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Hi, my name is Vanessa, We lived and worked in France for 17 years and then moved to Spain, we have spent 4 years in Spain and have a temporary residents permit, we have decided that Spain is not for us, we are a couple in our 50’s originally from the UK, we are early retirees, we are looking for tips and advice on how to obtain a temporary residents permit, we are looking to rent long term possibly for 1 to 2 years before buying, any tips and advice would be great. Thanks Vanessa
Hi, and welcome to the forum.
You'll have to apply for a residency permit, requesting a visa (D7, as you're retired) at the local portuguese consulate of your country of residence (Spain).
You can check several threads here, namely: https://expatsportugal.com/community/residency-visa-citizenship/d7-process-confusion-general-questions/
and see https://vistos.mne.gov.pt/en/national-visas/general-information/type-of-visa#fixed-residency
@antonio_f I am a little confused, I looked on my Portuguese consulate in Spain and I can not find anywhere to apply for a D7 visa. I am also reading (which may be wrong) that as a Spanish citizen I do not need to apply for a D7 in Spain before arriving in Portugal. Do you know if this is correct? The more I read the more confused I get. 🙂
@vanessa1964 Spanish citizens, like any other EU citizens, don't need a visa to live in any EU country, including Portugal. That part of your info was missing, that's why my previous answer was not accurate...
I would be interested to hear why you are choosing Portugal instead of Spain or France.
@jeanne After living and working in France for 17 years we found it was getting very expensive i.e taxes and the cost of living, we loved living in France, we decided to Move to Spain after researching where we would like to go in Spain, we love Spain and the Spanish people, but the bureaucracy here is a nightmare, we never had any issues in France but many expats here are finding the same problem.
You (I believe) have Spanish residency, not citizenship. If you were a citizen, you have free movement through the EU, as a resident your access to the EU outside of Spain is subject to Schengen rules. You obviously moved to Spain pre-Brexit. To now move to Portugal you need a visa, D7 being the most attainable.
