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Guide · Your first weeks

EU citizens: your registration certificate

From an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra or Switzerland, and staying more than 3 months? You have to register at the town hall where you live.

3 min read · Checked on 4 October 2026

Who needs it

If you are a citizen of a European Union country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra or Switzerland and you stay in Portugal for more than 3 months, you have to ask for a registration certificate (certificado de registo de cidadão da União Europeia).

It is the document that makes your right to live in Portugal official.

You have 30 days to ask, counted from the end of your first 3 months here.

Where to ask

You ask at the câmara municipal, the town hall, of the municipality where you live.

Lisbon City Council only issues the certificate to people who live in Lisbon. If you live in another municipality, ask its own câmara.

In Lisbon you book an appointment on the council's site and go in person to a Loja Lisboa: Baixa, Entrecampos, Marvila or Saldanha.

What to bring

  • A valid identity card or passport
  • A declaration, on your honour, that you meet the legal conditions

As a student, you declare that you are enrolled at an officially recognised school or university. You also show, with a declaration or any other proof you choose, that you have enough money to support yourself.

Health insurance is only asked for if your own country asks the same of Portuguese citizens.

If you work in Portugal, employed or self-employed, you declare that instead.

Cost and how long it lasts

In Lisbon the certificate costs €15 if you are under 25 and €18 if you are over 25. You pay when you ask, in cash, by card or by cheque.

It is issued for up to 5 years. After those 5 years, the next document is asked for at AIMA, the agency for migration.

If you leave Portugal for good before it expires, you have to get the certificate cancelled. Cancelling is free.

The prices and the booking steps on this page are Lisbon City Council's. If you live somewhere else, check your own câmara's page first.

Sources

Checked on 4 October 2026 against the official pages above.

Rules change. The official page is the one that counts.

Something out of date? Write to sakaloz.hello@gmail.com

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