Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Hi

I am considering moving to portugal, but I am a bit worried about what the future holds with Brexit.

I have read that if you go to register as living in Portugal then you get 5 years of being able to live there. Is this correct? If so, what does this mean if I split my time between the UK and portugal, do I have to stay in Portugal all this time, or work there, earn a certain amount of money etc?

I can't seem to find specific info. I think that as it stands I can just go there like any other EU citizen, but then I dont know what will happen when we actually leave.

Also, I just read in another thread that when Brexit happens we will have to give up our UK driving licenses to get Portuguese ones. I will always be spending my time split between the Uk and Portugal and need to drive in both. Does anyone know if this will be possible.

feeling pretty miserable about this whole situation right now! I am part of a big project to start a recovery community out there, and we had it planned long before Brexit. It just makes things so difficult, but I dont want to give up!

any help greatly appreciated
Thanks

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Honestly,I would not worry too much.
Ignore any comments you may have read because no one knows anything.
Follow your dream.
We are in a similar position and to be honest if the UK version of Brexit is so hard that it could result in changes to our status then the UK us not where I would want to live .

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

:lol: I think that may have been the April Fools' Day thread of liveaboard's. Ignore everything in there.

On the other matters, until further notice (ie until Article 50 negotiations are complete and the UK has formally left the EU, as far as anybody knows so far) everything stays the same as it is right now. Which means that nobody will attempt to stop you taking up residence in Portugal if you could previously. The certificate is a registration process rather than a request for permission to reside.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Hi guys

Thanks for the responses! I didnt realise that was an april fools thread!

This community we plan on starting won't even be up and running for 2 years or so, and I will be committing everything to it if we decide to go ahead, so I am just trying to get some ideas, but as you say, nobody knows.

Can anyone maybe say what a worst case scenario would be in a few years when Brexit has actually happened? If I wanted to live in portugal, drive there, maybe even buy a property. But I also will be coming back to england quite frequently.

I am just trying to figure out possible practical problems, but maybe it's not possible at the moment.

thanks for the help and encouragement. As you say, with the way things are going this is not a country I want to live in. Such a shame

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

People came to Portugal before the EU, they will come to Portugal after the EU. Whether it gets more difficult depends on the outcome of the Brexit neotiations, which none of us can influence. It may be more complicated than now, but unless the EU rules Portugal with a heavy hand there's no reason why Brits will not be just as welcome as ever to live amongst their oldest allies.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Short answer NO

Peter

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

I think a reasonable estimate of the worst case would be to look at the barriers to immigration into Portugal that currently apply to all non-EU citizens (Americans, Australians, Chinese etc). Unfortunately, as its name suggests, this particular forum may not be the best one to research that.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

My personal opinion of the worst case senario is that we won't have the right to work without a visa. If you are able to self support (through pension or income outside of PT) then you'll be welcomed with open arms.
I find it extremely hard to believe that PT would either want a property crash (if we all had to leave or even some panicked and left) or for the spending power of the independent foreigner to stop (as it will seriously damage the PT economy)
We might be taxed higher on properties we buy, to help support locals and their housing requirements and to stop a property bubble. We also might need private health insurance, but if the NHS is willing to pay our medical bills I don't see any PT government turning that down as it's an income for their hospitals.

In short, and it's only my opinion; there'll never be flambos and pitch forks at our doors.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Flambos?

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

Just going back to this part of the original post, I presume you do know where you currently stand with regard to the requirements to register and so on, do you?

You're allowed visits of up to 90 days but if you intend to stay beyond that you're supposed to register withing the following 30 days. If you spend a total of 183 or more days in the country in any year you would be deemed tax resident and would be liable for PT tax on your worldwide income.

If you are intending to divide your time, you may want to think about where you actually want to be resident / pay tax etc as you can't be resident in more than one country at the same time (therefore, for example, if you take up residence in Pt, you are supposed to deregister with the UK NHS etc and register here in Portugal). There are also rules about keeping, driving and importing of foreign-plated vehicles that you might need to familiarise yourself with.

How strictly the authorities apply all the rules on either side is something of an unknown quantity but if they did want to go in to your residence status for any reason, you'd be well-advised to have reasonable proof that you have a main residence in which you spend most of your time and that that is where you pay tax, social security if applicable and are registered with a doctor etc and that the other country is just for visits within the allowable limits.

That's something you'd have needed to be organised on Brexit or no, although I suspect Brexit might make things a little more complicated for the foot-in-both-campers when the time comes.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

The question is; would you be a resident [more than 180 days], or a visitor?
Visitors will [very likely] be able to come and go with minimum obstruction.

If you want to become a resident after Brexit, there will have to be more restriction than there is now. It could very well be the case that you will not be able to meet the [as yet undecided] criteria for residence.

All these things are unknown of course. your planning will have to take these unknowns into consideration.
Community you say? In that case there are more people, and if British, each one will need to satisfy the immigration authority if they want to live here.

Sorry about the April 1 post causing distress, it was only meant as humor. Dark humor, I admit.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

It was blatantly racist, too! (And don't tell me Ginger isn't a race, 'cos I won 1st prize in it :))

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

HI everyone, thanks for the replies.

I was not planning to be half and half between England and Portugal. I would be living at the community and working there, but would be spending a good few weeks, possibly a few months in the UK each year. But not 183 days.

I do have a house in the UK and the income from that as I rent it out. So I am not sure how that will factor in.

I would like to think that after brexit, things will not be as difficult as it is for say an American to live in Europe. But as you all say, nobody knows.

It is hard to make what feel like huge decisions about this community, living abroad etc. when everything is so uncertain. I know some of you said just follow your dream, go ahead with everything anyway! But it's very hard for me to be that way!

Most of the people who I would be starting this community with are from various european countries, and my partner is from France. I am the only one from the UK.

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

I keep hearing that people currently living abroad in EU countries are likely not to be made to leave post brexit.

That is why I am wondering if moving to an EU country in the next year or two will also mean you are more likely to be able to stay?

Re: Moving to portugal and Brexit...
 

If you take up residence before brexit kicks in, you'll probably be ok.
If your French partner is willing to marry you, you can gain residency that way too.