Changing addresses - IMT
Exact same process twice. Two entirely different results. Welcome to Portugal! (95)
Recently, I recommended starting the address change process with Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT) (tax and customs authority) also known by their website finanças. Since utilities, banks, and other companies will accept an official notification from that organization as proof that you live there, having the documentation from AT will smooth the way for many future interactions. And because that process can be done relatively simply and entirely online, it’s a good way to dip your toes into the waters of the Portuguese address change bureaucracy.
Would that things were as simple when working with Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT), the Portuguese DMV.
As it turns out, I was able to change our addresses with IMT entirely remotely and electronically. The process was neither as simple nor as straightforward as the one with finanças, though. I’m not entirely sure what happened - I’ll probably never know - but I followed the exact same process twice and, while I ultimately arrived at the same destination, it took two very different routes to get there.
I started by using Google translate on the IMT website. I noticed two things. First was a link for formulários (forms) towards the bottom so I clicked on on it for funsies.
The second thing I noticed was that there was a flashy “IMTonline.pt” graphic at the top. Contacte-nos sem se deslocar aos serviços translates to “contact us without going to the offices” which is far and away my preferred choice1.
I decided to employ a multi-pronged approach to the problem.
I clicked over to IMTonline.
And then I wandered around a while and hit many dead ends. But there were instruction manuals that strongly suggested there was a way to create an account, which I thought would be a good thing to try. Sadly, most of the links in the manuals that were meant to take me to some sort of login page took me to the above page instead. Finally, I clicked on the little IMTonline.pt logo towards the upper left corner and hit pay dirt!
Clicking on Particulares (individuals) led me to a login page that looked like the same one I use to login to the finanças website only this time there was an IMT logo above the place to type your information.
So I tried logging in with the same NIF/password combination I used to access finanças and it worked!
From here I clicked Registo no portal (portal registration), and filled out the ensuing page of information with my new mailing address.
I then logged out and logged back in under Amy’s credentials and completed the same form for her.
Unsure whether that would be sufficient, I circled back to the above-mentioned forms link and I followed the breadcrumbs to Condutores e Veículos (Drivers and vehicles) and determined that the option with the most potential was Geral requermento (General requirements). I figured anything that comes in on a form they supply is likely to be taken more seriously than a naked email and what harm could it possibly do?
The form itself is pretty plain.
I filled it out electronically with my information, translating into Portuguese using DeepL saying basically that I wanted to change my current mailing address because we were waiting for our permanent driver licenses and we wanted them to be sent to the correct place since we’ve recently moved. And how do I go about doing that? Is this form enough?
Then I sent the form to their general email address (imtonline@imt-ip.pt) with the body of the message saying simply Ver formulário em anexo por favor (please see attached form).
I did all of the above on Wednesday, May 10. Two days later, I received an email from IMT that read, simply:
Bom dia,
No seguimento do seu email, informa-se que já foi atualizado a sua morada no nosso sistema informático.
Disponha,
(name of employee)
Good morning,
Following your email, we inform you that your address has already been updated in our computer system.
Please contact us,
(name of employee)
Terrific! One down!
But, was my address updated because I’d created an account or because I emailed them the form?
Unclear.
So, to be safe, I made a copy of the form I used and filled it out for Amy, changing only her name and contact email/phone number (and changing obrigado to obrigada and the like to match her gender). An hour and a half after receiving the above email, I sent Amy’s form off to the same email address using the same sentence in the body of the email.
Two and a half hours later, Amy got a response! Only this answer read as follows:
Boa tarde,
Para alterar o endereço na base de dados do IMT, deverá enviar comprovativo de morada obtido através do Portal das finanças
Com os melhores cumprimentos,
(name of [different] employee]
Good afternoon,
To change the address in IMT's database, you must send proof of address obtained through the Finance Portal
With best regards,
(name of [different] employee
Wait, what? Literally four hours ago someone, probably in the cubicle next to yours, told me I was all set after I’d completed precisely the same steps I just went through to send you this message. Now the rules have changed? What’s the deal?
