It’s a good time to be going to Europe given the current exchange rate. I have never seen it at this level. Right now, 1 Euro equals about 98 US cents. As recently as a year ago, 1 Euro was worth almost $1.20. That’s a pretty staggering change in the exchange rate to the benefit of Americans going to Europe. Our dollars will go a lot farther now than they would have a year ago.
One of the things that is required to apply for a long term (D7) visa in Portugal is an NIF number. It is essentially a tax ID number and is required to purchase houses, cars, open bank accounts, etc. I have already applied for an NIF and hope to receive it prior to leaving for Portugal in about a month. If I receive it, I may look into opening a bank account in Portugal this trip just to have it available for future trips and certainly for the move, assuming all goes according to plan. Given the opportunity to buy cheap Euros now, it might not be a bad idea. (Except for additional reporting requirements when I file my taxes!)
As I was contemplating making this move, I knew I’d have to make sure all of my documents were up to date. I checked my Global Entry card and found out it was going to expire soon. I downloaded the renewal application and sent it off. Then I got to looking at my passport. I used to travel all the time for work and my passport was always somewhat worn and filled with additional pages that had been inserted. My latest passport was issued in 2014 and was going to expire in 2024. It was very strange because the passport was like new. I have only made one international trip since I retired in 2015 and that was my trip to New Zealand and Australia. However, given that I hope to be living overseas then, I didn’t want to have to deal with renewing my passport while living abroad so I decided to go ahead and renew it.
I had submitted the renewal for my Global Entry card using my old passport number. I thought this might mess things up, but my renewed Global Entry card showed up while my passport renewal application was still in work. Once I got my new passport, I had to log on to the Global Entry website and manually input my new passport information. However, it now appears that all of my documents are synced up and I’m ready to fly.
I remembered from the International Living Conference someone had said that some car rental companies in Portugal have age restrictions on being able to rent a car. Some companies apparently have restrictions for people over 70 years of age. They also said that an International Drivers License is required in Portugal. I called the rental company that I have the car reserved with in Portugal and asked them directly if there were any issues given my age. They told me there were no issues, so it appears that my age won’t be a problem. Of course, things could always change when we get to the rental counter, in which case, Barb will be doing all of the driving!! LOL! I’m sure it will all work out but there is no doubt, based upon past experience, that flexibility and adaptability are keys to surviving overseas
I checked my international drivers license and found out that it too had expired. They are only good for a year. Fortunately, now that we are more or less past the pandemic, the AAA offices are open again and issuing International Drivers Licenses. I trundled on down to the local office and am now in possession of a new International Drivers License.
The fact is, I don’t believe I have ever been asked for an International Driver License or, if I have, it has been so infrequent that I have forgotten. All of the documents say that it is required in Portugal so, for $20 it seems like pretty good insurance to avoid a crisis.
As this adventure draws closer it seems like every time we get an answer to one question, two more pop up. We are still not 100 percent clear on the process and timeline associated with applying for a long term (D7) visa. That said, there are companies available to help with that process. One of the nice things about belonging to a group like International Living is that they have an extensive network of expats who are more than willing to answer questions and provide referrals to all kinds of services to help with visas, real estate leases and purchases, and even things like how to move your pets overseas. (Barb has two dogs!)
No doubt there will be many hiccups and challenges along the way as we look forward to trying to establish residency in another country while simultaneously trying to divest property and set up things in the United States to support living overseas as an expat. Its all part of the adventure. The fact is that thousands of people have done exactly what we are planning to do so its not like we are setting out to be Lewis and Clark embarking on a journey into completely unknown territory. We fully expect to draw heavily upon the advice and expertise of all those who have gone before.
Like I said yesterday, when people ask, “Why are you doing this?”, my response is simply, “Why not?”