How to apply for a Portuguese NIF from the United Kingdom: which consulate to use

Last updated: September 30, 2026 By E-Residence Team

In this article

Short answer. To apply for a Portuguese NIF from the United Kingdom, start with your registered address: two Portuguese consulates-general serve the country — London and Manchester. Neither post publishes a NIF-specific page, so the post’s contact and booking channel is the starting point. 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 the United Kingdom and its two posts.

Which office covers your address?

The United Kingdom hosts two Portuguese consulates-general, and the country is divided between them: London covers the south and the territories listed below, Manchester covers the rest. Residence is the starting point — not nationality, and not the post with the most convenient appointment.

Where you live (registered address)	Office	Start here
Greater London; East, South East and South West England; Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey); Bermuda; Turks and Caicos Islands	Consulate General, London	London post page
East Midlands, West Midlands, North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland	Consulate General, Manchester	Manchester contact page

Neither London nor Manchester publishes a NIF-specific page; 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 from the posts’ published jurisdiction lists.

The consular NIF route: what applies across the United Kingdom

Every post here serves the same national procedure, with differences in what each one publishes. The shared points, as the tax authority describes them:

A NIF can be requested directly from Portugal’s tax services or through the consular route. You can file with the AT online through e-balcão, or at a scheduled attendance at a Serviço de Finanças or a Loja do Cidadão. On the consular route, the post witnesses your signature on the applicable AT form and forwards the file.
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 is issued with a new Cartão de Cidadão. For Portuguese nationals, the number comes with the issue or renewal of the Cartão de Cidadão; without a new card, the published routes run through the AT services, including e-balcão.
Fiscal representative: not required by the NIF request itself, but the 15-day rule applies once a tax relationship exists. Requesting a NIF as a non-resident does not by itself require appointing a fiscal representative. The United Kingdom is a third country, outside the EU/EEA: if you establish a tax legal relationship with Portugal — owning property or a vehicle there, a work contract, or self-employed activity — you must, within 15 days, either appoint a fiscal representative in Portugal or adhere to the AT’s electronic notification channels (Portal das Finanças notifications or ViaCTT). And a self-employed activity subject to VAT always requires a VAT representative resident in Portugal. 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 runs through the national system, and both posts publish an email. London and Manchester both appear in the MNE online booking list; neither publishes a NIF page, so confirm the document set and the fee with the post before you book.

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

London — consulate general

London is the larger of the two UK posts. Its published jurisdiction is Greater London, the East, South East and South West of England, the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey), Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It publishes no NIF-specific page — start from its published channel and ask which documents the post wants for the signature act. Appointments run through the MNE online booking system, where the post appears in the agendamentos list; the published email is consulado.londres@mne.pt. London post page

Manchester — consulate general

Manchester covers the East Midlands, the West Midlands, North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It publishes no NIF-specific page either, but it does publish signature-recognition services — so the signature act on the applicable AT form is served through its published consular services. Appointments run through the MNE online booking system, where the post appears in the agendamentos list; the published email is consulado.manchester@mne.pt. Manchester contact page

Addresses and map links

Office	Address	Open the map
London	3, Portland Place, London W1B 1HR	Google Maps
Manchester	1 Portland Street, Manchester M1 3BE	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. Neither UK post publishes a processing time for this route, and neither publishes appointment waiting times — treat any figure you hear as unofficial and recheck on the day.
Fees. Neither UK 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. Neither London nor Manchester publishes a NIF-specific document list, so the form and the supporting documents for your file must be confirmed with the post.
Walk-in service. Neither post reviewed here describes accepting applications without an appointment; both route appointments through the MNE online booking system.

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 the UK covers my address?

It depends on your registered address, and the United Kingdom is split between two consulates-general. London covers Greater London, the East, South East and South West of England, the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey), Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Manchester covers the East Midlands, the West Midlands, North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Confirm your district with your post before contacting it.

Rede Consular — United Kingdom · Manchester 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. Neither UK post publishes a NIF-specific page: the consular role is the recognition of your signature on the applicable form, after which the post forwards your file to the AT. You can also file directly with the tax authority through e-balcão, or at a scheduled attendance at a Serviço de Finanças or Loja do Cidadão.

AT leaflet — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens · e-balcão · gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS

Do I need a fiscal representative in Portugal?

Requesting a NIF as a non-resident does not by itself require appointing one. The United Kingdom is outside the EU/EEA, so the third-country rule applies: if a tax legal relationship with Portugal exists — property, a vehicle, an employment contract or self-employed activity — you must, within 15 days, either appoint a fiscal representative in Portugal or adhere to the AT’s electronic notification channels (Portal das Finanças notifications or ViaCTT). And a self-employed activity subject to VAT always requires a VAT representative resident in Portugal.

AT leaflet — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens · gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS

Which form and documents do I bring?

Neither UK post publishes a NIF-specific procedure, so there is no form list published by the posts themselves. The AT leaflet for non-residents describes the document base as a valid civil identification document or passport, a document showing your address abroad (unless it appears in the ID), plus the tax authority’s form for non-residents. Ask your post which form and supporting documents it wants for your file before you book.

AT leaflet — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens · Manchester 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 neither UK post publishes 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 · gov.pt — Pedir o número de identificação fiscal para pessoa singular

How do I learn the result, and how long does it take?

Neither UK 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 the United Kingdom — the official MNE directory of posts used for this guide.
Consulate General of Portugal in London — the post’s homepage and published channel.
Consulate General of Portugal in Manchester — contacts — the post’s published contacts.
Consulate General of Portugal in Manchester — jurisdiction — the districts the post covers.
gov.pt — Como pedir o NIF e o NISS para pessoas estrangeiras em Portugal — the free NIF request and the general rules (in Portuguese).
gov.pt — Pedir o número de identificação fiscal para pessoa singular — the service page for the request itself.
Portal das Finanças — Assignment of tax ID number to foreign citizens (leaflet) — the non-resident procedure and the representative rules in English.
e-balcão — the AT’s online channel for those who file directly.
MNE — Agendamento online de atos consulares — the national appointment system.
Portal das Finanças — the tax authority’s main site.

Last checked: 30 September 2026.