Portugal Life
Is it Easy to Move to Portugal?
I’ve always wanted to do that!
I can’t count how many times people have said this to me. It seems that everyone has an opinion when you move abroad. This isn’t surprising.
What is surprising is how many people want me to take the time to explain to them exactly how it’s done. How does one apply for residency? What exactly do you need to do that? How long did it take?
The existential answer is that it took a lifetime and mere moments. It was the culmination of wanting to travel, wanting to get out of the United States, wanting a better life, and even wanting an adventure. It was also a decision that we made in short order once we considered it. Not mere moments, exactly, but we didn’t think about it for years either.
The practical answer is a lot longer!
A lot of times, when I get asked this, I think: ‘Why are you even asking? You’re just being a voyeur. You are not going to leave the States.’ Still, if someone asks and seems genuinely interested, I tell them.
Emigrating, the actual act of leaving isn’t really very difficult. Portugal has about the same number of hoops to jump through as a lot of other EU countries. The first thing you need to know is what type of visa you want. There are several. Most people will want a D7 which assumes you have income (passive income, think retirement money or rental income) from outside of Portugal.
Right, but how much money do I really need? About $10,000 for a single person and about $15,000 a year for a couple. That’s the absolute minimum, but it’s more if you want to bring children or other dependent adults, like your parents. In reality, most applicants put more than that in a Portuguese bank account just to be on the safe side.
“OK, that’s not that much,” is the answer I usually get to that. It isn’t if you have passive income, but then you need working capital to really move.
So, this list I’ve mentioned? Here it is:
Application for a National Visa This is the easiest part. It’s a form that you fill out. One form for each applicant.
Passport that is valid for at least 6 months after the expiration of your 120-day visa and two recent passport-size (EU size) color photos; a color copy of main passport page (page notarized) Another easy step.
If not a citizen of the country from which you are applying, then proof of your legal resident status in that country If you’re a US citizen applying from the US, this doesn’t even apply to you.
Personal statement declaring the reasons why you are seeking residency in Portugal A paragraph explaining why you want to live in Portugal.
So far, so good, right? Now you get to the part where you actually have to want to do the work.
Proof of financial means/proof of sufficient funds You need to produce documents proving that you have enough income to live and not be dependent on Portugal for your support. You need a letter from Social Security, and/or proof of your retirement income, and/or proof of rental income, and/or whatever else you have that shows you make enough money.
NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal, your Portuguese tax number) This one is tricky. You can pay a company to get this for you while you are still in the States, but that comes with other problems related to their status as your fiscal representative. In order for someone else to get you a number, you have to authorize them, then when you get to Portugal, you might not want someone representing you. Of course, you can get this, on your own in Portugal, but you still might need a fiscal representative. We didn’t, but the rules have changed in the past few months. They might change again, who knows?
That’s another issue you need to work through. You might love the idea of a more relaxed, laid-back place, but what about a country that changes requirements midstream as the government tries to work out its relationship with an influx of immigrants? Portugal is in the process of revamping the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF). In fact, they are dismantling it and creating a new office! Things move at a relaxed pace in Portugal, so it could take years to settle everything in place. In the meantime, we just roll with it.
Proof of a funded bank account in Portugal In order to open a Portuguese bank account, you need a NIF. The catch here is that many banks (or bank branches) don’t want to open accounts for non-residents. It took us 5 banks before we finally one that allowed us to open an account. And it’s not as simple as walking in and walking out. It takes 4 hours in a bank before they will tell you that can have an account, can’t have an account, or have to wait for their internal auditors to decide whether you can have an account.
Like the NIF, you can pay a company to open one for you, but that’s also a hit-and-miss situation. Some companies don’t want to deal with you for a NIF or an account unless you buy a package from them that includes doing both of those things and helping you find accommodations in Portugal.
