or have applied for or been granted a residence permit). A representative may do it for you, with a valid power of attorney and copies of your identity document certified by a consulate or with an apostille. Not every Espaço Cidadão does it. Check the current list on gov.pt before you go.
The order of all this is less strict than it seems: the NIF comes first (ideally you arrange that from the Netherlands already), the rest follows as soon as you have an address.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Portugal or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- gov.pt — applying for the número de utente — gov.pt
- gov.pt — applying for the NIF and NISS as a foreigner (guide) — gov.pt
- gov.pt — applying for the NIF, NISS and utente in one go (Espaço Cidadão) — gov.pt
- CAK — the designated body per country of residence, where the S1 lands in Portugal — hetcak.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — health insurance through the CAK with a pension or benefit — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- CAK — emigrating on early retirement, the expected change from 1 November 2026 — hetcak.nl
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