wellinever

Will a UK passport holder and UK citizen but officially resident in Portugal be able to move freely within the EU and easily become a resident of another EU country after Brexit completion? ie move to Spain or France without the hassle of being resident in UK

Loafing Along

The way the "current" interpretation is on the UK Govt site the answer is "No" . You effectively become locked-in to Portugal if you wish to retain UK-related benefits but then is only the latest version , bound to be a few swings and roundabouts before the conclusion. So you are free to move "at your own peril" as mother would say...

RichardHenshall

The freedom of movement rights you seek arise from citizenship of an EU country, not just residence in one. If you can convert long-term residence in Portugal into citizenship in Portugal, you've solved your problem.

You may find visiting other Schengen countries is easier for a Schengen-zone resident who isn't an EU national.

BritInParis

It will depend on whether they is a post-Brexit EU-wide agreement - probably not likely at this stage. Individual member states may very well decide to offer British citizens an easier route to residence. The only foolproof way to continue with your FOM rights is to acquire another EU citizenship, either by descent or naturalisation.

barlaventoexpert

I certainly would not send you any immigration-related messages via Boris!

BritInParis

Very droll

AlgarveAndy

As I've just obtained residency would I need to complete the 5 years from 'temporary' residency to permanent before I could obtain a Portuguese Passport and hence move freely within the Schegen Zone ?

Red Eric

You can move about freely as a tourist (ie within limits) within the Schengen Zone because you're resident in Portugal.

If you want a Portuguese passport then you'll need to acquire PT citizenship first. If you're doing that through residence alone, then yes, you must have a full 5 years continuous residence before you qualify to apply. It's quicker through marriage, for example, though.

It's the citizenship, rather than the passport, that gives the freedom of movement in terms of conditional right of residence in other EU member states.

Generally, if you're travelling directly from one Schengen Zone country to another, you won't be required to show your passport to the border authorities on arrival at your destination, regardless of your citizenship. That's not a hard and fast rule, however and you will need id (in the form of a passport or national id card) on the way out, to get through airport security and board flights if travelling by air. You will also need to show a valid travel document at the transit airport(s) and on arrival at destination if passing out of the Schengen Zone en route.

Pistolpete2

Just on this specifically Portuguese temporary residence issue, I got the impression, in talking very briefly to a Tavira solicitor last week while there on another matter, that Portugal does not in any way attempt to enforce the 'normal standardised EU' requirement that one spend six months in a year in, in this case, Portugal to 'maintain' temporary residence. This of course fits in with your comments here that there is no border check when moving from Portugal to another Schengen Zone country, such as adjacent Spain.

This, in spite of the rules as laid out in"RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF A RESIDENCE PERMIT HOLDER:

The holder of a temporary Residence Permit who intends to be absent from Portugal, during the validity period, for a timeframe exceeding six consecutive months or eight unsequential months has a duty to inform SEF before leaving national territory"

One has to ask what might happen IF the SEF objected - if they checked - to the time spent elsewhere while on a temporary residence permit.

I fully appreciate that under NHR, one has an obligation to become fiscally resident and then maintain a place in Portugal on an ongoing basis and at least have intention to live in it.

Red Eric

Different scenario to that of us EU citizens there.

The requirement to inform the SEF of absences applies to those required to hold residence permits (issued by the SEF to non-EU citizens) - something which is not applicable to EU citizens, who are merely required to obtain a certificate of registration (issued by the Câmaras Municipais).

However, if you're asking what would happen to a SEF-issued residence permit-holder in such a circumstance who hadn't informed the SEF and were found out, I imagine they could be liable to have their permit revoked or be refused a permanent residence permit should they apply for one, since they'd have broken the continuous residence criteria.

Pistolpete2

Ok Thanks! So looking at the conditions for granting of a certificate of registration, there is nothing there that states that it could be revocable due to sufficient presence other than possibly in the case of students, where unspecified terms and conditions apply. So this fits with what my solicitor advises.

If we end up having to use the Passive income Visa to gain residency access to Portugal, your other comments above would appear to apply.