About kawazaki

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Portugal: Cascais vs Lagos:

Most Americans are not obnoxious and I am doing my part to let the Portuguese people know we are OK. We tend to be impatient which could mean obnoxious to some.

Portugal: Electronics - US to PT:

I moved to Portugal in Nov 2016 and bought some electronics to ship with my household goods. I purchased 2ea 1000W and 1ea 2000W REGULATED voltage converters for my 60"smart TV, computer acessories, and misc electronics tools that would cost me a fair amount of money if I could find them here. I also purchased a multi-country 3D, HD, Blue ray player to play my USA DVDs and Portugal DVDs. I also bought a PAL to NTSC video converter to watch cable TV here. Everything works fine and I am glad I bought them I have not seen the equivalent here. Hope this helps

Portugal: Expat communities in the Algarve:

I moved to Sobreda, Portugal from California in Nov 2016 and am doing all I can to assimilate. Knowing the customs and language makes living here much easier and educational. I think I am the only American in this area.

Portugal: Importing a car from the USA:

I had a nice Honda Prelude that I decided not to ship because of the shipping costs and also I would not be able to have it serviced or repaired here in Portugal. I have been here for about 4 months and I actually saw a 1965 GTO yesterday driving on the street. It sounded like it had a 6 cylinder engine. Each to his own.

Portugal: Driver's license:

Yes, a certified copy of your driving record, a letter from a Portugal doctor, and you must surrender your USA license at IMTT. I received my Portugal license in the mail last month after a short wait. The clerks at the Lisbon IMTT were not exactly sure how to handle an American license since we do not show the day we received our first license and the license classifications are different. I had a California license for car and mortorcycle(CM1) which is equal to the highest class here. Beginning this year(2017), you might need to take a CPR class also. Seems silly to me but we are in a different country and part of the EU.

Portugal: FBI background check:

I rarely answer any requests here but I will tell you what I did with the FBI background check since our paths are similar. I moved from Long Beach, CA in November and have sucessfully become a resident with bank accounts, VISA card, drivers license, public health care, USA SSA retirement deposited to my Portugal bank account. It has been a real challenge. Regarding the FBI, you only need to write "Retired" in the employer and address space. I waited 18 weeks for my background check to arrive. The SF consulate specified that the report be on non-tamperable paper and the FBI report has a watermark to satisfy that requirement. The consulate required me to sent them the original report. One thing you need to do that the consulate did not tell me is get a certified driving record from the DMV on-line to obtain a driving license here. You have to mail in the completed form with payment. That will take a few weeks. Good luck on your move.

Portugal: Best month:

I spent 2 months in Almada/Sobreda to complete my residency requirements, open bank accounts, and to have an initial introduction to living here. I experienced great weather and very hot weather. I saw things I like and things I do not like and decided to move here in November. I think a person needs to spend at least 1 year to make a good decision about staying. As long as a person can accept that living here is different than the USA, it opens you eyes to living in a different country.

Portugal: SEF office experiance:

Since I only know what was involved in attaining my first year residency VISA, I can only speak for myself as an American. First, Before I went to Portugal on a 2 month trip, I had to have my 120 day extended VISA from a consulate here which was a huge challenge. Fortunately, I stayed with a Portuguese citizen who helped greatly and had an appointment with SEF 3 days after I arrived. I had to use SEF in Setubal and initially they refused to talk to me unless I was fluent in Portuguese. My friend is well educated and persistent and convinced them to process me. I think they were partially convinced because of all of the documentation I had. I notice a few foreigners with a paid facilitator taking them through the process. As far as going to SEF and "asking for a residency VISA", that is not realistic. I do not know about Canada, but governments are not known for efficiency or speed so that sounds impossible. Have your extended 120 VISA before you go to Portugal. I managed to obtain my 1 year VISA, IRS number, health care, bank accounts, and nothing was easy. Please do a lot of research before you leap into a complicated endeavor.

Portugal: Why I joined:

Why I joined? To find helpful information for my quest to move to Portugal. I did not join to read squabbles between children. People, keep it civil.

Portugal: Visa application fee?:

Hi. I went a lengthy and frustrating process to obtain my 120 day extended Visa from the San Francisco consulate. There was a processing fee and after SEF had approved my submission, there was an issuance fee. Then I Fedex'd my passport to the consulate and they affixed a visa stamp. My contact in Portugal made an appointment with SEF to begin the residency process. soon after I arrived. SEF had a issuance fee. I had all my documents approved before I went to Portugal and had my ID card, IRS number, social security, bank accounts, and Visa card withing 2 weeks which is probably a record. Be prepared to deal with multiple government agencies and they are as confused and slow as here in the USA. Maybe more. English is not as common as advertised either.

Date Joined:

1/21/2015

Total Posts:

24

Posts/Day:

0.03