sponger
American looking for information about Portugal
Forum posts
45
About me
American
Registration: 20 December 2020
Shipping furniture from California by ggriffin
Hello! We have just purchased an apartment in Lisbon. We鈥檙e very excited to embark on this new adventure. Does anyone have advice on shipping furniture from the US? Is it better and more cost effective just to purchase new furniture in ...
hello all...just came across this thread and thought I'd add our experience, having moved about three years ago from the US. When we moved to Lisbon, we ended up buying most of our furniture and electronics when we arrived. We also decided to ship ... Read More
Possible move to Portugal- Questions by rgp102
Hi Friends,I'm new here, thinking about retiring from US. Can someone tell me what is average budget for single person living in Lisbon? Any Americans move to Lisbon can you share your experiences?Thanks!Rohini
@rgp102Hello and welcome!I can give you my thoughts on both budget and experience living in Lisbon. I've been here almost three years, moved from the US, am semi-retired, and live in the Avenidas Novas area of Lisbon.Note that many others will ... Read More
Renting Management Companies (Short/Long-Term Rentals) by JohnnyPT
[b]Renting Management Companies[/b] The rental market is divided into short term (including vacation rentals) and long term. Short term is less than 12 months; it鈥檚 an option that potential expats may consider when testing the waters here, to ...
So here's another (hopefully easy) question regarding renewals.We have a three year lease term. Based on what I've read on the government site, including what is in this thread, it reads as if the Owner can not object to ("Opposition to") the first ... Read More
US Expats - investment brokerage
Here鈥檚 a question for other US expats currently living in Portugal who invest:what are you doing for your personal investments in terms of a brokerage (for funds/ETFs)? Are you keeping your US accounts (I.e. Fidelity or Schwab) active and ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
i guess it depends where you are traveling. I beleive the paper license is recognized in the US as valid. I traveled back to the US three times over the last year and was also able to rent cars in several states with the paper license. I wouldn't ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
@sponger any news on this? 7 months and still waiting -@nushivalonupdate: in late April i received and email from IMT. Per the email, they were requesting documents that I had previously provided. What they asked for was actually required and ... Read More
Travelling outside Portugal when waiting for Residence Card by James M76
HiMy entry visa into Portugal expired on 25 January 2023 and I applied for my residence card on 31 January 2023 but it still has not been processed. Does anyone know If I can legally exit and re-enter Portugal using the waiting slip\paper as proof ...
back in early '22, I was told by my lawyers that "technically", as long as I have the paper from my SEF appointment that I would be good to travel outside the Schengen and I could use the paper upon re-entry.Having said that....I personally wouldn't ... Read More
Cost of house renovations by jamescherowbrier
Hi there, New to the forum so my apologies if this question has been answered elsewhere. Myself and my partner are looking to buy a property in Central Portugal. I spent many summers of my childhood in this incredible country and for me is a great ...
apologies to the original poster as this is mostly off topic to the question...@Andrew: how was the renovation process in terms of timing? As it sounds like most of what you did was cosmetic, were there any permits/approvals required? If so, how was ... Read More
Quick tax question regarding cash vs accrual by sponger
Hello.Quick question Portugal Portugal determine income (as a Freelancer under NHR) for services billed or collected? I had a large invoice which I invoiced a client in late December and it was paid in mid-January. I know in the US, I'm taxed on a ...
great. thanks. Read More
Quick tax question regarding cash vs accrual
Hello.Quick question Portugal Portugal determine income (as a Freelancer under NHR) for services billed or collected? I had a large invoice which I invoiced a client in late December and it was paid in mid-January. I know in the US, I'm taxed on a ... Read More
IRS question by ctomac
Hi everybody,Following our first year in Portugal we have to file our first tax return. The problem is that we have not had any taxable income in 2022. So do we have to file a return? How does this work? Do we need a "dispensa de entrega da ...
where are you from? Read More
Family reunification visa by nac25
Hi,I am waiting to get an appointment with SEF for a family reunification visa but I have spent over 90 days in Portugal already so in theory can't leave the country without the visa.My understanding is there are no appointments currently available. ...
I think you're good if you stay within the Schengen as they don't check passports. I've been to Spain a couple of times (via bus) and there is no check of any kind. you should still verify. Read More
Buying property in portugal now by sdanders43
Hi,We are coming to Portugal in September and we are considering buying a property on the silver coast that we can rent until we retire in 5 years.聽 I was looking for opinions about the real estate market in Portugal right now.I am feeling like ...
I don鈥檛 understand the reasoning why property prices should come down anywhere in Europe, ...In Portugal the reason would be that many loans are on variable interest rates and many owners might not be able to pay the loans. As a result the ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
@nac25 thanks. this was bugging me that i could be wrong (as I've told this to a couple of others) so i went and found the link to IMT: ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
@sponger hi, please explain what you mean by "aren't required to do an exchange anymore...". Thanks -@Perpetual_traveleri was probably overly vague with that comment....but here is a link i quickly found about what i was ... Read More
Family reunification visa by nac25
Hi,I am waiting to get an appointment with SEF for a family reunification visa but I have spent over 90 days in Portugal already so in theory can't leave the country without the visa.My understanding is there are no appointments currently available. ...