When Amy got this response, I had just gone through the AT website’s address change process for the second time and we were awaiting those letters. So while it was a head-scratcher that I was good to go and Amy wasn’t, it seemed like only a short while until her situation would also be resolved.
On May 17, Amy’s finanças letter arrived and I was able to successfully change her address on the Finance Portal. I triumphantly downloaded the page headed
Confirmação da Nova Morada
O código de confirmação foi validado com sucesso.
A sua nova morada será atualizada na Administração Fiscal tão breve quanto possível.
Confirmation of New Address
The confirmation code has been successfully validated.
Your new address will be updated at the Tax Office as soon as possible.
that listed Amy’s new address. I attached that page to my reply to the email we’d received from IMT a few days earlier so the whole thread was there for someone to read (also attaching the original request form for good measure) with the following note in the body of the email:
Boa tarde e obrigada,
Em anexo, encontram-se as informações solicitadas.
Obrigada,
Amy
Good afternoon and thank you,
Please find attached the requested information.
Thank you,
Amy
About 24 hours later, Amy forwarded this reply to me:
Boa tarde
Reitera-se a informação anteriormente enviada.
Para alterar o endereço na base de dados do IMT, deverá enviar certidão domicilio fiscal obtida através do Portal das finanças.
O documento que nos envia não serve para o efeito.
Com os melhores cumprimentos,
(name of [third] employee)
Good afternoon
We reiterate the information previously sent.
To change the address in the IMT database, you must send the tax domicile certificate obtained through the Finance Portal.
The document you are sending us is not suitable for this purpose.
Best regards,
(name of [third] employee)
I don’t know if it’s a language/culture issue or not but we both felt that reply to be a little snippy. We were beginning to wonder if they were passing this exchange around the office as a mid-afternoon chuckle.
Regardless, it was back to finanças for me. But at least this time I had something more to work with than “proof of address obtained through the Finance Portal.” I was looking for something called a “tax domicile certificate.” Entering certidão domicilio fiscal into the search bar got me close enough to find it with a few clicks. I downloaded the form and, on May 18, sent it off in reply to the last missive.
By this time, I’d spent several days mulling over why our situations were different. The most likely scenario, I’d decided, was that the employee who opened my email went above and beyond what they needed to do in some way. Here’s how I figured it.
So I figured it might be worth my while to nudge someone else to actually look up Amy’s record to see if this entire exchange was really necessary. I also figured it wouldn’t hurt to grovel a little if they were, in fact, getting snippy. So I included the following note in the body of the email
Peço desculpa. Sou novo neste processo e em Portugal. Tenho todo o gosto em obter o que precisa, mas não tenho a certeza se tenho o formulário correcto. O formulário em anexo é o que procura? Obrigado pela vossa ajuda!
Se este não for o formulário de que necessita, pode dizer-me qual o endereço postal que tem actualmente registado para mim.
Obrigada,
Amy
I apologize. I am new to this process and to Portugal. I am happy to get what you need, but I am not sure if I have the correct form. Is the attached form what you are looking for? Thank you for your help!
If this is not the form you need, could you please tell me what mailing address you currently have on record for me.
Thank you,
Amy
The following day, Amy got the response we were looking for:
Boa tarde
Informamos que os dados referentes à morada foram atualizados.
Com os melhores cumprimentos,
(name of [fourth] employee)
Good afternoon
We inform you that the address data has been updated.
Best regards,
(name of [fourth] employee)
Terrific!
But, was her address updated because I’d created an account or because I’d finally emailed them the correct form?
And we’ll probably never know.
Welcome to Portugal!
That’s all for now.
Love from Lisbon,
Scott & Amy
P.S. Let's see how long we can keep this post helpful. Have you tried to change your address with IMT? What worked? What didn't? Please share your stories in the comments.
Raise your hand if you like going to the DMV. I thought so.
I am impressed! Especially with that graphic! And personally, I'd like to think that your kind email that explained your situation was what ultimately made the difference. Thank you so much for documenting it. Some day I will be poring over your instructions!
You are a wizard!!! Muito obrigada. :-)