How to Get a NISS in Portugal (Social Security Number)

• If you have a Cartão de Cidadão you already have a NISS — it comes with the card. Companies get one automatically too.
• The standalone online request uses evidence for your identity, actual purpose and applicable residence situation. NIF is mandatory for the self-employed route, not every applicant.
• An employer can request the number with the signed contract and authority documents; reporting the employment relationship remains a separate duty.
• The official request is free; gov.pt gives no fixed assignment deadline. Eligible applicants can instead use the selected-counter combined NIF/NISS/SNS service.
• ISS supports online proof retrieval after identity verification; follow the instructions for your case rather than assuming everyone must collect a letter at a desk.

Your NISS (Número de Identificação da Segurança Social) identifies your Social Security record. It is separate from your tax number, the NIF. If you do not already have it, choose the request route and document purpose below. Having a number does not itself grant residence or work permission, activate portal access, or prove entitlement to a benefit: those have separate conditions and procedures.

Who has to request it, and who does not

• Holders of a Cartão de Cidadão do NOT request it. The NISS is assigned when the Cartão de Cidadão is requested.
• Companies do NOT request it. It is assigned automatically.
• Foreign nationals request it online.
• Portuguese citizens still holding a lifelong (vitalício) bilhete de identidade request it online, attaching a copy of that document.
• A legal representative can request it on behalf of a foreign national.
• An employer can request it on behalf of a foreign national they are hiring.

Choose your request route

How to request and obtain the number

1. 1
   Check whether you actually have to ask

   If you hold a Cartão de Cidadão you already have a NISS — it is assigned when the card is requested. Companies get one automatically too. The online request exists for foreign nationals and for Portuguese citizens still holding a lifelong bilhete de identidade.

2. 2
   Choose your route and purpose

   Use the standalone online service, an authorised employer/representative or, if eligible, the selected-counter combined request. For the online service choose the actual reason: employment, independent activity, a benefit or another documented need.

3. 3
   Prepare and submit the applicable documents

   Follow ISS's identity, purpose and residence list for your situation. Validate your email, complete the form and attach readable PNG, JPG or PDF files up to 3 MB. Self-employed applicants must supply a NIF; it is not mandatory for every route. Keep the request ID.

4. 4
   Track the request and respond to missing evidence

   Use Consulta do Pedido de NISS with your request ID, email and date of birth, completing its security check yourself. Follow any official request for more information. The gov.pt service does not state a fixed assignment deadline.

5. 5
   Verify identity and obtain the proof

   ISS supports Obter comprovativo through the request consultation after biometric identity verification. If you cannot use that route, follow ISS's video/in-person alternative or the collection instructions sent for your case. Check the assigned details; employment reporting and portal access are separate tasks.

The employer route

An employer can apply for a worker with the signed employment contract and the required authority/identity documents. This request is only for the number: reporting the employment relationship in Segurança Social Direta is also required. ISS's practical guide describes reporting after assignment, while gov.pt uses prior-reporting wording. If that order creates a problem in your case, ask ISS which worker identifier and reporting route to use; do not assume that receiving NISS automatically reports the job.

Documents: identification

Use the current ISS practical guide's list for your route, not every item in the broader gov.pt summary at once. Identity, the reason for the request and applicable residence evidence are distinct questions.

• EU, EEA or Switzerland — ONE of these, in date and scanned: the civil identity document of your country plus a plain copy, a passport, or a residence card.
• Third-country identity — ISS lists a valid passport OR valid residence permit. Residence/visa evidence is a separate branch below, not a universal requirement to have passport, work visa and final permit together.
• Covered by international protection (this does not include temporary protection for people from Ukraine), or without any other identity document — ONE of: a provisional residence permit (ARP), a receipt for an ARP request or renewal, a refugee or subsidiary-protection residence title, a receipt for the grant or renewal of one, or a declaration of international protection.

Documents: why you need the number

Select the actual purpose in the form and attach its evidence. For a work-related request, examples include:

• An employment contract.
• A copy of your início de atividade as a self-employed person, with copies of your receipts or invoices.
• A company registration certificate from the Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado.
• A certidão permanente comercial (MOE).
• For digital nomads: proof of an employment contract with a foreign employer.
• Proof that you qualify for the Seguro Social Voluntário.

A request is not limited to employment. The form also covers Social Security benefits, benefits/services from another entity and other reasons supported by evidence. For example, the ISS guide allows a declaration by an entity such as a school explaining the need for NISS. A request for a child's benefit needs a sworn declaration of the reason and the support sought, identity documents for the applicant and the child's legal guardians, the residence evidence applicable to that case and, if the guardian is not the father or mother, proof of who holds parental responsibility or custody. Being unemployed is not, by itself, a guarantee that an unsupported request will be approved.

