Certificate of residence / address (declaration) from the ‘Junta da Freguesia’ in Portugal

Certificate of residence / address (declaration) from the ‘Junta da Freguesia’ in Portugal

What is a Parish Council in Portugal?

The Junta de Freguesia is the executive body of each parish in Portugal, which is the smallest administrative division in the country. Each parish is a local community with a certain administrative autonomy and its own competencies, functioning as the entity closest to the citizens. The Junta de Freguesia is elected directly by the residents of the parish, usually every four years, in conjunction with the local elections.

What is a Residence Certificate?

The Atestado de Residência (also called an address certificate or declaration) is an official document issued by the Junta de Freguesia, which proves an individual’s residence at a given address.

Purposes of the Residence Certificate

This document is often required by AIMA in residence permit processes, as well as by the respective Town Hall, to issue the European Union Citizen Registration Certificate (CRUE) to an EU citizen wishing to reside in Portugal.

This certificate or declaration is used in other situations.

How do I apply for a Certificate of Residence?

There are many complaints from foreigners that most parish councils are offering difficulties or complications in issuing the residence/address certificate.

Many parishes claim that there have been a large number of applications for certificates based on false statements and documents. Therefore, many have chosen to simply stop issuing the document.

However, the criteria for issuing the certificate vary greatly from parish to parish. Therefore, the best thing to do is to go to the parish office and ask what is required.

Documents required to obtain a certificate of residence / address

As already mentioned, the criteria vary according to the parish office. As a rule, the following documents are required:

Identification documents: Citizen’s card, passport or residence permit

Proof of residence: rental agreement, proof of ownership of the property, statements from neighbors, among others.

Cost of the fee

The fee is usually very low.

Legislation

Decree-Law no. 135/99, of April 22, defines the general principles of action to be followed by the services and bodies of the Public Administration in their dealings with citizens. Article 34 deals with certificates issued by parish councils.

Lawyer in Portugal

Adriano Martins Pinheiro is a lawyer registered with the Portuguese Bar Association, has an office in Porto and serves clients from all over the world online.

tags: portugal, certificate, parish, document, resident permit .