EU passport and living in Canada

The NIF is your tax ID number in Portugal like your Social Security number in the US and you must have one to open a bank account in Portugal.  Many services also use your NIF as you ID such as supermarkets, bus and trains so yes you need a NIF in Portugal.

you cannot open a bank account without one which is also highly recommended. The easiest and cheapest and quickest way to do both is by doing it online from wherever you are on Bordr pt which can get your NIF in as little as three days and also open a bank account for you even out of the country.

check out their website online and read through their clear instructions.

with your EU passport I am not sure you need a visa in Portugal. It is good to check with a local attorney.

I am from the US and my wife from the U.K. and after Brexit we needed to get a residency visa as have retired here. This is a very long process due to the huge numbers of expats moving to Portugal and you  currently put together the numerous items wanted and definitely requires a local attorney. As a citizen in the EU i don’t believe this is required but please check.

Current EU passport? you may live and work any where in the EU (that included Portugal), there is no visa. If family is with you then they do not need EU passports as they "have rights to a family life" with you as EU passport holder. Once you are here you have months and months to do all the basic admin stuff NIF, bank account etc. mainly walking to offices with paperwork and doing online bits so select a town and book some basic accommodation and get on with it. Yes it is as easy as that. Hint at the start, have some "business cards" so people don't get your name wrong, have a 2 sim phone and get a Portuguese sim, put number on your card, as people do not like calling "foreign" numbers and your online bank etc, will need to send access codes to it. Move to a different place to check to different places. Towns with mainline train stations are a useful

@cloud22space Yes without a NIF you won't be able to do much in Portugal.

@Strontium thank you very much for your prompt reply. brought a lot of light.

@Strontium thank you very much for your prompt reply. brought a lot of light. looks like the end of the message was clipped in the middle of the "train station" advice