Portugal

If you enter or leave the European Union with EUR 10,000 or more, or the equivalent amount in another currency, you must declare the cash to Customs — a mandatory EU rule to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing (Regulation (EU) 2018/1672, implemented in Portugal by Decreto-Lei n.º 82/2024 of 31 October; declaration form templates under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/776). In Portugal, cash declarations are handled by the Tax and Customs Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira – AT) through Customs services. The duty arises when you carry EUR 10,000 or more through an external EU border when entering or leaving the EU, including airports and ports in Portugal; movements between Portugal and other EU countries are not EU external-border crossings and do not trigger this declaration. Declare all cash carried: banknotes and coins; negotiable bearer instruments such as traveller's cheques, personal cheques, money orders and promissory notes; gold coins with a gold content of at least 90%; gold bars, nuggets or clumps with a gold content of at least 99.5%. The February 2026 AT guide states the same duty in Portuguese: travellers who enter EU territory, or leave it, carrying EUR 10,000 or more must declare it to Customs (Alfândega). You must complete the EU Cash Declaration Form, stating the amount of cash carried, the source of the cash (for example savings or sale of property), the intended use (for example purchase of goods or investment), and the identification of the owner and the bearer when they are different persons. Unaccompanied cash of EUR 10,000 or more sent by post, freight or courier is a separate cash disclosure, not this traveller procedure: Customs authorities may request it when detected, and if requested the recipient, sender or an appointed representative must lodge it within 30 days. Failing to declare, or providing false or incomplete information, may lead to retention or seizure of the cash and to fines.

On arrival at a Portuguese airport travellers choose one of two customs channels. Green channel (Nothing to Declare) requires all of: no luggage, or luggage within customs duty and allowance limits, and no goods whose circulation is prohibited or restricted. Red channel (Goods to Declare) is used if you do not meet the conditions of the green channel, if you are unsure whether you must declare goods (when in doubt, choose the red channel), or if you are a crew or staff member; luggage selection for inspection is random and travellers must present luggage and contents whenever Customs officers request. Travellers from third countries may carry tobacco and alcohol duty- and tax-free in personal baggage up to (no exemption under 17): 200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos or cigars of at most 3 g per unit, or 50 cigars, or 250 g smoking tobacco — or a proportional assortment of these; 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of intermediate products, plus 4 litres of table wine and 16 litres of beer. Other tobacco products enjoy an excise (IEC) franchise for travellers from third countries, third territories and EU member states alike: snuff 250 g, chewing tobacco 250 g, heated tobacco 20 g, e-cigarette refill liquid 30 ml, nicotine pouches 20 g. Medicines up to the quantity corresponding to personal needs, accompanied by the medical prescription. Other non-commercial goods from third countries are covered by the customs and fiscal franchise up to a global value of EUR 300 (road or rail travellers, and private aviation or recreational navigation), EUR 430 (air or sea travellers), EUR 150 (travellers under 15) or EUR 200 (crew). For crews travelling in the exercise of their professional activity, Article 6.º of the regime annexed to Article 116.º of Lei n.º 64-A/2008 applies those same exemptions with the global value capped at EUR 200 per crew member and tobacco capped by Mapa II: 80 cigarettes, or 20 cigarillos (cigars of at most 3 g each), or 10 cigars, or 50 g of smoking tobacco; no assortment rule is written for Mapa II (the proportional-mixing provision of Artigo 5.º n.º 3 covers Mapa I only), so whether crew tobacco categories may be proportionally combined is not stated in the law; Mapa II lists tobacco only, so there is no separate crew alcohol allowance — crew alcohol stays within the standard quantities above, which, like tobacco, are unavailable to travellers under 17. Goods beyond the franchise are declared through the red channel to the customs officers; the guide also defines a flat-rate customs charge (direito forfetário) of 2.5% on the global value of goods not exceeding EUR 700. From another EU country, tobacco and alcoholic beverages may be carried up to 800 cigarettes / 400 cigarillos / 200 cigars / 1 kg smoking tobacco and 10 litres of spirits or 20 litres of intermediate products / 90 litres of wine (of which at most 60 litres sparkling) / 110 litres of beer, provided excise duty was paid in the country of purchase and the limits are respected — in those cases no additional excise duty is due in Portugal (traveller exemption regime anchored in Artigo 116.º da Lei n.º 64-A/2008, transposing Council Directive 2007/74/EC, and Artigos 6.º e 61.º do Código dos Impostos Especiais de Consumo). Prohibited or restricted imports include drugs and drug precursors, radioactive materials, offensive weapons, firearms, explosives and ammunition, counterfeit goods, protected species of plants and animals and their parts or derivatives, foodstuffs and animal-origin products, plant products including fruits and seeds, and pets of no commercial value with their feed. Cash of EUR 10,000 or more is declared separately (see pt-cash-declaration), using the same red channel at airports.