I got my NIF number, but I've kind of stalled since!

I got my Portuguese Fiscal Number last week, and I think this momentous event is worth of a bit of a rather belated celebration post!

A NIF number kind of sounds like an NFT, but it's nothing like one at all. Some research has shown that the average NIF number is approximately 1000 times less fun than the average NFT.

You need a NIF (National Identification Number) to rent a flat, open a bank account and buy land here in Portugal, so it had to be number one on the to do list!

And trust me it was an effort of will getting it!

I had to take a 20 minute drive up and down mountain roads to the local largish administration centre, Fundao, and even more traumatically deal with the in-town road system and park, I'm not a natural driver.

Anyway, that done, I then had to find my way to the Finance Office which involved one false start in the town hall, the lady there used Google Street View to direct me the correct building , which I thought was quite clever, and it was just as well as it was not obvious where it was - kind of up a ramp on the first floor of a large building a couple of blocks back from the main high street.

On finding my way there I saw a bunch of people queuing outside, with a guy occassionaly coming out with a clipboard to let people in - a quick translate of a sign on the door revealed that they only accepted appointments by phone because of Covid, so I had to grab said clipboard man at the door and explain, with some help from Google Tradutor, that I didn't speak Portuguese and I needed a NIF number.

He was thankfully very helpful: he told me to wait there (which I understood mainly because of his hand gestures) and with 10 minutes they let me in.

A not very happy bloke dealt with my application - and he didn't look very happy when I managed to understand him when he asked for my Passport and proof of address in the UK, it's almost as if he'd decided 'bloody foreign nuisance' and was a bit miffed when I was a bit more competent than he'd anticipated.

I'm glad I researched the process online first - the process of getting a NIF number had been explained to me by two separate people as 'easy' and 'just turn up with your passport', neither of them mentioned the proof of UK address, so I was most glad when he asked me for my 'residencia' or something like that.

I'm also glad I had the presence of mind to bring some of my most recent ID useful paper docs with me. I would have been a bit stuffed otherwise!

Anyway, the whole process only took about 5-10 minutes and so now I've got that hurdle out of the way!

NB that was a week ago tomorrow that I got that, but I was so chuffed I wanted a whole post to mark the occasion!

Of course I haven't really done very much since then to move my whole legal status forwards - I've basically been chillin' ever since - or at least doing a bit of work online, going for a couple of runs, having lazy mornings, helping out a bit round the Qunita I'm staying in, meeting a few of the locals, drinking too much beer and wine, I can't believe a week has gone by already!

I'm going to have to watch myself, time is going quickly, and I need to do quite a few other mundane/ bureaucratic chores sooner rather than later, but 'getting on with things' is kind of hard when the pace of life here is just so chill!

Also, it does feel kind of odd celebrating my getting a piece of paper! But it is what it is I guess!