Register a Company in Portugal - No Need to Travel!

How to open a Portuguese company to run your business in Portugal and across the European Union? The procedure is quite simple. Even better, you can get it all arranged for you remotely and effortlessly if you request our experts’ professional assistance. Start with a reasonable fee as little as 6500 EUR. You don’t even have to travel to Portugal! Read on for further details.

Here are the reasons why it is profitable to register a company in Portugal

Portugal is recognized as the jurisdiction supporting business development, and the popularity of this jurisdiction for starting a company is growing. Here are some of the reasons why it is such an attractive environment for entrepreneurship and incorporation:

You can enjoy the positive reputation of Portugal as a European jurisdiction.
Portugal has some of the lowest prices in the EU for company incorporation and operating costs .
Portugal’s tax system is quite favorable for business and employment.
Foreign investors are warmly welcomed in Portugal.
Portugal has developed a business-friendly environment with an advanced fintech community.
Company registration is fast (up to 10 working days).
The banking community considers any company incorporated in Portugal as clean and trustworthy.
There are quite affordable prices for office rent and overheads, including the fees of the banks and rates for opening merchant accounts.
The population is generally well-educated, and finding competent staff is easy.
The cost of living in Portugal is the lowest in Western Europe.

There are many other obvious benefits, including the climate, picturesque landscapes, popular tourist attractions, advanced road infrastructure, international hubs, easy access from all parts of the world, and more.

Company types in Portugal

You can register various types of companies in Portugal:

Sociedade por quotas – LDA: The Portuguese equivalent of a Private Limited Company. Requirements: There must be at least one company owner (traditionally, these companies are incorporated by two or more shareholders), and the minimum authorized share capital is a nominal 1 EUR (it used to be 5,000 EUR, but this requirement has been lifted). The LDA is the most common type of company, suitable for small and medium businesses.
Sociedade anónima – SA: A public company, suited for larger companies. Requirements: An authorized capital of 50,000 EUR or more. It requires at least five shareholders (each shareholder has limited liability), plus a board of directors.
Sociedade em comandita – SC: A Limited Partnership. Requirements: At least two partners, each with their corresponding areas of responsibility. They are the General partner with unlimited liability and the Limited partner with limited liability.
Sociedade em nome colectivo – SNC: A General Partnership. Requirements: At least two partners, all with unlimited liability and equal mandates for participation in making decisions. No mandatory minimum amount of initial capital is required.
Sole Proprietorship: A company with a single shareholder, who has unlimited responsibility for all losses and debts. The individual owner is not required to have a minimum of capital to start a business.

As mentioned above, the most popular form is the “LDA.” We will be mostly discussing this Portuguese company form in detail, as the general principles apply to other companies, though if you consult with us, our experts can advise you on any specific requirements your company may face.

Discuss the details with an expert

Check the list of required documents, and get the details of the process, terms, and costs.

Contact a consultant

Let’s talk via messenger

Company registration in Portugal

The standard procedure for registering a business in Portugal involves many steps. Nevertheless, there is also a simplified procedure with a fast track for company incorporation.

Here, we will give an overview of the steps in company registration that are the same for both the standard and the simplified procedures.

The main document needed to register a company in Portugal

The Articles of Association are the main document that you will need when registering a company. We will, of course, prepare it for you.

In this document, we will need to specify the following:

The company name (in Portuguese)
Names, nationalities, and countries of residence of the owners
The area and scope of your new business
The rights and responsibilities of the directors who will manage the company
The ownership and transferability of shares
The voting rights in the company, liabilities, and other fundamental details.

You will need a share capital of EUR 1 and at least one shareholder. It is recommended to arrange a personal visit of at least one of the shareholders to open a bank account. However, you can draw up a power of attorney and get this process done remotely – especially if you hire a local professional manager, which is generally recommended if you are unable to visit Portugal .

Documents you must have before company registration in Portugal

In general, you will need the following documents to get started:

– Internationally valid passport (or a certified copy thereof)

– Proof of residence address (utility bill, or national ID)

Any other documents you need will be prepared by our lawyers during the registration procedure if you use our services.

How to register a company in Portugal: a formal procedure for registering an LDA

The company registration procedure consists of seven main steps..

Check the company name and reserve it in the Portuguese Registry of Business Names

You can choose your own name. It will take about 15 days to get it reserved, and you will have to pay a state duty. If the name is approved, you have up to three months to continue the procedure.

You can also select one of our ready-made, pre-approved names. This is a cheaper option, and you can immediately proceed to the next step of the procedure.

Appoint an official representative(s) of your company (The Manager or Director)

Draft your Articles of Association.

Actually, you don’t need to do this – our Portuguese lawyer does it for you.

Open a bank account and deposit the authorized capital of the company (from 1 EUR).

You could also contribute to the capital in kind. A non-monetary capital contribution of this type must be valued by an independent auditor.

Submit documents for the incorporation of the company.

You must submit the Articles of Association and certified signatures of company partners. This process is done online by our offices.

