Buying property in Portugal as a foreigner: the complete 2026 guide

Can a foreigner buy property in Portugal?

Yes. Portugal places no general restriction on foreigners, non-residents or non-EU citizens buying homes, and you do not need a visa or residence permit to own one. What changed is the cost and the residence link:

• The Golden Visa property route is closed. Lei 56/2023 (the Mais Habitação law) stopped new residence-by-investment applications based on buying property from 7 October 2023. Buying a home no longer gives you a residence permit.
• Non-residents pay more tax on the purchase. Since 25 May 2026 a buyer who is not tax resident in Portugal pays a flat 7.5% IMT (property transfer tax) on a home, instead of the sliding scale residents pay. The details are below.

Foreign demand has been falling: non-resident buyers bought 8,471 homes in 2025, 13.3% fewer than in 2024 and the third annual fall (INE).

What are the steps to buy a home in Portugal?

Step	What happens	Typical timing
1. NIF	Get a Portuguese tax number	Before you make an offer
2. Fiscal representative or e-notifications	Non-EU buyers either appoint a representative or sign up for electronic notifications	With the NIF
3. Bank account	Open a Portuguese account (needed for a Portuguese mortgage; useful for bills)	Before the CPCV
4. Mortgage approval in principle	Ask a bank what it will lend	Before you search seriously
5. Find the property	Through listing agents, a buyer’s agent or directly	Weeks to months
6. Lawyer’s due diligence	Title, debts, licences, planning	Before you sign anything binding
7. CPCV and deposit	Promissory contract; deposit usually 10–30%	Once checks are clean
8. Pay IMT and stamp duty	Assessed and paid online or at a tax office	Before the deed
9. Deed (escritura)	Signed at a notary, lawyer’s office or Casa Pronta desk; balance paid	On the date set in the CPCV
10. Registration	Purchase registered at the Land Registry	Within two months of the deed

The timings are typical, not legal deadlines, except where stated.

How do you get a NIF?

The NIF (número de identificação fiscal) is your Portuguese tax number. You need it to sign a CPCV, pay IMT, open a bank account and connect utilities. Getting one is free. Since 1 July 2025 foreign citizens can apply either in person at a tax office (by appointment) or online through the Portal das Finanças e-balcão; because you cannot yet log in to the portal without a NIF, the online route is filed by a representative holding your power of attorney, often a lawyer or solicitor. You provide your passport, proof of your address abroad and the representative’s ID and power of attorney.

Do you need a fiscal representative? A common belief is that every non-resident must appoint one. Not so. If you live in the EU or EEA, you do not. If you live elsewhere (including the UK and US), you can avoid appointing one by signing up to the Portal das Finanças electronic notifications service (ViaCTT / e-notificações), under article 19 of the General Tax Law as changed in 2023. Without either, tax letters may go unread and deadlines pass.

Do you need a Portuguese bank account and mortgage?

You can buy for cash from a foreign account, but most buyers open a Portuguese account: a Portuguese mortgage requires one, and IMT, utility bills and the annual property tax are easier to pay locally. Banks will ask for your NIF, passport, proof of address and proof of income.

If you need a mortgage, ask for an approval in principle before you make offers. Banco de Portugal’s limits for new home loans, applied to credit assessments from 1 August 2026, are:

Limit	Own permanent home	Second home or buy-to-let
Maximum loan-to-value	90%	80%
Maximum repayments as a share of income (DSTI)	45% (lowered from 50%)	45%
Maximum term	40 years if you are 35 or younger; 35 years if older	Same

These are ceilings; banks set their own lending policy within them and may offer less to a non-resident. Stamp duty of 0.6% is charged on a mortgage of five years or more.

How do you find a property, and who does the agent work for?

In Portugal the listing agent is hired and paid by the seller, typically around 5% plus 23% VAT, and acts for the seller. An agency cannot be paid by both buyer and seller in the same deal (Lei 15/2013, article 17(2)(a)). Every agency must hold an AMI licence from IMPIC, which you can check on the IMPIC website. If you want someone on your side, you can hire a buyer’s agent; see buyer’s agents in Portugal.

What should your lawyer check before you sign?

Instruct your own lawyer (advogado) or solicitor (solicitador), not one suggested by the seller’s agent. Fees are not regulated, so get a fixed fee or a percentage in writing. Before the CPCV, your lawyer should check:

• the land registry certificate (certidão permanente): owner, mortgages, liens, pre-emption rights;
• the tax record (caderneta predial): that the area and use match what is being sold;
• the habitation licence (licença de utilização) and approved plans, including pools and extensions; buildings from before 7 August 1951 do not need a licence;
• the energy certificate (the seller must provide one);
• for flats, the condominium’s debt declaration;
• any short-let (AL) registration and whether it can pass to you;
• local pre-emption rights (for example, Lisbon council’s right of first refusal on some sales, and a tenant’s right on a let property).

How does the CPCV and deposit work?

The CPCV (contrato-promessa de compra e venda, promissory contract) fixes the price, the deed date and the conditions. The buyer pays a deposit (sinal), commonly 10–30% of the price. Under article 442 of the Civil Code, if the buyer walks away, they lose the deposit; if the seller walks away, they must normally pay back double. Make the CPCV conditional on your mortgage offer if you need one. For a building, the signatures on the CPCV must be certified in person, for example by a lawyer or notary (Civil Code article 410(3)).

How much IMT does a non-resident pay in 2026?