We had this issue with our child when we came at the start of 2022. Once i had my residency card, i could come and go with no problems, but we were specifically told by our lawyers that she couldn't leave the Schengen Area. Getting an appointment ... Read More
The cost of Living in Portugal in 2023 by Mickael
Hello everyone, As every year, we invite you to share your experience on the evolution of the cost of living in the region or city where you live in order to answer future requests for information from new members of the site who would like to ...
i think people posting here is very useful in a lot of way as it shows what people are actually paying. Hopefully everyone reads this stuff with the understanding that things vary greatly.聽NUMBEO is great, especially for most items outside of ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
Would like to ask what documents needed in the order to change USA driving license to Portuguese? -@Mia5555I would be interested to know whether one has to change the driver's license at all. Wouldn't it be better to have an additional license? When ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
@sponger I did mine in Lisbon on 11 November 2022. Still waiting and they can't give me an idea where it is in the process or system. Extremely frustrating. -@Brian_SAyea...just one of those things i accept as part of living here. Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
@dougified we actually had to do the same thing two weeks ago. Note that we didn't have an appointment at IMT as we've never been able to access the online SIGA appointments. We just walked into the very crowded IMT office in Saldanha, walked to the ... Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline by sponger
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ...
Obrigado! Read More
Drivers license exchange timeline
For those who succesfully exchanged their foreign drivers licenses for a Portguese licence, I'm curious how long it took for you to recieve your new PT license? And in which IMT office?i moved to Lisbon in January '22 and had my appointment at IMT ... Read More
Education System in Portugal / International schools... by JohnnyPT
Education System in Portugal:- Public education vs Private international schools - Pisa test scores, Portugal vs OECD/EU countries, 2000 - 2018 evolution - Organisation of the education system and its structure - Organisation of private education - ...
this is a fantastic summary! 聽I wish something this complete was out there when we were looking.A clarification for anybody considering United Lisbon IS. The high school curriculum for 11th and 12th grade will be the IB. Starting in Fall 2022, ... Read More
No SEF appointments available by Cristian Toma
Hi everybody, I am a Romanian/Canadian citizen in Portugal, already got my Certificado de Registo, the rest of my family Canadian citizens (wife + 2 daughters). We have a rental contract, all of us have NIFs with Portuguese address, the girls are ...
@Cristian Toma聽Cristian - I wanted to follow up on your question below and what you learned? we are going through this same issue now with our children and not sure what the risk is? We have our residency cards in March and now awaiting for ... Read More
NHR High Value Activites verification
Hey all, I'm trying to see if anyone has any recent experience with how the PT government looks for verification on "high value activities". I work under a consulting agreement for a company but definitely work as a senior member of ... Read More
Bringing jewelry Into PT
Apologies for multiple posts鈥y phone froze and I refreshed鈥�.I guess it posted again Read More
Bringing jewelry Into PT
Hello, We are finally on our way to live in PT this week! Question that just occurred to me鈥e are getting ready to fly to Lisbon. I have a couple of expensive watches which I鈥檝e owned for years as well as some much older family ... Read More
Bringing jewelry Into PT
Hello, We are finally on our way to live in PT this week! Question that just occurred to me鈥e are getting ready to fly to Lisbon. I have a couple of expensive watches which I鈥檝e owned for years as well as some much older family ... Read More
Bringing jewelry Into PT
Hello, We are finally on our way to live in PT this week! Question that just occurred to me鈥e are getting ready to fly to Lisbon. I have a couple of expensive watches which I鈥檝e owned for years as well as some much older family ... Read More
Medis FIT insurance
Can someone please explain the Medit FIT coverage? I have a quote for the Medis coverage but there are also premiums for the Medis FIT, but I'm not sure what it covers or...even what it is. I can't find anything online that explains ... Read More
Parque das Na莽玫es - what's it like? by sponger
Looking for any info on what it's like to live around the Park of Nations. I've read several blogs about it, but was really looking to get insight from others who have lived there, or at least spent enough time there to form an ...
Susana, thanks for the info...this is very helpful. Is there much of a difference between the north side versus the south side? thx Read More
Parque das Na莽玫es - what's it like?
Looking for any info on what it's like to live around the Park of Nations. I've read several blogs about it, but was really looking to get insight from others who have lived there, or at least spent enough time there to form an ... Read More
Question about apartment rentals
question about apartment rentals in Portugal....for long-term rentals (12 mo. +), is it typical for landlords to allow tenants to paint apartments to suit their design (at the renters expense)? I realize you can likely negotiate anything, but is ... Read More
International schools around Lisbon by sponger
Hello, My wife and I are considering an early retirement from to US in/around Lisbon. We also have a 15 year old child who is finishing the freshman year of high school here in the US. We would look to put her into one of the International ...
JohnnyPT...a very belated THANK YOU for the detailed response! I would be interested in hearing if any parents coming from the US have experience with a child coming from a US high school and then going to a British-based curriculum in grades ... Read More
International schools around Lisbon
Hello, My wife and I are considering an early retirement from to US in/around Lisbon. We also have a 15 year old child who is finishing the freshman year of high school here in the US. We would look to put her into one of the International ... Read More