FR → PT
Comprar un inmueble en Portugal siendo ciudadano francés
The French are consistently the largest or near-largest group of foreign buyers in Portugal, and as EU citizens they have the smooth path: free movement, no fiscal representative, no golden visa needed to live there. The purchase is well-trodden; the economics turn on five points — the NIF, the IMT transfer tax and stamp duty, AIMI on higher-value homes, the closed golden-visa-property and NHR routes, and the detail most French buyers miss: France's IFI wealth tax reaches your Portuguese property.
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1. The EU advantage
As a French EU citizen you have free movement of people and capital: you buy without a fiscal representative (which non-EU buyers must appoint), live in your Portuguese home with no 90/180 day-limit, and skip the golden visa entirely. Portugal places no nationality bar on residential purchase, and the France-Portugal corridor is one of the best-served in the country for lawyers and agents.
2. NIF and purchase mechanics
You need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) to buy, bank and connect utilities, and as an EU national you obtain it directly. The process: NIF, lawyer review and the CPCV promissory contract, then the notary deed (escritura) at the conservatória. Allow 60-90 days from offer to keys; a Portuguese lawyer running title checks is strongly advisable.
3. Purchase taxes: IMT, stamp duty, IMI and AIMI
Transfer tax (IMT) is progressive — for 2026 the brackets are uplifted so IMT only bites above about €106,346, rising to a top marginal band around 7.5-8% on higher-value homes. Add stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) of 0.8% of the deed value, plus notary and registration costs. Annually you pay municipal IMI (~0.3-0.45% of the tax value), and if your Portuguese property share exceeds €600,000 you also pay AIMI, Portugal's wealth surcharge.
4. Golden-visa property route is gone; NHR is closed
Two pillars of the old French playbook no longer exist — though neither was essential for an EU citizen. Since October 2023 real estate is no longer a qualifying golden-visa investment. And NHR closed to new applicants, replaced from 2025 by IFICI, which is narrow and aimed at scientific and innovation roles — it does not cover retirees or passive-income movers. A French retiree relocating today generally cannot get NHR-style treatment.
5. The French IFI — your Portuguese home counts
This is the detail French buyers most often overlook. France's impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI) taxes French tax residents on their worldwide net real-estate assets above €1.3 million as at 1 January — and your Portuguese property is included in that base. Portugal has no general wealth tax (only the property-specific AIMI above €600k), so there is no Portuguese equivalent to credit; the France-Portugal double-tax treaty (1971) coordinates income and gains, but the Portuguese property must still be declared in your French IFI return. Ignoring it is a common and penalised error.
6. AL containment and renting
Alojamento Local (short-term rental) registrations are frozen in central Lisbon and Porto containment zones. If your thesis depends on Airbnb income, buy a property that already holds a grandfathered AL licence or buy outside the zones — Setúbal, Cascais periphery, Algarve outside the busiest hubs, Aveiro, Coimbra. Long-term Portuguese rental income is taxed in Portugal (typically 25% on net for non-residents, progressive if resident), and France taxes it too with treaty relief.
Preguntas frecuentes
Do French citizens need a fiscal representative in Portugal?
No. The fiscal-representative requirement applies to non-EU non-residents. As an EU citizen you obtain your NIF and handle Portuguese tax correspondence directly — a recurring cost British and American buyers cannot avoid.
Do I declare my Portuguese property for French IFI?
Yes, if your worldwide net real-estate assets exceed the €1.3 million IFI threshold and you are a French tax resident. The Portuguese home is part of the IFI base; Portugal has no wealth tax to credit against it, so the French IFI applies in full on the worldwide total above the threshold.
Is NHR still available to French retirees?
No — NHR closed to new applicants and was replaced from 2025 by IFICI, which targets scientific and innovation roles, not retirees. Existing NHR holders keep their remaining benefit period, but new French buyers cannot apply.
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