We’re back in Portugal “officially” this time with our residence visas. Initially we can stay 4 months. The next big step is to meet with the immigration office & that residence permit will allow us to stay 2 years. Since the immigration office (formerly SEF, now IRN) is undergoing a major switchover, we didn’t get our immigration appointment pre-assigned so we’ll need to call to schedule it. (Easier said than done I hear!)

Beyond having fun, what else will we need to tackle next?
📋 Finish setting up our flat.
📋 Get drivers license (we’ll occasionally rent a car to go exploring)
📋 Register to become tax citizens in Portugal.
📋 Apply for favorable tax treatment if we’re still allowed (the NHR program is…quite understandably…being phased out to eliminate tax benefits the locals don’t get).
📋 Register with local health center & get healthcare number & buy private insurance (for waaaay lower than I was paying in US).

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

18/

We have 6 boxes of stuff being shipped to our new home in Portugal. We chose Seven Seas, because my stepson had used them. Well, I learned a lesson today — check the shipping routes.

They picked up our boxes 6 weeks ago and they’ve been in NY since then awaiting departure. I checked the tracker today and was excited to see they’re loaded and on their way….

…to Hong Kong. Which is a VERY long way in the wrong direction from Europe. So I called Seven Seas and they say every shipment goes through their main hub. The boxes will take a month just to get from New York to Hong Kong. Then they’ll be headed for Europe. To be fair, the time estimate was 2-4 months but I’m still bummed about it. 🫤

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

17/

We’re back in the USA briefly. Since our residence visa applications were approved, the next step was to send in our passports so the Embassy can stamp them & then we’ll enter Portugal that way.

We wanted to drop off & pick up our passports in Wash DC, but we were told nope. So, yesterday we used Fedex to overnight our passports.

Fedex did a great job today…but it took 3 delivery attempts + 2 phone calls.

Attempt 1: At 8:00 am, delivery failed because the office doesn’t open until 8:30. By default, it would be tomorrow before they tried again but when I called Fedex they were great about saying they’ll try again.

Attempt 2: At 10:15, delivery failed again. Something about a security issue. I called Fedex & once again they agreed to try again. Now I’m getting a little more nervous because the embassy is only open 8:30-1:00.

Attempt 3: Success! Big relief. 😅

We should get them back within the next couple of days. 🤞🤞

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

16/

Update on the international move

We are flying out in 48 hours!

✔️ Closing on the house complete. The last 4 days have been intense--we've been on top of things and yet still we had a rush at the end to finish prepping the house for the buyers. (Man I wish the garage had been that clean for us…heh heh.)

✔️ Sold our vehicle today to Carmax. That was easy.

✔️ Almost all subscriptions & such are cancelled. Got a couple more to do tomorrow.

✔️ Filed an address change with the post office. Paid a little extra to have mail forwarded for 18 months just in case.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

16/