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Your first 30 days in Lisbon – a checklist

A practical checklist for your first month in Lisbon: emergency numbers, NIF and NISS, transport pass, bank account, SNS user number, flat hunting, AIMA or town hall registration, and where to get help in person at Citizen Shops and AIMA offices.

Checked 8 Oct 2026
Applies to
Anyone who has just moved to Lisbon. Steps marked for non-EU or EU citizens apply only to that group.
Effort
High effort
Time needed
Spread over your first four weeks
Cost
Most registrations are free. Budget for a personalised Navegante card (€7) and pass (€40 metropolitan or €30 Lisbon municipal per month in 2026), a deposit and advance rent for a flat, and AIMA or town hall fees.
Where
Lisbon, Portugal
On this page
  1. Overview
  2. Documents you need
  3. Step by step
  4. Watch out
  5. Common mistakes
  6. Tips
  7. Official links
  8. In your plan
  9. Sources
  10. Related guides

Your first month in Lisbon is mostly about getting the basic numbers, a place to live and access to health care, and about meeting the deadlines that follow from your residence status. This checklist links to the detailed guides.

Lisbon has several Citizen Shops (Lojas do Cidadão) where many public services sit under one roof. The Laranjeiras shop (Rua Abranches Ferrão 10) has the tax authority, Social Security, IEFP and others and opens on weekdays 8:30–19:30 and Saturdays 8:30–14:00; the Saldanha shop (Mercado 31 de Janeiro, 1st floor) has the tax authority, Social Security, the Lisbon City Council, IMT and Carris desks (gov.pt, October 2026). Phone 300 003 990. Lisbon's municipal holiday, 13 June (Saint Anthony), closes them.

Documents you need

  • Passport or national ID card

    required

  • Residence visa (non-EU)

    optional

  • NIF

    required

  • Proof of address

    required

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Day 1: save the emergency numbers

    112 for emergencies, SNS 24 – 808 24 24 24 for health advice, 800 250 250 for poisoning. See the emergency numbers guide.

  2. Step 2: Week 1: get or confirm your NIF

    If you do not have a NIF yet, book an appointment at a tax office or Citizen Shop (Portal das Finanças Atendimento por Marcação, or call 217 206 707). Bring your passport and, if you are a non-EU national, the visa in it. Keep the printed proof.

  3. Step 3: Week 1: get a Navegante card

    Buy a personalised Navegante card (€7; €3.50 under 23) at a Metro ticket office such as Marquês de Pombal, Campo Grande, Rossio, Cais do Sodré or Oriente, and load a monthly pass: €40 Navegante Metropolitano or €30 Navegante Municipal (Lisbon), free for under-23s. Until then, a single Carris/Metro ticket costs €1.90.

  4. Step 4: Weeks 1–2: open a bank account

    With your passport, NIF and proof of address you can open an account; every bank must offer the basic banking services account (maximum €5.37 a year in 2026). Give your IBAN to your employer.

  5. Step 5: Weeks 1–3: request your NISS if you work

    Request it with the online form on the Social Security portal, or ask your employer to request it for you. Activate Segurança Social Direta once you have the number.

  6. Step 6: Weeks 2–4: get your SNS user number

    Go to the health centre for your address with your ID, NIF, proof of address and residence document, and ask to be registered. Ask about a family doctor.

  7. Step 7: Throughout: find a long-term flat

    Plan for temporary accommodation while you search. Prepare your documents, never pay before seeing a flat and signing a written lease, and check the deposit and advance rent (currently up to two months each). See the housing guides.

  8. Step 8: Non-EU citizens: confirm your AIMA appointment

    Your residence visa is valid for four months. If you do not have an appointment yet, request it online on AIMA's contact platform (Autorização de Residência com Visto Consular), with your passport and visa numbers and copies of both. Lisbon's main AIMA office is Lisboa I at Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar 20 (weekdays 9:00–17:00); Lisboa II in Anjos (Rua Álvaro Coutinho 14) gives information only. AIMA's contact centre is on (+351) 217 115 000, weekdays 8:00–20:00.

  9. Step 9: EU citizens: plan your CRUE

    If you stay more than three months, register at the Lisbon City Council within 30 days after the first three months to get the EU registration certificate. Put the date in your calendar now.

  10. Step 10: Before day 60: update your tax address

    Once you have a home in Lisbon that you intend to keep, change your NIF to resident status within 60 days (e-balcão or a tax office appointment).

  11. Step 11: Ongoing: find local help

    Local support centres for migrants (CLAIM) run by municipalities and associations give information and support to migrants, though they cannot look into AIMA files. Parish councils (juntas de freguesia) issue residence certificates (atestados de residência).

Watch out

Your residence visa has a fixed validity of four months; do not let it expire without an AIMA appointment or receipt.

Do not hand money or documents to anyone offering to "speed up" AIMA appointments; use official channels only.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to open a bank account or sign a lease before having a NIF.
  • Forgetting to change the NIF address after moving in, which affects tax letters and residence status.

Tips

  • Book appointments online where you can; Citizen Shops and tax offices work largely by appointment.
  • Bring originals and copies of every document to every appointment.
  • Learn a few Portuguese words for counters: *senha* (queue ticket), *marcação* (appointment), *comprovativo* (proof).

In your plan

  • Apply to AIMA for your residence permit
  • Get your Portuguese tax number (NIF)
  • Register your residence at the Lisbon City Council (CRUE)
  • Book temporary accommodation for your first weeks in Lisbon
  • Open a Portuguese bank account
  • Get your SNS user number at your health centre
  • Save Portugal's emergency and health numbers
  • Get a Navegante card and monthly pass

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 6 Jan 2027.

  1. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa)Official source
    Loja de Cidadão das Laranjeiras (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Updated 2 October 2026.

  2. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa)Official source
    Loja de Cidadão do Saldanha (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Updated 2 October 2026.

  3. Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA)Official source
    Lojas AIMA (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  4. Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA)Official source
    Agendamento Online para Autorização de Residência com Visto Consular (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  5. Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA)Official source
    Centros Locais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes (CLAIM) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  6. Metropolitano de LisboaOfficial source
    Fares (effective from 1 January 2026) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  7. Autoridade Tributária e AduaneiraOfficial source
    Número de Identificação Fiscal para cidadãos estrangeiros – não residentes (folheto, julho 2025) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  8. Junta de Freguesia de EstrelaOfficial source
    Atestados de Residência (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  9. Banco de PortugalOfficial source
    Serviços mínimos bancários (junho de 2026) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  10. gov.pt (Agência para a Modernização Administrativa)Official source
    Migrantes – cuidados de saúde em Portugal (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

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