Required documents for mortgage portugal: Portugal mortgage checklist – which documents do non-residents need?
Key facts, rates and the complete document list for Portugal mortgages for non-residents — open on this page, and as a free PDF in English and German. Banks lend up to 80 % of the appraised value; at least 20 % plus around 10 to 11 % purchase costs come from your own funds.
Required documents for a mortgage in Portugal: what does the bank ask for?
For a mortgage in Portugal, banks ask non-residents for a fixed set of documents: identity card and passport, the Portuguese tax number NIF, payslips with the employment contract, tax assessments for the last two years, complete bank statements for the last six months, proof of equity and a SCHUFA self-disclosure. Later the CPCV and property documents are added.
What you get:
- Key facts · loan-to-value, equity, purchase costs, term
- Rates · fixed with and without bonificação, variable — every figure with its source
- Taxes · IMT and Imposto do Selo, as at 2026
- Document checklist · to tick off before you go to the bank
Open the PDF directly — no form: Portugal mortgage checklist (PDF, English) · Portugal mortgage checklist (PDF, German)
Portugal mortgages for non residents: loan-to-value, equity and term
The Spain checklist and the comparison of both countries are on the mortgage checklist Spain & Portugal page.
- Key financing facts for Portugal, as at July 2026: Loan-to-value for non-residents — Value: up to 80 % of the appraised value. Own funds — Value: at least 20 % plus purchase costs. Purchase costs — Value: around 10 to 11 % of the price.
- Term — Value: calculated: repaid by age 75; with two borrowers the younger age counts; in practice not much below 10 years. Fixed-rate period — Value: fixed, variable or mixed. Repayment — Value: annuity loan with a level payment.
- Tax number — Value: NIF, required before signing. Preliminary contract — Value: CPCV, deposit (sinal) customarily 10 %.
- Identification — Portugal (Portugal): Identity card and passport, copies; NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal) — obtainable in person or via a representative; Current certificate of registered address; Proof of address: utility bill, tenancy agreement or bank statement.
- Proof of income — Portugal (Portugal): Last 3 to 6 payslips plus the December payslip of the previous year; Employment contract and confirmation that the employment is not under notice; Tax assessments for the last 2 years; All tax documents — tax returns and tax assessments — from every country in which you are liable to tax; Bank statements for the salary account, last 6 months — complete and unredacted.
- Assets and creditworthiness — Portugal (Portugal): Proof of equity: at least 20 % of the price plus around 10 to 11 % purchase costs, held in an account or portfolio; SCHUFA self-disclosure under Art. 15 GDPR, no more than 1 month old; Tenancy agreement for your current home, or title deeds for property you own; Where you have existing loans: the last 2 annual interest certificates; For financing without own capital (e.g. using a German property as collateral): proof that the funds for the deposit (Sinal) are available at short notice until the follow-up financing is disbursed — before the bank review begins, not afterwards.
- If the property is already chosen — Portugal (Portugal): Draft CPCV (Contrato Promessa de Compra e Venda) — to be reviewed before signing; Caderneta Predial, the tax office record for the property; Certidão Permanente, the land registry extract from the Conservatória, no more than 3 months old; Ficha Técnica de Habitação, the technical building record.
Mortgage approval process Portugal: why the file must be complete before the CPCV
The preliminary contract, the Contrato Promessa de Compra e Venda (CPCV), is stricter in Portugal than the Spanish arras: it is enforceable and sets the deadline for the escritura, usually 30 to 120 days. The deposit (sinal), normally 10 %, is paid with it. If you approach the bank only afterwards, you are working against that deadline.
That is why the pre-check belongs before the signature: you should know before the CPCV whether the financing works — not after the deposit has been paid.
That only works with a complete file; you then get a first indication after 3 to 10 days and approval after about 3 weeks.
Your NIF should already be in place by then; since 2022, EU citizens can apply without a tax representative (getting a NIF in Portugal).
What the CPCV must contain so that the financing does not become a trap is explained under CPCV — the preliminary contract in Portugal.
Which taxes must be paid before the escritura in Portugal?
Unlike in Spain, the property transfer tax IMT and the stamp duty Imposto do Selo must be paid in Portugal before the escritura (Art. 49 CIMT); without proof of payment the notary will not execute the deed. Since 25 May 2026, non-residents pay a flat 7.5 % IMT from the first euro (Decreto-Lei 97/2026), plus 0.8 % Imposto do Selo on the purchase price.
