This is just a test blog, more or less, using my iPad and keyboard to make sure everything works before I head over the pond to Portugal in a few days.
Things are moving along and, if Barb and I like what we see and experience in Portugal, we will start the very challenging process of applying for long term visas. One of the most challenging parts of the whole process is that you have to be in your home country (or at least out of Portugal) when you apply for the long term visa. However, in order to apply for a long term visa, you have to show you have at least a one year lease for a place in Portugal. It is quite common to have to pay for a lease on a property in Portugal for 3 to 5 months while your visa is being processed here in the States before you can actually move to Portugal.
And that is only step one. Once you are in Portugal with your long stay visa, you have to have an appointment with a government entity, the SEF, in order to finalize your residency permit/status. They are quite backed up these days so until that appointment occurs, you are basically trapped in Portugal. Those appointments now can be 7 or 8 months out. It’s a bit of a conundrum but people get through it and I’m sure we will as well.
The good news is, there is a very robust expat community in Portugal with all kinds of online forums with helpful hints as to how to navigate the process. Even so, when you factor in selling houses, applying for visas, moving, etc, I think 2023 will be a challenging year!!
We have completed step 1 which was to request an NIF which is essentially a Portuguese tax ID number. It is required to open a bank account and a bank account is required to apply for a long term visa/residency. We both just received those so the next step will be to open bank accounts in Portugal.
This upcoming trip is basically to get the lay of the land and see which part of the country we might want to park in. We have some initial ideas but those could change. We are anticipating probably another trip next year to focus on the area where we decide to live with the idea of signing a lease on a condo/apartment/house. Once that is done, let the visa process begin.
I have already met with a realtor here in Bozeman so i have some idea of what my place is worth in today’s market. The big question will be, what will the market look like next year when I decide to pull the trigger.
That’s about it for today. I just wanted to see if this works since I intend to be blogging during our travels. Stay tuned. We will be arriving in Lisbon a week from today.