Residency in Portugal
 

Your input will very much be appreciated.

We applied and received the "Certificado de registo de Cidadao da Uniao Europeia)" for Portugal in Dec-2019, but due to personal and covid circumstances, we have not yet moved permanently to Portugal.

Question - are there any restrictions that we need to be aware of? For example, can we moved there anytime we want, or will be restricted by how long we can stay (i.e. the 90 in 180 day rule)?

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

If you want to be considered resident in Portugal with a view to both benefitting from the provisions in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and obtaining permanent residence status, you'll need to abide by the applicable allowable absences criteria.

Those are :
Act 37/2006 - the right of Union citizens and respective family members to move and reside freely within national territory

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Thanks Eric
can you confirm my thoughts, that under article 10 v 4....A resident need only live in Portugal one day /night every six months to retain residency?

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

10.4 only applies to EU citizens, UK citizens with protected rights under the withdrawal agreement have to spend at least 6 months of every year in Portugal to keep those protected rights during the first 5 years of residency. Those on permanent residency only lose residency if they leave Portugal for more than 5 years.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

I wasn't aware there was a difference between the provisions in Portugal's Act quoted above and the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement on this point for holders of the initial registration certificate, since both specifically reference the fact that they are in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC.

Here it is from the WA :
And Article 16(3) of that Directive reads :

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

The PT law says no consecutive absence of more than 6 months. So you would comply with the wording of the PT law by just spending one day in Portugal every 6 months as atlasthemonk suggested. Whereas the EU law omits the word consecutive and therefore equates to you must spend at least 6 months of every year in Portugal.
The loss of the word consecutive between the two requirements is what creates a subtle difference.
They are both 2004/38 compliant because 2004/38 does allow member states to have more generous requirements than those specified in it, and I think we can agree that Portugal's inclusion of the word consecutive in their law that adopted 2004/38 into national law makes their requirement more generous than the 2004/38 requirement.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Or it could just be a drafting error in whoever drew up the document, and that's the point on which a lawyer would argue.

Been there got the t shirt in employment law where the drafted document was incorrectly put into law.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Possibly, but until it's actually tested in a court of law we can only follow what is written.

Either way it's a moot point as from 01/01/21 our future absences are governed by what is written in the Withdrawal Agreement.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Maybe so but there is provision in there for member states to be more generous than what's set out.

And on SEF's website the following appear :
and
RESIDENCE RIGHTS IN PORTUGAL FOR UNITED KINGDOM NATIONALS AFTER THE UNITED KINGDOM’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION (BREXIT)

I am, however, highly sceptical that the phrasing actually allowed or allows one a claim to continuous residence on just 2 days' presence a year.

That said, I know there are posters here in possession of these 5 year certificates who believe that after January, as long as their absences are under 6 months' duration, they can comply despite not spending as much as 6 months annually in total here. And remain tax resident elsewhere.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Very true, but I chose to not mention that proviso in the Withdrawal Agreement as every joint press release, along with individual press releases and videos, by SEF and the British Embassy in Portugal are all stating you need to spend at least 6 months each year in Portugal after 31/12/20 to maintain residency rights.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

OK, I'll go with that, especially as it's what I'd always (apparently incorrectly) assumed ought to be the case anyway.

So back to the OP's question. He could (possibly) have an acceptable "exceptional circumstance" to cover a year's absence (:unsure:) but if he's not back within a year of the day he was last present, he'd have to start again. Or would he have to be back before the end of the transition period no matter when he was last present (which isn't clear from his post - he says he registered in Dec 2019 but not how long he stayed after that)?

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

We can't answer the OP's question as we don't know what periods they spent in and out of Portugal since 2019, or what the reason for their absence was and if it is one of the permitted reasons.
The safest option for the OP would be to get back here permanently before 31/12/20. If they can achieve that the worst case scenario is their 5 year initial period would start from 2020 rather than 2019.

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Resurrecting / jumping on to this thread
Q1 any update or conformation of the withdrawal agreement / small print on the six month period or one day in six month requirement ?
Q2 with the covid travel restrictions in and out of UK and Portugal, do you think "a maximum of twelve consecutive months for important reasons" may apply


"Continuity of residence shall not be affected by temporary absences not exceeding a total of six months a year, or by absences of a longer duration for compulsory military service, or by one absence of a maximum of twelve consecutive months for important reasons such as pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, study or vocational training, or a posting in another Member State or a third country.e of twelve month for "

Re: Residency in Portugal
 

Assuming you have a property in Portugal the just change your fiscal address to the Portuguese address, see what they do, pay tax here or not