The online form requires a NIF for self-employed applicants. For other applicants its NIF field is for a number already assigned. Do not delay every NISS request until NIF issuance; check your purpose and whether you qualify for the combined service instead.

Documents: residence

For the applicable third-country route, ISS lists alternatives such as a residence permit, appropriate visa or proof of the residence/CPLP application. These are alternatives assessed for your situation, not every document together. EU/EEA/Swiss applicants do not use the same third-country visa rule; attach EU registration/residence evidence if held. Company-officer and frontier-worker cases have their own evidence: follow the named route rather than inventing a Portuguese residence permit requirement for everyone.

If AIMA requires NISS before the permit can be issued and you cannot yet supply the usual work/residence evidence, the ISS guide describes supplying valid identity and an AIMA statement explaining why the number is needed. This is a documented exception to check with ISS, not blanket approval for every pending immigration appointment or a promise that a particular visa remains available for new applications.

If someone else applies for you

A legal representative or employer adds a power of attorney or the Social Security PA-12 authorisation, their valid identity and the applicant's identity copy. Use the form and powers for this task, not a general promise that anyone can collect your identifier. For any requested in-person collection, bring the original authority documents and identity documents specified by ISS.

Can you request NIF, NISS and SNS together?

The free combined request is made in person at selected Espaços Cidadão, not through a universal online form. It is for foreign citizens with an address in Portugal, without a Portuguese Cartão de Cidadão, who are EU citizens, have applied for or hold a residence permit, have applied for international protection, or have refugee/protection status. Check the official counter list and opening or appointment arrangements before travelling.

• Bring a passport or an EU-country identity document and proof of the eligible status: for example, the AIMA application receipt, residence title or municipal EU registration certificate. An appointment alone is not listed as the residence-application receipt.
• If that status document has no address or a different address, bring matching evidence such as a lease, loan-for-use agreement, utility bill, property-register certificate/code or landlord occupancy statement.
• A person applying for themselves authenticates with passport-linked CMD or eIDAS. If needed, CMD can be created with the passport at the counter. A representative has separate CMD/CC/eIDAS and power-of-attorney requirements; a parent or guardian applying for a minor must bring the minor and proof of the relationship.
• The service sends emails about submission to AIMA and the decision. Approval can cover all numbers, only some, or none: do not assume three numbers are issued immediately. Check assigned numbers in the gov.pt reserved area or app and keep the decision.

Check eligibility, documents and counters on gov.pt. Receiving an SNS number is not the same task as registering with a health centre or being assigned a family doctor. Ordinary NIF and NISS requests remain separate alternatives.

Cost and timing

The official request is free. The gov.pt service page gives no fixed assignment deadline. Do not turn an anecdotal processing time into a guaranteed rule. Save the submission ID and use the status service; if ISS asks for further documents, respond through the instructed channel. A private assistance fee is separate from the official free request.

How the number reaches you

Start with Consulta do Pedido de NISS: the public service asks for the request ID, email, date of birth and a security check. ISS's guide describes choosing Obter comprovativo and completing biometric identity verification to download the proof. Live ISS help also confirms this option. If verification cannot be completed, follow its video-appointment/in-person alternatives. gov.pt still describes registered-letter notification and desk collection: follow the actual instruction for your case, rather than treating postal collection as the only current route.

Before submitting or asking for help

• Start from the official ISS request, not an unverified link asking for your documents or biometric data.
• Keep identity scans legible, in date, with the full document edges and the required front/back files. Use PNG, JPG or PDF up to 3 MB; renaming a file extension does not convert it.
• Save the request ID, submission confirmation and any request for extra evidence. Use the same email and correct date of birth in the status lookup; do not share those details publicly.
• If ISS directs you to a desk, book through SIGA/SigaApp or 210 548 888 / 300 088 888, weekdays 9am–6pm. Check whether you or a representative must attend and which original identity/authority documents to bring.

After you have it

If you are self-employed, the NISS is what the quarterly Segurança Social declaration is filed against — it is a separate duty from opening atividade with Finanças, on a different cycle and to a different institution.

After approval, use Segurança Social Direta to manage the account and confirm applicable employment/contribution records. Keep NIF tax tasks separate. An SNS number received through the combined service does not finish health-centre registration; once registered, follow the SNS appointment guide.