Decree-Law 97/2026 added article 17(10) to the IMT Code. Since 25 May 2026, when the buyer of an urban property used only as a home is not tax resident in Portugal, IMT is 7.5% of the whole price, and no IMT exemption or reduction applies. Residents pay the sliding scale: nothing up to €106,346 on a main home, rising in bands to 8% minus a deduction, then a flat 6% between €660,982 (main home) or €633,931 (other homes) and €1,150,853, and 7.5% above that.

Three situations change the answer:

Situation	What you pay
You were Portuguese tax resident at any time before	The normal scale, not 7.5%
You become Portuguese tax resident within two years of buying	You pay 7.5%, then can have the difference cancelled
Within six months of buying you let the home as a residence at a moderate rent (≤ €2,300 a month in 2026), and it is let for at least 36 months in the first five years	You pay 7.5%, then can have the difference cancelled

For the two refund cases, you must apply to the tax authority within six months of becoming resident or signing the lease (IMT Code article 17(11)–(12)). Above €1,150,853 residents pay 7.5% too, so the gap disappears.

What does buying cost in total?

Cost	Rate or amount	Who pays
IMT (non-resident)	7.5% of the price	Buyer
IMT (resident)	0% to 7.5% on the 2026 scale	Buyer
Stamp duty on the purchase	0.8% of the price	Buyer
Stamp duty on a mortgage	0.6% of the loan	Buyer
Deed and registration via Casa Pronta	€375 without a mortgage, €700 with one	Buyer
Lawyer	Not regulated; agree in writing, plus 23% VAT	Buyer
Estate agent commission	Typically around 5% + VAT	Seller

Worked examples (cash purchase, Casa Pronta deed, before the lawyer’s fee):

Price	€300,000	€500,000	€800,000
Non-resident IMT (7.5%)	€22,500	€37,500	€60,000
Resident, main home IMT	7% − €10,457.96 = €10,542.04	8% − €13,763.35 = €26,236.65	6% flat = €48,000
Resident, second home IMT	7% − €9,394.50 = €11,605.50	8% − €12,699.89 = €27,300.11	6% flat = €48,000
Stamp duty 0.8%	€2,400	€4,000	€6,400
Casa Pronta	€375	€375	€375
Non-resident total	€25,275 (8.4%)	€41,875 (8.4%)	€66,775 (8.3%)
Resident main home total	€13,317.04	€30,611.65	€54,775
Resident second home total	€14,380.50	€31,675.11	€54,775
Extra cost of being non-resident vs main home	€11,957.96	€11,263.35	€12,000

With a €250,000 mortgage on the €500,000 home, a non-resident adds €1,500 of loan stamp duty and pays €700 at Casa Pronta: €37,500 + €4,000 + €1,500 + €700 = €43,700. Run your own figures in the buying cost calculator.

After you buy, you pay IMI, the annual municipal property tax: 0.3% to 0.45% of the property’s tax value (VPT, often below market price) for urban property, at a rate set by each council (IMI Code article 112).

When do you pay IMT and stamp duty?

Before the deed. The IMT is assessed on the Portal das Finanças (or by the tax office, or by the notary or Casa Pronta desk on your behalf) and must be paid on the day of assessment or within the following 30 days, or the assessment lapses (IMT Code article 36). The deed cannot be signed without proof of payment, so this is usually done a few days before.

What happens at the deed and afterwards?

The escritura is signed at a notary, a lawyer’s or solicitor’s office, or a government Casa Pronta desk, which can complete the deed and registration in one appointment. The balance is paid at signing, usually by bank cheque or transfer. If you cannot attend, you can sign through a power of attorney (procuração), notarised and apostilled if signed abroad, or signed at a Portuguese consulate.

New from 1 October 2026: under Decree-Law 108/2026, the deed must state whether the habitation licence was shown, declared to exist, or does not exist. If that statement is missing, either party can seek to annul the sale. Ask for the licence early, and see unlicensed works if the house has an extension or pool that is not on the plans.

The purchase must then be registered at the Land Registry within two months (Land Registry Code, article 8-C); when the deed is done by a notary, lawyer or Casa Pronta, they normally file it. Until it is registered, your ownership is not protected against third parties. Then transfer the utilities into your name.

Where to buy on the Lisbon coast

Prices paid differ sharply along the coast. INE medians, 12 months to March 2026 (Mafra, Almada and parish figures as republished by mra-bio.me):

Area	INE median paid	Buyer guide
Lisbon	€5,082/m²	Buying in Lisbon
Cascais and Estoril	€4,687/m² (Cascais e Estoril parish €5,459/m²)	Buying in Cascais
Oeiras and Carcavelos	Oeiras €4,297/m²	Buying in Oeiras and Carcavelos
Almada and Costa da Caparica	€3,267/m²	Buying in Almada and Costa da Caparica
Ericeira and Mafra	Mafra €2,942/m² (Ericeira parish €3,995/m²)	Buying in Ericeira
Sintra	€2,908/m², mostly suburbs (Sintra town parish €3,465/m²)	Buying in Sintra

Weighing two towns? See Sintra or Cascais, Cascais or Lisbon and Ericeira or Cascais.

Key points

• Foreigners can buy freely; you need a NIF first, and non-EU buyers need a fiscal representative or electronic notifications.
• The Golden Visa property route closed on 7 October 2023 (Lei 56/2023).
• Since 25 May 2026 non-residents pay 7.5% IMT on homes with no exemptions: €37,500 on €500,000 against €26,236.65 for a resident’s main home.
• Former residents pay the normal scale; buyers who become resident within two years, or let at a moderate rent within six months, can reclaim the difference by applying within six months.
• Taxes and deed costs come to about 8.4% of the price for a non-resident, before legal fees; IMT and stamp duty are paid before the deed.
• From 1 October 2026 the deed must state the habitation licence position; register the purchase within two months.