NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Apologies for bringing this up again, trying to work out how it may impact my relocation to PT (I'll keep it brief).

My wife & I are English, also holding Australian citizenship. We will be in Portugal this July viewing property/locations but most likely will not be ready to move before October 31st. We intend to apply for NHR, do people think Brexit (worse-case no deal) will impact NHR applications post-Oct, and/or is there anything I can do in the mean time to get the ball rolling. We're currently based in Panama so we cannot spend much time in Portugal this year. TIA

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Brexit, if & when & in whatever form will have no direct effect on an application for NHR status. To apply for NHR status you must first become a registered resident. Becoming a resident may become more difficult for a Brit, post-Brexit, but there isn't really anything you can do to make the residency process easier other than move to Portugal before Brexit, or discover a route to another (non-British) EU citizenship.

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

DOES the applicants country of current tax residence affect qualification for NHR.?.

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

No, although income arising from tax havens doesn't qualify for exemption from PT tax if that's what you're getting at.

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Only in that it mustn't have been Portugal during the preceding 5 years.

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Panama oddly enough is not considered a tax haven by PT, more so Channel Islands, Isle of Man etc. Not that many expats living in Panama earn their money locally, it's a 'developing' country...

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Yes it was .

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

:focus: PT & Panama have a double tax agreement; it's not considered a haven lol!

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Thanks Richard, that's my understanding too. It's unlikely I will be registering as a PT resident pre-October so I guess we need to see how the land lies once this mess is sorted; what PT offer UK citizens following Brexit. There is the Golden Visa option as a dual-citizen (none'EU) but the costs of going down that route are far greater than NHR and probably something I wouldn't consider as a result. Guess we just wait and see...

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Just thinking aloud : is there any reason you can't pay a short visit this summer or even in October and start renting ( eg somewhere cheap as a basis for looking for a more permanent home in due course ) ?
By October you should be able to get quite cheap three month rentals in emptying seaside towns.

Once you have a rental contract, register at the local Ca^mara, open a bank account with your Portuguese address, obtain an NIF ~I would have thought that constitutes establishing residence, but being 'resident' does not stop you returning to Panama or wherever for however long ?

Re: NHR & Brexit (sorry!)
 

Thanks riv, this was kind of the angle I was looking at too, but the more I look into it, the less likely it is to work for me. But yep, in normal circumstances I could do exactly as you say and then return to current location in order to tie up any loose ends and move back to PT.