Throughout this part of the process, you have to remember that you’re a foreigner who, in all probability, doesn’t speak Portuguese and doesn’t really understand how Portugal works. You might get a company/person who is honest and trustworthy or one that is expensive and doesn’t do what they promise. FBI criminal record certificate apostilled or left in an original, unopened envelope (or if you’ve lived outside the US in the last year, a police record report from that country) This one sounds simple. Just get a copy of your fingerprints, send them to the FBI, get the report back, leave it in the sealed envelope, and bring it to your residency appointment. Not so fast. First, you need to find a place to get your fingerprints done. Sure, you can do them at home, but are you really sure that you can take clear rolled ink prints? No? Then you need to get someone to do that.
You might be able to get that done at the Post Office, if the one near you does that. (Spoiler Alert: Most don’t.) OK, then you need an FBI-Approved Channeler. They will, for a fee, take your prints and forward them to the FBI. The tricky part here is that it can take many tries to get clear, readable prints, and the Channeler only gives you 2 shots. It took one of us 8 tries to get clear prints, with the cost going up each time. Finally, we got a clean set done by a Channeler in London for $120.
Release/request for a Portuguese criminal record check by the Foreigners and Borders Finally, an easy thing! Once you go to your residency appointment, The person who accepts your application will give you this to sign. It just gives Portugal the ability to check and see if you’ve ever committed a crime in Portugal.
Proof of private health insurance coverage or official Schengen travel insurance with medical benefits and COVID coverage Two easy ones in a row! You just need to prove that you have travel insurance, which you can get online in a matter of minutes. It isn’t even very expensive.
Proof of accommodation in Portugal (property title deed, rental agreement, letter of invitation by a sponsoring volunteer agency or church, terms of responsibility form or property loan agreement) So much for easy. What this really means is that you need to have 1 year of accommodation in Portugal lined up. Yes, before you are even approved to be in the country that long. In fact, most people end up paying rent for months before they are ever able to live in it. I started paying on a lease in January and wasn’t able to live in it until June.
That’s not even the hard part. The hard part is finding a place to rent in the area you want in your budget. (Unless your housing budget is really high!) But “Housing in Portugal is cheap!” Yes and no. It is cheap compared to cities in the States, but it’s higher than it was a few years ago. Inflation is a thing in Portugal, too. So is the housing shortage. Besides that, the lease you will sign will be in Portuguese, so you need to be comfortable reading it on your own, trusting your agent, if you have one, or getting the lease translated.
Copy of marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates when children are also applying (translated and apostilled if being used in Portugal for school registrations) You keep using this word apostilled. What the heck is it?! It just means that you sent it to the issuing agency, and they put a seal on it, verifying that it is authentic. “But that’s crazy! I mean, the state gives those out, and they are already official.” Yep. You’re right, but you need to jump through the hoops to satisfy the Portuguese government. If you are going to live here, get used to it. On the plus side, if you have no kids or are homeschooling, you don’t need to do this for the residency appointment.
Once you have all these things together, you need to figure out which embassy or consulate will accept your application, and then (plot twist!) you don’t apply there. Portugal has contracted out the initial residency interview with an agency called VFS Global. You need to make an appointment with them and submit all the paperwork to them. You pay their fee and whatever fee the embassy or consulate requires. This fee can change monthly, so you don’t get the money order (not check or credit card) until the day of your appointment.
Once you’ve done all of this, you wait anywhere from 2 weeks to a year to get an answer. Most people, over 99% of people, are approved for residency. If you’re not, you can always appeal.
Once you are approved, you need to send in your passport into which the Portuguese government will place a residency stamp and then send your passport back to you. You need to be in Portugal within 3 months of the date on your passport.
Once you arrive in Portugal, you get ready for your in-person SEF appointment, but that’s another list entirely!
The bottom line is, it isn’t as easy or cheap to move abroad as people think. The internet might make it sound like you can just pick up and move, but it’s really the end product of a lot of hard work and patience.
