HairyPotter

My wife and I are both EU nationals, living & working in the UK since 2005, planning to buy property and permanently move to Portugal in April 2022.
We do not own property in the UK, but have permanent residence status.
We work full time for UK- based companies; our employers are happy for us relocating outside of UK.

Our (still very limited!) understanding is that:

- we cannot continue being "employees", as we would no longer be UK residents? If no longer an employee on the payroll (in the hypothetical case of being made redundant in the future), would we lose the entitlement for compensation after 15 years with the company?
- would have to closed our UK bank accounts (same reason as above)?
- a good idea would be speaking to a professional adviser (tax/ NI, future "employment" status, e.g. freelance/ NHR, etc.). Any recommendations re adviser (and cost)?
- we have business relations with a Portuguese company (not affiliated to the UK employer, though); would being "employed" by them and invoicing the UK company be a possibility? Advantages/ disadvantages?

I understand the above is very generic (also my 1st post on the forum, so please be gentle 😂), but any feedback is much appreciated. Whatever you can recommend or point us in the right direction- many thanks in advance.

Johnboyuk

You could form your own UK limited company, operate through that and still live abroad. A director of a UK company can live anywhere in the World. For banking, use an international bank account operated by one of the major UK banks.

christmasoompa

Might be worth considering applying for citizenship if you think there's any chance you'll want to return to the UK in the future? Just to give you that security.

Best of luck.

Loafing Along

You could start with a browse of this website : https://www.acm.gov.pt/-/como-obter-...l-subordinad-1
It does have an english language option of you need it.
Your question provokes another question - " If your employer is happy for you to relocate out of the UK why can' t they offer you typical expatriate contract ? Obviously if you move from their payroll any termination of contract benefits would reflect this change and only be based on direct employment . If you are thinking of Social Security benefits , future pension, you can continue to pay basic NI contributions when you are abroad so you do not lose continuity ( unless there is some clause in the Brexit agreement that excludes this of which I am unaware ).
The bank account issue is unrelated unless you happen to bank with a UK bank that does not offer service to the EU , there are some I think Lloyds is one but several, such as NatWest still do irrespective of where you live . It just depends on whether or no they have applied for a licence to offer services in the EU.
NHR is a specific tax status which applies only to certain categories of specialist, in-demand employment and pensioners . The Portuguese tax office has a full explanation of their tax system on their website in english : https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.p...ax-system.aspx

Yes go and get professional advice but it can be expensive , most of the big consulting companies PWC etc offer such a service , don't get bogged down in their NHR offering, if applicable it is a simple registration process on the tax office web once you are resident, focus on your main question about employment retention.

Johnboyuk

If the OP forms a limited company in the UK, then they should be able to open a business account with a UK bank in the UK as their accountants address can be the registered office. Otherwise:

Our products - Lloyds International (lloydsbank.com)

There is also the option of opening a corporation based in Cyprus. I have worked with many overseas based contractors in the UK who have gone this route.

Rambling archer

Simplest solution and certainly to begin with, is to get a current account with Lloyds or Natwest with UK address before moving, with a debit (not credit) card - these are continuing to operate with EU residents with PT address for when you move to PT and would cover any ins and outs in the UK, which you can then have transferred to your PT bank by whatever means you want. You may be able to do a business account but check that with your local UK bank manager - if you are setting up a company or as self-employed in PT then there is no problem setting up a business account here.

As EU citizens you follow a different path to becoming resident in PT (both as where your permanent home is, and where you will pay taxes - fiscal residency) from UK citizens who are no longer EU after Brexit. But the UK govt site for Living in Portugal https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-portugal does cover a lot of information on moving out of UK to PT. At least you won't have to go to a PT consulate in UK to get a visa application in as UK's do. There are special rules for "autonomo" which is the equivalent of Self-Employed where if you only deal with one foreign customer you can run into difficulties. You do need to do your homework with a EU/PT-savvy financial advisor before you get to far down the road as both of you are needing to work in/from PT. As EU citizens you should also consider the aspect of where is your citizenship - some Scandanavian countries for instance do not have the same agreements for tax (eg on pensions).
Do a Google search on "eu citizens moving to portugal" and work your way through that lot ...

HairyPotter

Many thanks for the feedback!

HairyPotter

Good advice- thanks!