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Portugal: Residency Visa:
The current overload of applications and work slow-down (a grievance) has lengthened the waiting period to about 3 or 4 months. You know that you can travel the Schengen areas during that time and have two returns to the US also.
Portugal: What is the benefit of having a fiscal representative?:
You should experience a high number of responses saying "NOTHING". There is no benefit. Some people feel less confident in doing these things themselves and do seek external help. Getting your tax ID (NIF) is very simple and requires nothing other than your passport. You could hire a local attorney to help you for 75 euros at most. More private apartment owners are asking for a co-signer or a fiscal representative, but that can also be done without a fee. I can see no benefit of the fiscal rep agreement you're being offered.
Portugal: Cascais vs Lagos:
Cascais offers easy access to some of Portugal's most beautiful areas, such as Sintra, Obidos and Lisbon. All are an easy train or bus ride from Cascais. Lagos and indeed the entire Algarve are a more beach-centric, built-up tourist area. Negative comments about the Algarve will always reference the preponderance of British residents...they tend to overwhelm the area in the summers with young drunken British kids being such a problem that the Portuguese police have required British police to come to the Algarve at certain high-season times to patrol their own citizens. Also, British residents are known for not tipping, having higher complaint rates and being rude. Simple truth--not everyone is like that but reputationally that's the overall impression.
Portugal: Residence Permit Renewal:
Have done it several times and helped a few dozen people do it, as well. There is an article on this site about renewing the residence permit, posted by Susan Stults Korthase. All details there. Currently, most SEF offices are asking people to go online to get appointments. This is due to their work slowdown (grievance). Try the phone number and, if that doesn't answer, use the online booking.
Portugal: Tax ID Number? lawyer vs solicitor vs agent:
For what purpose do you need your NIF prior to being here? To rent or buy? All one needs do is take one's passport to their Financias office and ask for the NIF...might take an hour or two but there is no charge, and it's easy.
Portugal: Los Angeles to Portugal:
Every day, another post (here or on Facebook) from someone who has 'done the research' but still asks us "what will the weather be like next week when I arrive" or "can you drink the water". Please, we ALL WANT to help, but it's a lot more interesting, less tedious, more fulfilling when when we know we're helping the help-able.
Portugal: How does the Non-Habitual Resident Tax Scheme work?:
Re: NHR--Can you open this? If not, I will cut and paste into an attachment
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/IRS_RNH_EN.pdf
Portugal: Potential places to live:
To Auburngrad82's post about areas in the Silver Coast...you're smart to rule out the Algarve and have lots of options in your preferred zone. Check out the blog by Julie Dawn Fox for insights on the towns in your focus area; she travels, photographs and writes about them all. The further north you go, the more you'll be exposed to cooler and wetter winters (altho weather patterns aren't that consistent any more), but you'll also find less costly housing. Shops, stores, restaurants, beaches and great people are all easily accessible by foot in the towns along the coastline. Coimbra, on the interior, is full of life due to the University and Braga and Guimares are stunning. Obidos is primarily a tourist spot. You'll find good local public transit (buses) and bus/train routes running north and south for easy, relaxing and inexpensive transit to other towns and Lisbon.
Portugal: Portuguese Golden Visa:
A couple of members have posted recently about their interest in the Golden Visa. It seems that they aren't accessing older posts that have the depth of detail they need. It remains a strong program and has been expanded in the aftermath of the scandal of 2015. However, that doesn't mean that the attorneys and firms consulting with people in the Algarve are necessarily up to the job. Not trying to give any firm more business, but the most reputable firm in the Algarve is Portugal Property (portugalproperty.com). It is essential in Portugal to work with tested, licensed, knowledgeable firms. A lot of incorrect information and untrained resources are out there--it DOES matter that you get the right answers, not just someone's guess or experience!
An update on the success of the program follows: "The inflow of funds into Portugal attracted by the country’s ‘golden visa’ fast-track residency programme for big foreign investors rose 87.5 percent last year to €874 million, according to figures released by the SEF Immigration Office.
Total investment under the Residence Authorisations for Investment activity (ARI), as the scheme is officially known, was just over 875 million euros against a figure of 466 million euros in 2015.
Overall, 1,414 ‘golden visas’ were issued under the programme.
In December alone, 87 million euros came into the country, up 83.8 percent from the November total of €47 million and up 47 percent from December 2015.
Of the 2016 total, the vast majority was in the form of property purchases, the threshold for which is €500,000.
In December, 141 residence permits were issued, 131 of them for property purchases and 10 for capital transfers.
Of the property purchases, four were for urban renovation projects - which have a lower threshold of €250,000 - bringing the 2016 total to nine.
The first such permit was issued in July and the other four in October, after new rules came into effect in September 2015 offering special deals for urban rehabilitation and investment in science.
In cumulative terms, since the ‘golden visa’ scheme was launched on 8 October 2012, total investment to December is 2.567 billion euros, of which 2.316 billion euros is for property purchases and 251 million euros for capital transfers.
China is by far the country with the most citizens to have secured permits under the scheme, with 3,050 so far, followed by Brazil with 247, Russia with 148, South Africa with 137 and Lebanon with 72.
Since 2013, a further 6,637 residence permits have been issued to family members of golden visa holders: 576 in 2013, then 2,395 in 2014, then 1,322 in 2015 and now 2,344 in 2016.
In 2015, investment under the golden visa scheme slumped to about half the level of 2014, after a criminal investigation into suspected fraud in its administration prompted a crackdown and the programme’s suspension for several months."
Portugal: Driver's license:
What you need to get your PT drivers license: A record from your state's Department of Transportation, notarized by the officials ($25). You need a statement from your Portuguese physician that you are healthy to drive a car, cycle or both. This is done on a specific form. You then go to the IMTT in Portugal, fill out the application and get your license. Obviously I cant answer as to what happens if your US record isn't clean. Look up IMTT online. Their website usually doesn't work but you'll get their email address and they respond well to email.
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