For remote workers
Working remotely from Portugal
Portugal is the destination for anyone who takes their work along: the time zone, the prices, the light registration. But the tax promise that made the country big is over — the NHR regime has been closed to newcomers since 2024, and the successor is for a narrow group of professions. What does apply, you need to know before you deregister, not after.
The fiscal side first. Most Dutch emigrants simply fall under the ordinary Portuguese rates; whether IFICI applies to your profession is a question with a short answer. For the year you leave you file the M form in the Netherlands, and if you have a BV or an annuity the protective assessment travels along — the one on a substantial interest never expires.
Then the numbers, in order. As an EU citizen you arrange the NIF from the Netherlands, without the paid tax representative — no NIF, no bank account, no rental contract. After that come the NISS for work and social security and the número de utente for healthcare; there is a counter that arranges three numbers in one go. After three months of residence you have thirty days to register at the câmara, with a fine almost nobody knows.
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given when you emigrate: let the end date connect to your new cover. You keep your bank account and DigiD, because you will need the Netherlands for years — and your car can come along with a full ISV exemption, provided you know the deadlines.
Tax: what applies now the paradise is closed
Tax in Portugal: the paradise is closed (and what does apply)
The famous NHR regime has been closed to newcomers since 2024. Its successor (IFICI) is for a narrow group of professions — most Dutch emigrants simply fall under the normal Portuguese rates. What that means, before you decide.
Updated 11 September 2026
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 11 September 2026
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 11 September 2026
The three numbers and the registration
Arranging the NIF before you leave: the opening move of your Portuguese process
Without a NIF — the Portuguese tax number — no bank account, no rental contract, no contracts. As an EU citizen you can already apply for it from the Netherlands, without the tax representative that commercial services make you pay for.
Updated 11 September 2026
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.
Updated 28 August 2026
The CRUE: the registration at the câmara that's mandatory after three months
After three months in Portugal you have 30 days to register — not at an immigration office, but at the town hall. What it costs, what you bring, and the fine almost nobody knows about.
Updated 11 September 2026
Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
Updated 11 September 2026
Housing, healthcare and the car
Buying a house in Portugal: first pay the tax yourself, then everything in one go at Casa Pronta
Portugal sits exactly between the Netherlands and Spain. The taxes — the IMT and the stamp duty of 0.8% — *you* as buyer pay before the transfer. But after that the government has something almost no country has: the Balcão Casa Pronta, one counter where the deed of sale and the entry in the register happen in one appointment. Then comes the annual IMI.
Updated 28 August 2026
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 September 2026
Taking your car to Portugal: the ISV exemption that saves thousands of euros
Portugal levies a hefty import tax (ISV) on cars — but whoever moves can get full exemption. The conditions are precise, the deadlines hard, and whoever knows them takes their car along almost for free.
Updated 11 September 2026
Want to walk this journey with the order watched — the NIF before you leave, the registration within thirty days, the M form for your emigration year not forgotten? The Portuguese step-by-step plan is ready for you.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Choose your destination and we'll send you the departure guide: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that at most one mail a month: first the question where your plans stand, then now and then one thing that fits the time of year or your country. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
Forty-four journeys are fully ready: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.