liveaboard

A consultation with a lawyer doesn't cost much.

I've done it a few times and never regretted the modest cost. for life decisions, some people prefer a professional to random internet writings.

Starting a case or procedure is a different story; that would cost a lot of money.
I have regretted doing that.

Red Eric

Random internet writings are no good to anybody.

I hope we're not perceived to be doing that on here

Moses2013

Yes, one should use a lawyer when buying property etc. but an immigration lawyer to move to Portugal if you are British?
The lawyers will know nothing, as not even the government has a real plan yet and probably the reason why none of them replied.
Britain is still in Europe, you can still seek employment in Portugal. Depending on outcome there will still be many options, like €350,000 reduced investment or the €500,000 golden visa.

Rambling archer

Liveaboard said - A consultation with a lawyer doesn't cost much.

We used a lawyer for the purchase of our house and had no real problems and it was done at agreed fee - however when we asked about "registering status for NHR" a fee of 1,000 euros was suggested - this for something we discovered could be done by ourselves in two minutes online directly on the Finanças webpage, once we found the right bit of page to do it on! So we didn't take him up on that suggestion. So, yes, you need a lawyer for property purchase, you need to have your rental contract confirmed before a Notary to make it official, with your Portuguese NIF number noted on it, and there are many things that you can do with Portuguese Admin directly, and of course with advice here on the Forum to point you in the right direction. Incidentally we were told that a 3-month rental contract ("renewable") was sufficient to apply for Residency, but I have been told that some districts require a 6-month contract - so ask at the Freguesia or Camara in the village/town you are considering, what they require.

liveaboard

Several times in several countries, before making life decisions on immigration or how to manage my life savings, I had legal consultations that cost between 0 and 200 euros.

Many questions I had are quite specific to my particular national and fiscal situation, and required tailored answers.
Compared to the weight of the decisions I needed to make, the fees paid were nothing.

Pistolpete2

Looking back through the posts on this thread I don't see anybody taking up the OP on the mention of the word WE in the OP. Surely the OP spouse who does not have work commitments, if free to do so, could head to Portugal and get most of the work done so that the remaining spouse, post their work commitments can then head down before the 31/12 deadline.

We ourselves would have a lot of leg-work to do IF we had chosen to proceed toward registration before the deadline. We ultimately decided that IF it were a GO, I would head there first and get the 'commitment' to Portugal established ready to apply for registration in good time for the deadline and my spouse would then apply in due course. Presumably, my spouse has a further (short period) as a then (at worst) non-EU citizen within which to apply for registration.

Indeed, it may be an awful lot to ask in this particular case, but in general terms does it make sense? Unfortunately, I pitched something like this plan at a Portuguese solicitor and the detail went straight over their head, lost in translation.

Lou71

I don't know if our experience will help but here goes.

We were worried about the Brexit door slamming shut so we headed to Portugal in February and secured residency and shortly afterwards, NHR status. The lawyer who arranged our house purchase sorted it out for us and came with us to the town hall to sign the paperwork. Our lawyer has power of attorney but told us we had to complete the residency procedure in person.

In order to obtain residency in Portugal, we were told that we had to have a proper residential address so make sure a plot of land will suffice. As Eric said, renting a property is fine, you don't have to own a property but you must produce deeds or a rental contract at the town hall when applying for residency.

To be honest, you could head over to Portugal now and secure residency if you like, you don't need to wait but you will need a residential address. You can worry about the other paperwork like the S1 form and tax registration at the end of the year. Nobody is going to be checking your movements in and out of Portugal until the end of the year after which time, presumably, UK passports will be scanned in and out of the Schengen zone.

I hope that helps.

bons

Thanks for your reply. Are you living in Portugal now? The problem is that we have a house to sell which we would have to come back to sell if it doesn't go before December, I'm not sure if we can come back for long periods and retain residency. There is also an added probllem that I hadn't thought of before, if we are cosidered to be residents in Portugal before we sell the house, our house will then be classed as a second home thus incurring CGT. Unless we sell our house soon, I can't see us making it there on time.

bons

We had discussed this, or rather,I discussed it, but my husband doesn't want me to come on my own. I'm not sure I'd be able to right now anyway.

suiko

hi all

Apologies for "hijacking" the thread, but my situation is quite similar, so i thought I'd add it here. I have two main questions - hopefully someone will be able to throw some light on them

I want to move to Portugal with a view to becoming a citizen in due course.

I'm 56 and have a decent job in UK, but I am expecting to be made redundant within the next couple of years. I could teach English in Portugal (used to be an EFL teacher), but obviously this would not pay much and the idea of doing it full-time fills me with dread :-) I'm currently selling my house and buying a smaller one here in UK.

So my dilemma is...
a) move to Portugal this year (presumably September onwards) and register as resident via a rental contract, local bank account, private health insurance and NIF (think I already have this from a spell in Portugal many years ago)
b) stay in UK for now and apply for D7 visa in due course

I'm not sure I fully understand the advantages of moving in 2020, but if I don't really want to work formally and will presumably be a Portuguese citizen (and thus covered by state healthcare) by the time I get to an age where private insurance gets expensive, the big one is the fact that my state pension won't be updated unless I am resident in EU before 31/12/20. Or have I missed something?

If I move in the final months of this year and register as resident, is there any reason why I can't continue to spend the bulk of my time in the UK in the short/medium term? As I understand it I will have to spend 183 days in Portugal in 2021 (by which time my movements - are there any other requirements for residency? What documents will the Portuguese tax authorities ask for? Would I be liable for CGT on the sale of my main residence in the UK if this takes place in 2020?

Many thanks

scot47

I would not be confident that it is possible to find a Portuguese lawyer who is competent in the filed of immigration and residency.

Lou71

We are in Spain right now because our house in Portugal is still uninhabitable but obviously it's all much easier when you are already in Iberia, border closures aside.

Firstly, I would ring HMRC and ask about the CGT if you became resident in Portugal before the house sells. Then ask a Portuguese tax specialist where you would stand tax wise in Portugal. NHR rate is 10% now so you need to find out if that includes CGT from a house sale in the UK. The rules keep changing so check everything with a specialist first.

This isn't gospel but I think you will be allowed out of Portugal (and Schengen) for 90 days post Brexit before losing residency rights because non EU nationals can only stay in Schengen for 90 days at a time - it has always been the 90 days on, 90 days off rule for non EU nationals.

There is a chance you will have until 30 June next year to take Portuguese residency (as in Spain) but again, this is far from certain and nobody knows what the UK government are going to do and if we are staring down the barrel of no deal which might change things.

Is your house on the market now?

Pistolpete2

I tried that once with a query regarding a UK property for CGT. HMRC do not answer queries ahead of you doing something. AFTER THE EVENT they might help somewhat - not very helpful is it?

Pistolpete2

Surely this arrangement whereby you have until 30th June next year for residency is already engraved in stone and not subject to any change due to a no-deal on trade. However, doesn't it apply to those who were already eligible at 31st December 2020 and simply need to get their ducks in a row in terms of the requisite paperwork, particularly those who have actually resided in Portugal for example for eons? Sorry for the cliches!

bons

Yes it is. I was hoping that we'd arrange an extension in view of Covid-19, no such luck. It would have been so much easier. I'll have to look up the 30th 2021 deadline.