New in Porto: your first month

Your first month, step by step

Week 1
NIF (tax number)
The NIF is the number you will be asked for to rent, sign contracts and open an account. Any Portuguese or foreign person, resident or not, can ask for one. In person, book an appointment at any Serviço de Finanças or Loja do Cidadão and bring a valid passport and a document showing your address abroad; documents in other languages need a certified translation. The tax authority's leaflet explains the online route through a legal representative and when you later have to update your address.
NIF for foreign citizens (Tax Authority leaflet) · Request a NIF (gov.pt)
Week 1
Get an Andante card to get around
Andante is the card for Metro do Porto, STCP buses and CP urban trains. The blue card (Andante Azul) costs €0.60 and holds single or 24-hour trips: a Z2 trip costs €1.40, and if you load 10 equal trips you get 1 free. Monthly passes go on the personalised Andante Prateado card (€6, sold at Andante shops and CP ticket offices): €30 for 3 zones within one municipality, €40 for the whole metropolitan area. A ticket bought from the bus driver costs €2.50. Validate every time you board or change line. Prices in force since 1 January 2026.
Andante fares 2026 · Metro do Porto fares · STCP fares
Week 1
Phone: SIM or eSIM
You can choose a prepaid plan (tarifário pré-pago) or a contract; before signing a contract, check whether it has a minimum stay (fidelização). If your current number is from another EU/EEA country, roaming there cannot cost more than at home, within fair-use limits, and you receive the prices by free SMS when you arrive. ANACOM, the communications regulator, answers consumer questions on its portal.
ANACOM, roaming FAQ · ANACOM, voice, internet and TV FAQ
Week 1
Safety basics
112 is the single European emergency number, free and available across the EU. For an urgent health question you can also call SNS 24 on 808 24 24 24. PSP police stations are open 24 hours a day. Save these numbers before you need them.
Useful lines (gov.pt) · Health care for migrants (gov.pt) · PSP
Weeks 1–2
Your Junta de Freguesia and residence
Porto has seven parishes (three unions of parishes and four parishes); the city's list gives each Junta de Freguesia's phone number. Ask your Junta which documents it needs for any proof of address you are asked for. EU citizens staying more than three months request the EU registration certificate from the city council within 30 days after those three months: in Porto by appointment through Linha Porto (+351 220 100 220) or online. Citizens of other countries deal with residence through AIMA.
Porto parishes (Câmara Municipal do Porto) · EU registration certificate (Porto) · EU citizens (AIMA) · AIMA offices
Weeks 2–3
NISS and SNS user number
The NISS is your Social Security number: foreign nationals can request it online, or your employer can after you sign a contract. Your SNS user number is assigned the first time you go to a public health unit, such as a health centre; it does not by itself guarantee that costs are covered. If you have a Portuguese address and no Cartão de Cidadão, some Espaços Cidadão can issue NIF, NISS and SNS numbers together.
Request the NISS (gov.pt) · SNS user number (gov.pt) · NIF, NISS and SNS together (gov.pt)
Weeks 2–3
Free transport with the Cartão Porto.
Once your tax address is in Porto, ask for the free Cartão Porto.: it carries the free metropolitan pass (Passe Metropolitano Gratuito, or the free youth pass for ages 4–23) for metro, STCP and Unir buses, CP urban trains and trams. It is valid for a year, renewed on proof that you still live in Porto, and you still validate on every trip. Apply online or in person, for example at the Gabinete do Munícipe or the Almeida Garrett library.
Cartão Porto. · Free public transport FAQ (Câmara do Porto)
Weeks 3–4
Your first plan to meet people
Get a reader card at a municipal library, look for a free Portuguese course (Português Língua de Acolhimento) through AIMA, or drop in at a CLAIM migrant support centre. Or go to one of the events below: they are picked because it is easy to go alone and talk to people.
Porto libraries, reader card · Portuguese courses (AIMA) · CLAIM centres (AIMA)

Rules change: always confirm on the official page before you go.

Free public places to start

Municipal libraries, gardens and support services in Porto, each with its official page. Hours change: check the page before you go.

Biblioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett
The municipal library in the Palácio de Cristal gardens (Rua de Dom Manuel II). Open Monday 14:00–18:00 and Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00; closed on Sundays and public holidays. With a reader card you can borrow books for free and use the internet computers.
CLAIM – Centros Locais de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes
Local support centres for migrants listed by AIMA. In Porto they include SEIVA (Rua de Vilar 130), JRS Porto and centres at several universities. Check the list for addresses and contacts before you go.
Jardins do Palácio de Cristal
Free-access gardens above the Douro, next to the Almeida Garrett library. Open 8:00–19:00 from October to March and 8:00–21:00 from April to September. A calm first-weekend walk.
Parque da Cidade
Porto's city park: 80 hectares of green space stretching to the Atlantic. Open 7:00–22:00 from October to March and 7:00–24:00 from April to September. A public park for a long walk or a run.
Museu do Porto
The city museum. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:30. Entry costs €4, and Cartão Porto. holders with a Porto tax address, students and under-18s get in free; check the page for the full list.
Cultura Porto (Câmara Municipal do Porto)
The city council's culture site, with libraries, museums and the programme of municipal cultural venues. Many activities are free: a good way to fill your first weekends.