To set up a company, non-residents of Portugal (individuals and legal entities) will need to obtain a tax number (Tax ID). EU residents can receive it directly on the spot from the tax office, while third-country nationals must appoint an official tax representative.

The following step is registration in the Business Register. Of course, we will do this for you. The following documents need to be submitted:

The certificate confirming the company’s name
Corporate documents, including Articles of Association
Additional documents, if necessary. For example, the auditor’s report on the in-kind contribution transferred to the authorized capital.

The registration of a company in Portugal takes up to five working days.

Costs of company registration in Portugal

The company registration service in Portugal is offered by our experts. We offer a turnkey package starting at 6500 EUR – if you select the name of the company from our pre-reserved list.

If you want to choose your own name, the starting price is increased – please contact us for further details.

The package service price includes the following services and documents:

Company registration fees:

With a name already pre-reserved in the Registry of Business Names – 1200 EUR
With a legal name chosen by you – 2400 EUR

Other included services:

State duties
A set of corporate documents
Certificate of Incorporation
Standard Articles of Association
Description of business activities (Scope of Activities)
If necessary, our translation of documents from Portuguese into English
Registration with the Portuguese tax authorities and registration of the Tax ID for the company
Registration with the social security authorities and registration of the social security number
Code for the 3-month access to the Good Standing Certificate of Commercial Registration, providing online access to company records and the most current information about the company
Electronic card for access to the Permanent Certificate of Commercial Activities
Physical card of the company (ID card) issued by the Registry (containing general information about the company)
A personal Tax ID for the company’s owner (this is mandatory). The services of a Portuguese tax representative for this specific task are a separate service (read below).
Legal address for three months, plus services for three months
Storage of original documents, archive, and scanning of incoming mail
Coordination with the accountant (up to five emails/calls per month)
Coordination of work with tax authorities, state institutions, and banks (up to five tasks per month)

Additional arrangements that we can offer (these are not included in the above-mentioned package services):

A tax representative’s services in Portugal
Accounting services for three months
Free account in the payment system outside of Portugal in one of the systems arranged by us.
If you decide to open an account outside Portugal, you will need a set of apostilled corporate documents.

Please note:

You will need to open a corporate bank account within five days and deposit the authorized capital. The account may be in Portugal or abroad, but must be in an EU country. It may be a bank or any other financial institution. More information is available from in**@***********rt.com.

It is also important to consider that accounting records is mandatory for a company in Portugal. A Portuguese registered office is also a must.

If you wish, you can use third-party services. But we can provide you with a legal address and accounting services at quite reasonable rates. As for the legal address, please see the Family Office Package options.

It is always a good idea to use the Family Office Package when managing a company.

Family Office Package is a comprehensive service that includes the company’s address, interaction with government agencies, and the accountant, etc.

Three levels of this service are available:

Family Office Package (Basic) at 300 EUR per month, including:
- Registered office address
- Storage of original documents, archive, scanning of incoming mail and coordination with an accountant (up to five emails/calls per month)
- Coordination of work with tax authorities, state institutions, and banks.

Family Office Package (Medium) at 600 EUR per month, including:
- All Basic package services
- Two hours of consultation or legal work
- Two hours of various additional tasks for you

Family Office Package (VIP) at 1200 EUR per month, including:
- All Medium package services
- Plus one extra hour of consultation
- Airport-city-airport transfer
- Local transfers within the city for two days
- Three hours of simple routine tasks
- Unlimited assistance in communication with the accountant and the state authorities.

The cost of the company extension in Portugal

Mandatory costs:

Rental of registered office address – 3000 EUR per year
Accounting services – 3600 EUR per year

Optional expenses:

The access code to the Permanent Business Registry Certificate

Total cost per year for the company’s annual renewal is 6750 EUR. You can pay for the entire year, or in installments of 550 EUR per month.

Optional services

Services	Price in EUR
Services of a professional Portuguese director	INDIVIDUAL PRICE
Power of Attorney	400
Certified power of attorney with apostille and translation	700
Legal opinion	3000
Legal advice per hour	700
Company name change	1500
Address for mail services and connection to necessary public utilities per year	2500
Translation per page	40
One set of documents apostilled	400
Opening of a corporate account in Portugal	4000

Steps needed to register a company in Portugal

Contact in**@***********rt.com and state that you wish to register a company in Portugal.
Provide preliminary information to ensure that we can provide the service you need.
Pay for the package service (from 6500 EUR) and provide a full set of documents.
We will do the preparatory work and register the company.
After registration, you can start your business activities and open an account.

So, Portugal offers a great option for company formation in the EU, with many attractive advantages. We can also help you streamline this process, so you can get up and running quickly. If you still have questions, want to start the process, or discuss any other options, please contact us in**@***********rt.com. You can choose a complimentary, fifteen-minute session to get some questions answered or an overview of a service, such as this one, or a paid, 1-hour session (currently 300 euros, down from 500 temporarily), with an expert to dig deeper into what we can do to assist your specific needs.