According to Expresso, foreigners represent two-thirds of new applications and the majority of non-residents appoint tax representatives.

Expresso reports that in 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued 793,342 taxpayer numbers, three times more than 10 years earlier. There were 66,000 NIFs per month, 3,170 per business day, notes the same newspaper, citing data provided by the government.

"There are solicitors, lawyers, accountants who appropriate the appointments. They are tax representatives of dozens of people, it is a big business that has been going on for years", said union delegate Jorge Almeida to the same newspaper.

According to Expresso, although in most cases the law does not require citizens to appoint tax representatives, the increase in immigration and requests from non-residents has caused the number of representatives to soar. In 2023, there were 96,311 tax representatives mediating CNPJ requests, more than triple the number 10 years ago.

Around 100,000 are from national residents. However, the overwhelming majority were non-resident Portuguese and resident or non-resident foreigners who generally ended up settling here. In 2014, foreigners requested 35% of NIFs at the Tax Office, but now they represent 65% of annual requests.