NSG666

Thanks for clarifying residency, I knew that tax residency was something specific but the the term residency appears in lots of info on the UK Gov website e.g.
"Everyone who’s registered as a resident can also register to access the Portuguese national health service on the same basis as a Portuguese citizen." And I thought this was following your first (successful) appointment with SEF while you still had the visa.

With regards importing a RHD vehicle it's not ideal but alongside selling our UK house, renting a property over there then moving over with our dog etc I think it would blow my mind to have to sort a car out too. Ours is a 320d estate but I don't know what size car we'll want/need over there so we can make do with it until we can get our head around buying a LHD if RHD becomes a major issue.

Alan PT

I believe that you need the actual residency doc to register with the SNS (I think that's why they ask you for proof of 12 months travel insurance, to cover your healthcare while you only have the visa). But check some other threads, there's a few people on here who have been through the new visa process (we came pre-brexit, so missed out on that fun!)

If your car is new'ish then I'd think about selling it in the UK. There was previously a small market for RHD cars, but I'd guess that re-importing them to the UK is now a lot more hassle, so you might find that you are stuck with the car. If it's more a "run it until you junk it" age then fair enough, it'll probably run for longer than you think in Portugal