I Decided I Wanted to Live in Portugal

I Was Thinking About Making a Move

I had taken many trips to Europe and I loved it
Vacations are not a reason to move, even if you think they are
Several visits to different parts of Portugal
I took extended trips (more than one month)
Made a list of things to consider
- cost of living
- meeting the residency requirement
- speaking Portuguese
- …and many many more

I Decided to Make the Move - Now What?

I attended a few seminars. One that I attended in New York City, I visited the booth for Plan B Outbound Mirgration Consultancy. He was, seriously, the first human with whom I spoke who took the time to answer all my question (and I had many!) What options were available to me, how much would it cost just to subject myself to the process, what is passive income, can I work at all, could I start by applying for one visa and change my mind and pursue another, how long does the process take…

I had google answers to many of my questions but… you know, the internet (nine people say it works one way and the tenth says something completely different…) I was confident before this seminar that I could navigate the process alone, but I also read tha the process was dynamic and changing. Also, that the five years of residency might become ten at some point. I will willing to pay for someone else dealing with all of this and for my peace of mind.

The final step was when I convinced myself that this is really what I wanted to do! Everything else just fell into place

What IS the Process

I think the process is basically straightforward, but as they say, the devil is in the details. Again, my advice is to let someone else handle all of that. It is going to cost money if I decided to move to Portugal, what is a little bit more for a smoother process.

(again, here, I will define what I had to do and perhaps flesh out more of what those others did for me…if I in fact even know…)

30 minute consultation with Calvin from Outbound Mirgration Consultancy
provide documentation (passport, social security cared, drivers license, utility bill, name of parents)
at this point I was also introduced to the NSM Lawyers and had to sign a retainer document
partial payment was made
At some point about now, the NSM Lawyers submitted my application for the visa and got me a tax-id (NIF) which is required to pretty much do anything else.
When the NIF was issued, the documentation was forwarded to me
I had to open up a Portuguese Bank account using the NIF (note, another post, this was, at least for me a horrible process!)
And of course, once (finally?!) the bank account was opened, you need to fund it.
Funding the bank account (another post) should be about €10.500,00 (minimum monthly cost of living x 12)
Waiting for confirmation of an appointment with the consulate (which is now just an appointment for VFS.Global)
Once you have done all of the above and received an appointment, my FBI background check was scheduled.
The apostille stamped confirmation of a successful background check is only good for 90 days, do not schedule until you have a VFS appointment
I had to go to a local post office to get electronically fingerprinted (required for the background check)
Now it is just prepare and make certain you have all the information you need to bring with you for your VFS visit.

What Helped Make the Process Easier

Resources & References

this is a link to another post: resources and references

this is a link to a snippet:

D7 Visa Checklist

Passport
Bank statements
Medical insurance
etc.

NSM Lawyers

Contact Information:
Phone: +351 215 847 264
Email: geral@nsmadvogados.pt
Visit: www.nsmadvogados.pt
Address: Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo, 21, 2º 1050 116 Lisboa

Outbound Migration Consultancy

Contact Information:
click here to request free 30 minute consult
Email: planb@outboundmigration.com
Visit: outboundmigration.com

USA
Phone: +1 424 404 9399
Address: 8383 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 800 Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Canada
Phone: +1 604 200 3560
Address: 230-1290 Howe St Vancouver, BC V6Z0C2

VFS.Global

Contact Information:
Visit: VFS.Global

VFS Global application centers
Houston: 1001 Texas Avenue, Suite 1020, Houston, TX 77002.
Miami: 2655 S. Le Jeune Rd, Penthouse 1A, Coral Gables, FL 33134.
New York: 128 E. 32nd Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016.
San Francisco: 642 Harrison Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Washington D.C.: 1025 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005.