izian

Hi,
I'm new to the board and very excited about the prospect of moving to Portugal Jan 2014. We have put in an offer for a house near Moçafaneira, which has been accepted, so it's all looking very 'real' now.
We have a 5½ year old, 4 year old and a 7 month old and would love to hear from any other expat families who live in the area

We have never done anything as major as this, and would be grateful of any advise you could give us regarding the process of moving doctors / dentists / opticians / schools etc Do we need any paperwork from our end, or do we simply turn up and sign in so to speak? We've already checked that the school (creche to begin with) has places for our eldest two.

How to we get a fiscal number? Can we apply from UK or should we wait until we are in Portugal?

My brother lives in Lisbon and has been sorting out lots of the contacts etc regarding buying the house. He has also offered to act as proxy for us as he speaks very good Portuguese and has recently bought a house himself so knows the process. Is there anything we need to do to help the process along?

If there's anything else that you think would be helpful, we'd be very grateful for your comments,

Thanking you in advance x

EMR

The first thing you will need to do to get access to the services you need is to become Portuguese resident.
Without this you may find life getting complicated regarding medical care etc unless you already have your own health insurance.
You cannot complete your property purchase, obtain electricity, water, almots anything in Portugal without a fiscal number, your lawyer should be able to obtain this for you.

izian

Thank you for your reply.
Do we need a lawyer or can we get a fiscal number without one?

gedscottish

Lovely area, stay at a hotel every year in near by Porto Novo(Golfe Mar hotel), off subject but handy for future.... great eating place:
La Fontana in Santa Cruz(very near you).

izian

Thank you Gedscottish,
I love the Santa Cruz area so will keep a look out for the restaurant you mention.

gedscottish

not the easiest to spot unless you know its there(was a local who showed us best place to eat). i know its seaside so should eat fish but there is a veil dish I just can't get enough of there
http://www.restaurantelafontana.net/PT/ondeestamos.php

gedscottish

p.s great age for your kids to move, they will be teaching you Portuguese before you know it

izian

I hope so, because at the moment anything I try and say comes out sounding awful! My main goal after we've moved is to learn Portuguese so hopefully within a year I can have a proper conversation

Rak1947

Yes you need a lawyer!!!

An a good lawyer.

Good luck.

gedscottish

At times I thought I would never get there, you will say things and not be understood but persist and you will get there! Some will tell you to 'just speak English' Don't, refuse and let them answer in English if they wish but you have to keep at it in Portuguese! Learning Portuguese is a must anywhere out of the algarve... Otherwise it will be a frustrating lonely life!
I take it you are British?

GeniB

You must be very excited Izian…I am sure your brother can help you with most things,having gone through it himself..Only thing I can think of that we weren't aware of at the time..was importing our car..You have to have it registered and all paper work done within six months of moving!!! With the rate the Portuguese move on things like this .and almost impossible task…however if you don't they levy a tax on it…quite a nasty shock for many people including us..as technically its illegal in the EU..Soooo If your going to do that…begin the process now..your brother can help you there
Yes you do need a lawyer for the fiscal no..but if your in the process of buying a house don't you already have one? Good luck and welcome to Portugal

EMR

Matriculating your vehicle is not as complicated or expensive as some would have you believe.There are many examples of how it should be done on the forums.
The critical items are that the vehicle must have been owned for at least 12 months before starting the process and have all the relevant documentation in place.
Portugal is doing nothing illegal , all countries have their own rules regarding importation of a foreign reg vehicle.
To avoid paying the import tax , you MUST be resident.
Also if you have an older vehicle with a high Co2 rating be aware that for tax purposes it is treated as a new car and taxed accordingly.

GeniB

Hope you weren't referring to me by that comment EMR

Our lawyer told us Portugal was in fact breaking EU law in imposing a tax on an already taxed and registered EU vehicle ..and I am inclined to believe him--

Your right however in adding that you have to have owned the car for 12 months prior to moving..getting the paperwork done….AND being registered as a resident.. within six months .. is the sticky area….maybe you got lucky and had better advice before you moved

EMR

It is an urban myth regarding Portugals laws regarding importing cars and the EU.
The EU has said that the application of IVA to the import tax is questionable and has been the subject of much discussion but IVA on the tax is only a very small part of the total..
Every EU country has the right to apply its own tax regime and that is all Portugal is doing.
As one forum regular Peter FC has posted many times, matriculating your foreign reg vehicle to Portuguese plates can be a relatively straight forward process if you follow the rules.