How to request the Citizen Card?
The Citizen Card identifies the Portuguese citizen before any public or private entity. It is mandatory for all Portuguese citizens.
The Citizen Card comprises the civil identification, fiscal identification (tax payer number), health services user and social security number.
Service channels
Find out how and where you can request the Citizen Card
- Order Online
- Request On Location The first request of the Citizen Card has to be done in person
See the associated costs in the 'What is the price' field
Consult the documents required to request the Citizen Card in the field 'What are the documents and requirements'
Who can Request the first Citizen Card?
When can you Request the first Citizen Card?
The Citizen Card is mandatory and must be requested up to 20 days after the birth of a baby.
When the first Citizen's Card is requested, in addition to the Civil Identification Number (NIC), the citizen is given the Tax Identification Number (NIF), the Social Security Identification Number (NISS), and the NHS user number, and does not need to be dealt with beforehand.
The Citizen Card is an option to Brazilian citizens to whom was assigned the general statute of equal rights and duties provided on the Porto Seguro Treaty of 2000.
Where can you Request the first Citizen Card?
You can apply for your first Citizen's Card online or in person
Online
In the same form as the birth registration request, exclusive for babies of Portuguese nationality born in Portugal and abroad, under the age of one year.
In person
From one year of age on, the first request can only be made in person:
- in the reception desks of the Registries and Notary Institute
- at Nascer Cidadão desks, of maternity hospitals and hospitals
- in the Citizen Bureaus
- in the RIAC Bureaus, in Azores
- in the Portuguese consular stations, if you are abroad.
You can request the Card abroad
The Citizen Card may be requested and picked up on the Portuguese consulates on several countries. Consult the list of consulates where this service is available.
If you cannot travel, you can request the Citizen Card wherever you are
With the external service, people who cannot go to a IRN reception desk can process the Citizen Card at home, on the prison establishment or on the health unit in which they are hospitalized. The service sends a IRN employee to the place where the person who needs to request the Card is.
What are the documents and requirements to Request the first Citizen Card?
If you hold any of the following documents, you must display them when you submit the request:
- the identification document
- the tax payer card (NIF)
- the Social Security card
- the user card of the National Health System or other health system you may have
- the voter card.
- It is essential to bring the valid residence permit if you are a Brazilian citizen who will request the Citizen Card under the general statute of equal rights and duties provided on the Porto Seguro Treaty of 2000.
The request for a child's first Citizen Card can only be made after the child has been registered.
What is the Price to Request the first Citizen Card?
The prices varies accordingly to the card’s validity date, the request urgency and the place where you want to pick up the card.
Delivery of the card in Portugal
Request | Validity until 5 years | Valid for more than 5 years | |
|---|---|---|---|
normal | normal | 15 € | 18 € |
first request for babies up to 20 days | 7.50 € | ||
urgent | 30 € | 33 € | |
Extremely urgent (on the same day or on the following business day) | 50 € | 53 € | |
provisional card (delivered in the same day) | 70 € | ||
Delivery of the card abroad
Request | Validity until 5 years | Valid for more than 5 years | |
|---|---|---|---|
normal | normal | 20 € | 23 € |
first request for babies up to 20 days | 10 € | ||
urgent | 45 € | 48 € | |
External Service
If you need an IRN employee to come to you to receive the card request, you shall add 40€ more to the card’s price.
Validity of the Citizen Card
Requested by | Validity of the card | |
|---|---|---|
Portuguese citizens | under 25 years old | 5 years |
over 25 years old | 10 years (Citizen Cards issued after August 13, 2021 have an expiration date of August 3, 2031, not 10 years) | |
Brazilian citizens covered by the Porto Seguro Treaty | under 25 years old | equal to the one of the residence permit (maximum of 5 years) |
over 25 years old | equal to the one of the residence permit (maximum of 10 years) | |
Payment methods
You may pay in cash, multibanco, with a certified or bank cheque of a bank represented in Portugal or with a postal order to IRN, IP.
How can you Request the first Citizen Card?
A newborn's first Citizen Card can be requested online, using the birth registration form.
From one year of age on, the first application can only be made in person:
You may submit the request:
- in the reception desks of the Registries and Notary Institute
- in the Citizen Bureaus
- in the RIAC Bureaus, in Azores
- in the Portuguese consular stations, if you are abroad.
If you hold any of the following documents, bring them with you:
- the identification document
- the tax payer card (NIF)
- the Social Security card
- the user card of the National Health System or other health system you may have
- the voter card.
If you are a Brazilian citizen covered by the Porto Seguro Treaty, you must also display your residence permit.
You may pick up the Card when you receive the PIN letter with the Card’s codes
If you order online, the Citizen's Card will be sent to the address you indicate in the order, which can be your address or a registration desk.
If you apply from abroad, the card will be sent to a consular post (with the possibility of sending it to your home, in countries where this service is available) or can be picked up at a counter in Portugal.
To pick up the Card, you need to prove that you’ve received the PIN letter (the letter with the codes to use the Card). This letter is sent to the indicated address, when your request is processed. The quickness of the request process depends of the request urgency.
You shall define the request urgency and where you want to pick up the Card
The quickness with which you shall receive the Card depends of the request urgency (normal, urgent or extremely urgent) and of the place where you want the Card to be delivered.
The Card’s price will also vary accordingly to the validity date, the request urgency and the place where you want to pick up the Card.
| Type of request | Delivery of the letter with the PIN codes in | Waiting time (average) |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Portugal (Continent) | 8 business days |
| Faial, Pico, Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge, Flores and Corvo | 9 business days | |
| Europe | ||
| Macau, Canada, United States of America, Venezuela, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, India e East Timor | ||
| Rest of the world | 11 business days | |
| Urgent | Portugal (Continent) | 3 business days |
| Madeira, São Miguel, Terceira, Faial, Pico and Santa Maria | 4 business days | |
| Graciosa, Corvo, São Jorge and Flores | 5 business days | |
| Rest of the world | 7 business days | |
| Extremely Urgent | Portugal (reception desk of the Civil Identification Department of the Justice Campus, in Lisbon, and in the Porto Citizen Shop) | in the same day or in the following business day |
Schedule your request and avoid time losses
If you want, you can schedule a date to request the Citizen Card. Therefore, you avoid losing time on queues.
You already had a Citizen Card?
This information is aimed to those who are requesting the Citizen Card for the first time. If your Card expired, was stolen, lost or is in bad condition, consult the information on how to renew the Citizen Card.