How to apply for a Portuguese NIF from France: which consulate to use
In this article
Short answer. To apply for a Portuguese NIF from France, start with your registered address: seven Portuguese consular posts serve the country — consulates general in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg and Bordeaux, a vice-consulate in Toulouse and a consular office in Nantes. The post recognises your signature on the form and forwards your file; the NIF itself is assigned by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), not by the consulate.
This is an independent guide by E-Residence, a private service. It is not an official website of any consulate and does not control appointments; every procedure in it links to its official source. Recheck the official page on the day you act.
For the wider picture of how non-residents get a Portuguese NIF — including the fiscal representative rules — see our guide to the NIF for non-residents. Here, the focus is France and its seven posts.
Which office covers your address?
France hosts the largest Portuguese consular network in Europe — seven posts. The districts below are reproduced from each post’s published list, which France publishes as department numbers. Residence is the starting point — not nationality, and not the post with the most convenient appointment.
| Where you live (registered address) | Office | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Departments 02, 08, 10, 14, 18, 22, 27, 28, 29, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 53, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95; overseas territories 971, 972, 973, 974, 975, 976, 977, 978, 986, 987, 988 | Consulate General, Paris | Paris contact page |
| Ain (01), Allier (03), Cantal (15), Corrèze (19), Côte-d’Or (21), Creuse (23), Isère (38), Jura (39), Loire (42), Haute-Loire (43), Nièvre (58), Puy-de-Dôme (63), Rhône (69), Saône-et-Loire (71), Savoie (73), Haute-Savoie (74) | Consulate General, Lyon | Lyon NIF page |
| 04, 05, 06, 07, 13, 26, 30, 34, 48, 83, 84; Corsica (2A, 2B); Monaco (98) | Consulate General, Marseille | Marseille contact page |
| Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Vosges, Haute-Marne, Moselle, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse (Grand Est); Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Haute-Saône (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) | Consulate General, Strasbourg | Strasbourg contact page |
| Charente (16), Charente-Maritime (17), Dordogne (24), Gironde (33), Landes (40), Lot (46), Lot-et-Garonne (47), Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | Consulate General, Bordeaux | Bordeaux contact page |
| Ariège (09), Aude (11), Aveyron (12), Haute-Garonne (31), Gers (32), Hautes-Pyrénées (65), Pyrénées-Orientales (66), Tarn (81), Tarn-et-Garonne (82) | Vice-Consulate, Toulouse | Toulouse contact page |
| No district of its own — a consular office dependent on the Consulate General in Paris, served by phone appointment | Consular Office, Nantes | Nantes post page |
Only Lyon publishes a NIF-specific page among these posts; where a post does not, its contact and booking channel is the starting point — ask the post which form and documents it wants for the signature act before booking. The districts above are reproduced as the posts publish them; the full lists with department names sit on each post’s own page.
The consular NIF route: what applies across France
Every post here serves the same national procedure, with differences in how you book and what each one publishes. The shared points, as the posts and the tax authority describe them:
- A NIF can be requested directly from Portugal’s tax services or through the consular route. Lyon’s NIF page describes both for French nationals: apply directly to the Serviço de Finanças / portaldasfinancas.gov.pt, or complete the form (anexo I and III) and book an in-person appointment for signature recognition at any Portuguese consulate-general.
- The post does not issue the NIF — the AT does. The number is assigned by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), Portugal’s tax authority. The consular part of the route is the recognition of your signature on the applicable form; the number itself is assigned by the AT.
- Portuguese citizens: the NIF comes with the Cartão de Cidadão. Lyon’s page states it plainly: Portuguese nationals should request the issue or renewal of their Cartão de Cidadão; without a new card, the published routes run through the AT services.
- Fiscal representative: optional for France-based applicants. Per the AT leaflet, residents of EU/EEA countries can choose between appointing a fiscal representative and adhering to the electronic notification channels — both are options, not obligations. It becomes a live question for third-country residents once a tax relationship with Portugal exists, and always for self-employed activity subject to VAT. The FAQ below has the details.
- The NIF request is free; the post’s fee is for its own act. The Portuguese government’s guide states the NIF request is free of charge. What a post charges is its emolument for the signature recognition, set by each post’s fee table — ask your post.
- Booking channels differ — the details are below. Most French posts route appointments through the MNE online booking system; Nantes takes appointments by phone only; some posts also publish email or phone first-line contacts.