A further 0.6 % Imposto do Selo is due on the loan, borne by the borrower. With notary, registry and lawyer, purchase costs come to around 10 to 11 % of the price. Details are under IMT for non-residents; the Portugal mortgage calculator works out your payment.
Representative example: Advertising a rate obliges us to show what it means in figures. Here it is — calculated with the bonificação, the rate most deals actually close at.
What the discount requires, what it is worth and what applies without it is set out below. Loan amount: €200,000. Loan-to-value: 80 %. Term: 20 years, fully amortising loan. Fixed borrowing rate: 3.85 % (with bonificação). Monthly payment: €1,196.21.
APR (TAEG): 4.00 % — excluding the running costs of the bundled products (bank-dependent). Total amount payable: €287,090. Assumptions: Fully amortising loan, calculated on the discounted rate.
Valuation €280; stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) 0.6 % of the loan (€1,200) — the borrower bears it, and it is included in the APR. No arrangement fee.
The running costs of the bundled products depend on the bank and are not included in the APR. Without the bonificação the rate is 4.60 % → payment €1,276.12, APR 4.78 %. The discount is therefore worth about €959 a year.
It requires two to four, depending on the bank, bundled products (typically: bank account, term life cover, buildings insurance, alarm system). The bundled products carry running costs that can partly or fully offset the rate discount.
Whether the bonificação pays off depends on what those products cost in your case — we calculate that against the discount before you sign.
Rates as at 21 September 2026. Source: Perini’s own bank survey (as at September 2026); 12-month Euríbor: Banco de España / EMMI.
Not an offer and not a financing commitment — the rate you are actually granted depends on the bank, the property and your file.
What is added depending on your status
Self-employed buyers, civil servants, pensioners, EU citizens who are not German and buyers using a German property as security need additional documents.
The list applies to Spain and Portugal alike and is under mortgage checklist — what is added depending on your status. The figures for the bank are gathered by the bilingual self-disclosure form; the banks' other requirements are set out under Portugal mortgage: requirements.
Request the Portugal mortgage checklist as a PDF
The checklist sums up on four pages what this page sets out: key facts, rates with the source of every figure, IMT and stamp duty, the representative example and the documents to tick off.
In English or German.
Frequently asked questions
Which documents do I need as a non-resident for a mortgage in Portugal?
Identity card and passport, the NIF, proof of income (payslips, employment contract, tax assessments for the last two years), bank statements for the last six months, proof of equity of at least 20 % plus around 10 to 11 % purchase costs, and a SCHUFA self-disclosure. Once the property is chosen, add the draft CPCV, the Caderneta Predial, the Certidão Permanente and the Ficha Técnica de Habitação.
How much will a Portuguese bank lend to a non-resident?
Up to 80 % of the appraised value. The rest — at least 20 % plus purchase costs — comes from your own funds. The loan is calculated to be repaid by age 75; with two borrowers the younger age counts.
Should the financing be in place before or after the CPCV?
Before the CPCV. In Portugal the preliminary contract is enforceable and sets the deadline for the escritura, usually 30 to 120 days. Looking for a bank only afterwards means working against that deadline and putting the deposit (sinal, usually 10 %) at risk.
How long does the bank review take in Portugal?
A first indication after 3 to 10 days and approval after about 3 weeks with a complete file. Time is almost always lost to requests for missing documents, not to the review itself.
Is the checklist free?
Yes. The Portugal mortgage checklist comes as a PDF in English and German, free and without obligation — via the form or directly as a PDF.
Related pages
mortgage checklist Spain & Portugal
Mortgage checklist Spain & Portugal for non-residents: free PDF checklists with documents, key figures and terms, as at 2026, straight from practice.
getting a NIF in Portugal
NIF Portugal: four routes to the Portuguese tax number. Mandatory for property purchase and bank account. Step-by-step guide 2026.
CPCV — the preliminary contract in Portugal
CPCV Portugal explained: deposit 10–30%, double repayment if the seller withdraws, developer clauses, NIF requirement — and why the pre-contract is risky.
Content by Siegfried Perini — local brand representative since 2019, active in real estate since 1992, entered in the German intermediary register (§ 11a GewO) as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice. Point of contact for German-speaking buyers in Spain and Portugal. Brokerage by Olga Nikushkina, mortgage credit intermediary under § 34i German Trade Regulation (GewO); in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary.