The buying process in Antas, Porto: a step-by-step guide

Buying a new-build apartment in Antas as a foreign buyer runs along a settled sequence of 6 steps: a NIF tax number, a Portuguese bank account, a reservation fee, the CPCV promissory contract with a sinal deposit, the escritura deed at the notary, and the registo predial registration. A lawyer with power of attorney can run the whole thing while you stay abroad, commonly in 4 to 8 weeks (Lexidy; Tagus Property, 2026). This guide walks each step — and marks, plainly, where a Portuguese tax lawyer has to take over from us.

One disclosure first, because it sets the rules. Privilege Gardens is the developer, so I write the process from inside it. The general tax rates now sit in their own sourced guide — non-resident buying costs in Porto — and what I hand to your own counsel is how they land on your situation: those amounts move with the law and your circumstances. The process is publish-safe. Your personal tax math is for a lawyer.

What is the order of operations?

The table below is the spine. Read it as the shape of a purchase, not a contract: timings are typical and vary by case, and the indicative fee ranges come from Portuguese law-firm guides (Lexidy; Tagus Property, 2026), not from a fixed schedule.

	Step	What happens	Typical timing
1. NIF	Get a Portuguese tax number	Before the reservation
2. Bank account	Open a local account (recommended)	Before/around the CPCV
3. Reservation	Pay a reservation fee to hold the unit	At offer acceptance
4. CPCV	Sign the promissory contract; pay the sinal	Days–weeks later
5. Escritura	Sign the final deed before a notary	~2–12 weeks after CPCV
6. Registo predial	Register the new owner at the Land Registry	At/after the deed

Source: Lexidy; Tagus Property — buying-process guidance (2026); timings indicative

Step 1 and 2: the NIF and the bank account

Nothing happens before the NIF. The Número de Identificação Fiscal is the tax number you need to sign the deed, pay the taxes and open an account, and a non-resident gets one through a fiscal representative — usually the same lawyer who runs the rest (Lexidy, 2026). It is the cheapest, dullest step and the one people leave too late.

A Portuguese bank account comes next, and here the honest word is recommended, not mandatory. You can in principle transfer the price from abroad, but a local account smooths the staged payments, the taxes and the standing costs, and most overseas buyers open one around the CPCV (Lexidy, 2026). Budget a little lead time: onboarding a non-resident can take longer than the 1 afternoon a resident expects.

Step 3 and 4: reservation, then the CPCV with its sinal

A reservation fee takes the unit off the market while the paperwork is prepared — published guides put it in an indicative range of roughly €2,000 to €10,000, varying by seller (Lexidy, 2026). It is a placeholder, not the deposit.

The deposit proper arrives at the CPCV — the Contrato Promessa de Compra e Venda, the binding promissory contract that fixes the price, the conditions and the payment schedule. At signing you pay the sinal, "typically a share of the price": published guides put it around 10 to 30%, it varies by seller, and — this is the part to read twice — it can be forfeited if the buyer walks away (Lexidy; Touchdown, 2026). That is exactly why an independent lawyer should read the CPCV before you sign, not after.

Step 5 and 6: the escritura and the registration

The escritura pública is the final deed, signed before a notary, where the balance is paid and ownership legally transfers (Lexidy; Tagus Property, 2026). It is typically signed somewhere from 2 to 12 weeks after the CPCV — a band, not a date. Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) on the purchase is 0.8%, charged at this stage; the IMT is paid here too — a flat 7.5% for a non-resident, a progressive scale for residents, broken down in non-resident buying costs in Porto. How those rates land on your situation, and any refund mechanics, stay a matter for your lawyer.

Then the registo predial: the notary or your lawyer registers the new owner at the Land Registry, which completes the legal transfer (Lexidy, 2026). With that, the apartment is yours on the record as well as on the deed.

Doing it remotely, and where counsel takes over

A foreign buyer can complete the whole purchase through a lawyer acting under power of attorney — the NIF, the CPCV, even the escritura — which is how a great many overseas buyers close without flying in for every signature (Lexidy, 2026). Choose your own independent lawyer rather than lean on the seller's, and the remote path is well-trodden.