Prefer to prepare your application with E-Residence? Start a NIF enquiry — a private service that helps you organise the paperwork before you contact the office. An enquiry does not create, confirm or replace an official appointment.
Office by office: how each one handles NIF applications
Paris — consulate general
Paris runs a dedicated notary service (notariado), where acts including signature recognition are performed by appointment. Its page publishes the online booking entry (agendamentos.mne.gov.pt), and the consular call centre (Centro de Atendimento Consular) answers on +33 (0)1 73 01 16 80; email cgparis@mne.pt. Paris publishes no NIF-specific page — start from its contact page and ask which documents the post wants for the signature act. Paris contact page
Lyon — consulate general
Lyon publishes the only NIF page among the French posts, and it is the most explicit of the seven: French nationals apply directly to the Portuguese tax services, or complete the anexo I and III form and book an in-person appointment for signature recognition — which, it says, can be done at any Portuguese consulate-general in France. Booking runs through the post’s online scheduling page; the consular call centre answers on +33 (0)1 73 01 16 80; email consulado.lyon@mne.pt. Lyon NIF page
Marseille — consulate general
Marseille’s district list includes Corsica and Monaco. It publishes no NIF page — start from its contact page. Online booking runs via the MNE appointment system; the consular call centre answers on +33 (0)1 73 01 16 80, with an emergency line on +33 (0)6 18 72 27 90. It publishes no email — its contact page is the published channel. Marseille contact page
Strasbourg — consulate general
Strasbourg covers ten departments across the Grand Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It publishes no NIF page — start from its contact page. Appointments run through the MNE online booking system; emails consulado.estrasburgo@mne.pt and gec@mne.pt. Strasbourg contact page
Bordeaux — consulate general
Bordeaux covers eight departments of the south-west. It publishes no NIF page — start from its contact page. The post’s site carries an ‘Agendamentos Online’ booking entry; email consulado.bordeus@mne.pt. Bordeaux contact page
Toulouse — vice-consulate
Toulouse’s vice-consulate publishes detailed service instructions: for powers of attorney and signature recognition acts it asks you to email toulouse@mne.pt with the text of the document in editable format, copies of your ID and proof of address, and to bring the original valid photo ID on the day. Online booking runs via the MNE system, with a booking tutorial published on the page; the consular call centre answers on +33 (0)1 73 01 16 80. Toulouse contact page
Nantes — consular office dependent on Paris
Nantes is a consular office dependent on the Consulate General in Paris, and it publishes no district of its own. Appointments are made by phone only: +33 (0)984 382 181, calls from 14:00 to 16:00; the office serves weekdays from 09:00 to 13:00. Email nantes@mne.pt. Nantes post page
Addresses and map links
| Office | Address | Open the map |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | 6, rue Georges Berger, 75017 Paris | Google Maps |
| Lyon | 71, Rue Crillon - 69006 Lyon | Google Maps |
| Marseille | Avenue du Prado, 141, Bâtiment A, 2ème étage, 13008 Marseille | Google Maps |
| Strasbourg | 16, Rue Wimpheling, 67000 Strasbourg | Google Maps |
| Bordeaux | 11, rue Henri Rodel, 33000 Bordeaux | Google Maps |
| Toulouse | 33 Avenue Camille Pujol, 31500 Toulouse | Google Maps |
| Nantes | 51 Chaussée de la Madeleine, 44000 Nantes | Google Maps |
These are the posts’ published addresses. The map links are navigation aids built from those addresses — they do not confirm which service a building hosts, and they are no substitute for the post’s own page. Check the address there before travelling.
What this guide does not confirm
- Processing times. None of the seven posts publishes a processing time for this route, and none publishes appointment waiting times — treat any figure you hear as unofficial and recheck on the day.
- Fees. No French post publishes a current public emolument table for the signature recognition; ask your post before booking. The NIF itself is free.
- Which form your post witnesses. Only Lyon publishes the form route it uses (anexo I and III); the other posts publish no NIF-specific document list — confirm your document set with the post.
- Walk-in service. None of the posts reviewed describes accepting applications without an appointment; Nantes serves by phone appointment only, the others through their published booking channels.
Want a second pair of eyes on your document set before you contact the office? Send your situation through a short NIF enquiry. We flag gaps before the post does — an enquiry does not replace or speed up the official procedure.
Frequently asked questions
Which Portuguese consulate in France covers my address?
