At what point do you give up on waiting for a response from a “professional” and move on?  I’ve had communication with a couple of “professionals” who have dropped from the face of the earth.  or do Portuguese “professionals” need constant reminders ..read more

Hello, my name is Peter.  My wife's name is Valerie.  We went on a trip to Portugal in 2022 and loved it.  We are going again this October.  The idea is to scout places where we would enjoy living. We don't do well if it is very hot, so Northern Portugal is on the radar.  I like the mountains very much.  We have lived in Calgary, Alberta for over 17 years and I absolutely loved it, so being close to the ocean is not a priority.  Now we live North West of London, Ontario.  We would like to be in a place that is fun and has or is close to a large expat com ..read more

Hello!   My son turns 18 this month and wants to obtain Portuguese citizenship.  The He has lived in as a resident in Portugal for 14 years and has attended Portuguese school for his entire schooling life.   The https://justica.gov.pt/ says he needs to provide "A document that proves that you know the Portuguese language sufficiently.".  Included in their list is: a certificate of qualification from a Portuguese public, private or cooperative educational establishment I'm wondering if this includes one of his school exam certificates, or perhaps the document that shows hi ..read more

Millenium BCP will not close my account unless I go to my branch in Braga.  I live in the U.S. and don't fancy traveling just to close my account.  They keep charging me 8 euros/month.  Any suggestions?   ..read more

Hi there, so glad I've found this forum. This is probably going to sound like a familiar story, but my family and I visited last summer, fell in love with the country, but more specifically the Porto area and wondered if we could make a life there. We thought it was typical wanderlust, but have not been able to shake the connection here nearly a year later. Currently living in Nashville, TN with kids in 6th and 9th grade and thinking of our future. While a full on move to Portugal right now seems unrealistic, we are considering buying a property that we could rent out 10 months a year and be a ..read more

One of the annoying differences between the U.S. and Portugal is that no one has screens on their windows.  Much as I'm trying to accommodate myself to the Portuguese way of life, I'm rooted in my original culture on this one.  I wonder if anyone else has confronted this and managed to get them.  I'm imagining (truthfully, I haven't started researching seriously yet) that it's going to be hard to find a source of screens and people who know how to install them ..read more

Hi, we have a property in the Castelo Novo/Fundao area, and are having real trouble finding an architect in the area, or even a builder who we could work with to take care of some renovations on our property. We are still living in the UK, and visiting from time to time just to check the property, so can arrange to meet with architects, builders. Once we have the property to a liveable state, we then hope to move over permanently.  We've had quotes from several architects in the past, but the cost was out of our budget. So if anyone knows of a good, reliable Architect or builder in the Fu ..read more

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUJ_8wdyK4&t=1963s ..read more

Hello, not sure where this topic fits, but I thought I’d start here.  First off, I’m addressing forum members who have FIRST-HAND  experience with anti-Semitism in this region… if you know, you know. And secondly, I’m not seeking political opinions on any conflicts in the Middle East! I want to know what it’s like for a secular Jew in Porto, Braga and/or the Douro Valley right now. I recently returned from a scouting trip and and fell in love with the area, came home and started down the D-7 path, then put a screeching halt to it after hearing about acts of synagogue vandalism, acc ..read more

Bom dia, expats :) We recently got our CRUE 5 year temporary residence document, meaning we can stay in Portugal for a good 5 years, which is great! Very happy with how smooth that went. However when looking into it a bit more, I get the impression that if we move within the 5 years, (which we plan on doing) we would have to apply for the CRUE again in the next place we end up. Is that correct? If so, is there a chance that we might potentially get disapproved there, due to the difference in requirements we hear about between different municipalities? I was hoping the CRUE would give us more o ..read more