Where I stop is your personal tax and visa math, because it is governed by law that needs a professional's sign-off. The general buying-side rates — the IMT scales, the non-resident flat rate, IMI and the IVA treatment — are set out in non-resident buying costs in Porto; what a Portuguese tax lawyer must confirm against current law is how they apply to your situation, the reduced-IVA mechanics and any relief you can claim. Two corrections, though, are safe to state plainly, because stale web copy still gets them wrong: the Golden Visa real-estate route closed in October 2023, and the old NHR tax regime is shut to new entrants, its IFICI successor excluding pensioners. The D7 passive-income and D8 digital-nomad residence visas are the live routes, and they are separate from the purchase. Buying before completion has its own safeguards, set out in buying off-plan safely in Porto; the deeper relocation picture is its own guide — moving to Portugal and Porto — and the investment case for the address sits in investing in Antas.

The honest limits

This is process orientation, not legal advice, and three limits keep it honest. First, the headline tax figures now have their own sourced guide (non-resident buying costs in Porto); what stays counsel-gated on purpose is how they apply to you — refund eligibility, the reduced-IVA mechanics, any residency timeline — which a Portuguese tax lawyer must confirm for your situation, because it changes with the law. Second, the fee ranges and timings above are indicative bands from law-firm guides, not a quote (Lexidy, 2026): a reservation of €2,000 to €10,000, a sinal of 10 to 30%, a 4-to-8-week run, an escritura 2 to 12 weeks after the CPCV — all vary by case and seller. Third, the price and reservation terms for a specific Privilege Gardens apartment come from the developer's price list, June 2026, not from this guide.

What survives those limits is the part that matters: the process is doable from abroad, it has a clear order, and a lawyer can carry it for you. Of the 32 apartments at Privilege Gardens, 19 are sold as of June 2026, with delivery expected in 2027 — so for the remaining T2 and T3 homes, the 6 steps above are the road in.

• What are the steps to buy a new-build apartment in Antas as a foreigner?+

  Six, in order: get a NIF (Portuguese tax number), open a Portuguese bank account (recommended, not strictly mandatory), pay a reservation fee to hold the unit, sign the CPCV promissory contract with a sinal deposit, sign the escritura final deed before a notary, and register the new owner at the registo predial (Land Registry). A lawyer runs the due diligence and can act for you under power of attorney (Lexidy; Tagus Property, 2026).

• Can I buy property in Portugal without travelling there?+

  Largely, yes. A Portuguese lawyer acting under a power of attorney can obtain the NIF, sign the CPCV and even the escritura on your behalf, which is how many overseas buyers complete remotely. You will still want a Portuguese bank account for the transfers, and you should choose your own independent lawyer rather than rely solely on the seller's (Lexidy, 2026).

• How long does it take to buy a new-build in Porto?+

  Commonly 4 to 8 weeks end to end, though it varies by case and can run longer; the escritura itself is often signed somewhere from 2 to 12 weeks after the CPCV. Treat any timeline as indicative — a finance approval, a documentation gap or a holiday period can stretch it (Lexidy; Tagus Property, 2026).

• How big is the deposit when I buy off-plan in Antas?+

  The sinal deposit paid at the CPCV is typically a share of the price — published guides put it around 10 to 30%, and it varies by seller. It is meaningful money and can be forfeited if the buyer withdraws, so the CPCV terms matter; have your lawyer read them before you sign (Lexidy; Touchdown, 2026). The exact figure for a Privilege Gardens unit is set per the developer's price list and reservation terms, June 2026.

• Does buying an apartment in Antas get me a Golden Visa or residency?+

  No. The Golden Visa real-estate route closed in October 2023, so a property purchase no longer qualifies. People who want to live in Portugal use the standard residence visas — the D7 passive-income route, the D8 digital-nomad route and others — which are separate from the purchase. The old NHR tax regime is also shut to new entrants, and its IFICI successor excludes pensioners; confirm your own position with a Portuguese tax lawyer (Global Citizen Solutions; Taxbordr, 2023–2026).

Sources⌄

1. Lexidy (law firm) — buying property in Portugal: NIF, bank account, CPCV, escritura, registration, power of attorney, timeline
2. Tagus Property — the legal process of buying property in Portugal (CPCV → escritura timing)
3. Global Citizen Solutions — Golden Visa real-estate route closed (Oct 2023); residence visa routes
4. Taxbordr — NHR closed to new entrants; IFICI successor excludes pensioners