It depends on your registered address, and France’s consular districts are published as department lists. Paris covers 40 departments plus the overseas territories 971–978 and 986–988 — the full list is in the table above. Lyon covers 01, 03, 15, 19, 21, 23, 38, 39, 42, 43, 58, 63, 69, 71, 73 and 74; Marseille covers 04, 05, 06, 07, 13, 26, 30, 34, 48, 83 and 84, plus Corsica (2A, 2B) and Monaco (98); Strasbourg covers ten departments of the Grand Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté; Bordeaux covers 16, 17, 24, 33, 40, 46, 47 and 64; and Toulouse covers 09, 11, 12, 31, 32, 65, 66, 81 and 82. Nantes publishes no district of its own — it is a consular office dependent on Paris, served by phone appointment. Confirm your district with your post before contacting it.
Rede Consular — France · Paris jurisdiction page · Lyon jurisdiction page
Does the consulate issue my NIF?
No. The NIF is assigned by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), the Portuguese tax authority — consular posts do not issue it. The consular role is the signature recognition on the applicable form: Lyon’s page describes exactly this step for French nationals — apply directly to the Portuguese tax services, or complete the form (anexo I and III) and book an in-person appointment for signature recognition at any Portuguese consulate-general.
Lyon NIF page · AT leaflet — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens
Do I need a fiscal representative in Portugal?
Requesting a NIF as a non-resident does not by itself require appointing one. For residents of EU/EEA countries — France included — the AT leaflet makes both options optional: appoint a fiscal representative in Portugal or adhere to the AT’s electronic notification channels (Portal das Finanças notifications or ViaCTT). Applicants resident outside the EU/EEA face the opposite rule: if a tax legal relationship with Portugal exists (property, a vehicle, an employment contract or self-employed activity), they must do one of the two within 15 days. And a self-employed activity subject to VAT always requires a VAT representative resident in Portugal.
AT — Appoint a tax representative · gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS
Which form and documents do I bring?
The posts publish limited form guidance, and Lyon’s NIF page is the only NIF-specific procedure among the French offices: it points French nationals to the anexo I and III form, completed before an in-person appointment for signature recognition. The AT leaflet for non-residents describes the document base as a valid civil identification document or passport, plus the tax authority’s forms. Ask your post which form and supporting documents it wants for your file before you book.
Lyon NIF page · Paris contact page
What does it cost?
The NIF request itself is free — the Portuguese government’s guide states it. What a consular post may charge is its emolument for the act it performs (the signature recognition), and the French posts do not publish a current public fee table: ask your post for its fee before the appointment. Do not rely on fee figures from other countries’ posts.
gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS · Lyon NIF page
How do I learn the result, and how long does it take?
No French post publishes a processing time for the consular route, and appointment availability is not published either — treat any estimate as unofficial. The number is assigned as a non-resident (per the AT leaflet), and where you have appointed a fiscal representative, the AT’s correspondence goes to the representative. Recheck your post’s page and the official links on the day you act.
MNE — Agendamento online de atos consulares · AT leaflet — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens
Choose your next step
You can run the whole process yourself through the official channels above — the NIF request is free, and the consular part costs your post’s emolument. Recheck your post’s page on the day you act, because document lists and forms change.
Prefer to prepare with E-Residence? Start a NIF enquiry and describe your purpose in one or two sentences. An enquiry does not replace the official procedure; it helps you arrive at it prepared.
For the full service picture, see NIF Portugal Online and Fiscal Representative.
Editorial note: procedures, forms and local practice can change. Recheck the official links on the day you act.
Official sources
- Portal das Comunidades — Portugal’s consular network in France — the official MNE directory of posts used for this guide.
- Consulate General, Paris — contacts — booking entry and call centre.
- Consulate General, Paris — notariado — the signature-recognition service.
- Consulate General, Lyon — NIF page — the country’s only NIF-specific page among these posts.
- Consulate General, Marseille — contacts — booking and emergency line.
- Consulate General, Strasbourg — contacts — published emails.
- Consulate General, Bordeaux — contacts — booking entry and email.
- Vice-Consulate, Toulouse — contacts — signature-recognition instructions by email.
- Consular Office, Nantes — phone-only appointments.
- gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS para pessoas estrangeiras em Portugal — the free NIF request and the general rules (in Portuguese).
- Portal das Finanças — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens (leaflet) — the non-resident procedure in English.
- Portal das Finanças — Appoint a tax representative — the optional vs. mandatory rules.
- MNE — Agendamento online de atos consulares — the national appointment system.
Last checked: 30 September 2026.