What do I need to close before I leave Portugal?

Closing things in the right order means your final pay, deposit and any tax refund arrive, nothing is left owing, and you keep the records you’ll need for a Portuguese pension later.

The order that works

1. Cancel subscriptions you won’t need: gym, streaming, memberships
2. Give notice on electricity, gas, water and internet for your moving-out day, with a final meter reading, and return any router
3. Your phone: keep your Portuguese number until the end. The Portal das Finanças, Segurança Social Direta and banks send codes by SMS, so download what you need first
4. Insurance: home, car and health, from the right dates
5. If you own: bring condominium charges up to date
6. Credit cards and loans: pay off and close, and keep the letters confirming it
7. Your tax address: update it with Finanças, and appoint a tax representative or sign up for electronic notifications if you need to
8. Your bank account: keep one open until everything has arrived

Your bank account

Keep at least one account open, with online banking that works from abroad. Tell the bank you’re moving and ask what changes once you’re non-resident: fees and conditions may change. When you do close it, the Banco de Portugal’s view, reported in 2026, is that a bank can’t refuse just because the account still has money in it or an active debit card, but it can if the account is frozen by a court order or linked to a loan. Say where the balance should go, and stop direct debits, standing orders and cards. Download statements first: they help with UK tax, a mortgage application and proving your address history.

Phone and internet

• Under the Electronic Communications Law (Lei 16/2022), loyalty periods can be 6, 12 or 24 months. If you end a contract early, the charge can’t be more than the lower of two amounts: the discount or benefit you got, in proportion to the time left, or 50% of the monthly fees left if you’re in the first year, 30% in the second
• The law lets you end the contract without charges if you move your permanent home to another country unforeseeably, or if you move and the operator can’t provide the service at your new address. A planned move may not count, so ask the operator and keep proof of your move
• You can also ask to suspend a contract without charges if you move outside Portugal
• Get a reference number or written confirmation, and return any equipment. More on loyalty periods in How do I get a SIM, internet and call home?

Utilities

Contact each supplier with your contract number, your NIF and a final meter reading on the day you leave, and ask for the contract to end that day. Give the reading accurately to avoid estimated bills. Water is usually with your council or its water company. In a rental, check with the landlord which contracts are in your name. If you have a Via Verde toll device, end that contract too.

Health insurance

Private health insurance usually renews each year. Under article 115 of the Insurance Contract Law (Decreto-Lei 72/2008), you stop it renewing by writing to the insurer at least 30 days before the renewal date. Check your policy for its own terms, and keep cover until you’re back with the NHS. If the NHS pays for your Portuguese healthcare through an S1 form, contact the NHS Overseas Healthcare team to cancel it.

If you own a flat

When you sell, you ask the building’s administrator for a written statement of the condominium charges for your flat and any debts. The administrator must issue it within 10 days, and the deed of sale needs it, unless the buyer agrees in the deed to take on any debts. Charges falling due after the sale are the new owner’s. If you keep the flat, condominium charges, IMI and any tax on rent carry on: see How do I leave Portugal, and in what order?

Your Portuguese pension record

Your contributions stay on your Segurança Social record. A Portuguese old-age pension needs at least 15 years of contributions, in a row or not, and a year counts if it has at least 120 days of contributions. The normal pension age is 66 years and 9 months in 2026, rising to 66 years and 11 months in 2027. Under the coordination rules between the UK and the EU, UK years can count towards that minimum, and each country pays its own share.

• Download or ask for a statement of your contribution record before you go, and keep your NISS and NIF somewhere safe
• Contributions in an EU country can also help you reach the 10 qualifying years for a UK State Pension. When you claim it, you’ll be asked about time abroad, and the International Pension Centre can advise
• More on Portuguese pensions in How do pensions work in Portugal?

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