appman999

It's a National Visa so your Schengen allowance is unused.

wellinever

So for those that prefer to spend only the winter months in PT, with GHIC card and some health insurance to cover repatriation, this is now the perfect solution, in fact the same as it was pre Brexit. But now has the added benefit of being able to visit other Schengen countries when not in PT.
This lines up nicely with the recent changes in CGT, so with the exception of reinvestment in another main property (and paying huge IMT bill) a property owner can now spend 180 days in PT without triggering a Tax demand, and be able to sell the property with CGT at residents rates.

appman999

Certainly mitigates some of the Brexit effects but the visa application process is a royal pain especially the getting of an appointment (the same as the D7 residents visa) and it has to be reapplied for each year (and attitudes may change)

wellinever

Yes it does, and I am sure that with a little more pragmatic thinking, that could be made easier for anyone already registered.
Just one more hurdle to cross would be the inclusion of a reinvestment allowance in UK, when selling a PT property.

Red Eric

Except that in the case that you're renewing a temporary visa, however many times you do so, but not at any point becoming resident, it wouldn't be your primary residence.

So whether or not tax law allowed for CGT relief outside of the EU, as long as it applied to primary residences only - and logic doesn't suggest any particular reason for extending it to other properties - you're still snookered.

Red Eric

I imagine so, having skimmed through the documentation required.

Did you really need to produce return travel tickets and how did you go about that if the time taken to process the visa application was a complete unknown (as it surely is at the moment)?

appman999

I did produce return tickets as required (don't know what would happen if I hadn't)

You can apply up to 90 days before and that should allow enough time for approval. Our's was 6 weeks but could be a couple of months.

Used Avios bookings so I could cancel if required with minimal cost.

riv

So what were the mechanics of your application ?

To which entity did you apply ? Is it a Visa which can be applied for from within Portugal ? Or is it all online or what ?

And how long from submitting the documents to receiving the Visa ?

appman999

Exactly the same as for a D7 residence visa. Start here https://visa.vfsglobal.com/gbr/en/prt/

Apply for appointment in UK through VFS, that's the only bit that's online and it's rubbish.

In our case it took 6 weeks.

wellinever

Thats true Red, but when did logic apply to the taxman??

Pistolpete2

So presumably, in order to meet the visa requirements, one needs health insurance in place for a year (even if only planning a six month stay) in spite of having a GHIC card and with the requisite 30,000 Euro coverage.

Any ideas as to where one could get this at reasonable cost for an over 65 and an over 70? Would AFPOP Medal offer it? Is one eligible BEFORE one gets the visa?

appman999

No, you only need travel insurance for the initial period you are applying for the visa.

The GHIC may be sufficient but it doesn't cover repatriation which is normally a requirement.

I found the AXA Schengen best for long stay given my age and medical conditions.

You can get full health insurance before applying for the visa if you think you need it (providing you meet the accommodation requirements, have NIF etc, etc)

appman999

Just to clarify your initial application might be for a 4 month visit which is what you quote on your application and provide travel insurance for. However you can then revisit again unlimited times during the 12 months validity of the visa (tax permitting).

I'm not sure if you applied for an initial visit of less than 3 months they would refuse it on the basis of the Schengen visa free travel?