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Initial residency in Portugal

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Willum

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Apr 02, 2021 1:45 pm

(@willum)

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I am from the UK, 67 years old and have been living in Spain for several years. Within the next 7 weeks I intend to relocate to Portugal. It seems that I can move to Portugal by road with no problem and stay for a maximum of 90 days. Within that period I must register for my initial residency at a tax office (Financas) or public service office (Loja de Cidadao). Is it the case that the documents needed are :-

Proof Of Identity - UK Passport
GHIC Card
Address In Portugal - Rented Accommodation - Rental Agreement Document?

I have not had a UK address for years so I cannot get a GHIC card. How much of a problem is this? Some folk suggest that it could be possible to get a S1 document from the UK but how is that done? Some have said that the public service office will resource the S1 from the UK if the Proof Of Identity and Address In Portugal are supplied to them. Some have said that the
public service office in some towns will grant the Initial Residency document having seen only Proof Of Identity and Address In Portugal.

Please advise. What was the minimal documentation that succeeded for you and in which town was this?

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old-bloke

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Apr 03, 2021 8:14 am

Reply to

Willum

Ignoring the current border restrictions due to covid.

You could drive across and enter as a tourist initially but would need to apply to SEF for residency as soon as possible. As you must report your entry into Portugal to SEF within 3 days that would be the ideal time to apply.

Neither financas or the camara can grant you a resident's permit. Financas issue tax numbers and are nothing to do with residency. The camara can only issue resident's permits to citizens from an EU member state, the UK isn't a member state anymore so UK citizens come under third country citizen rules.

The documents required to obtain residency as a third country citizen can be found here.

You have to apply for your own S1 and GHIC from the UK authorities, Portugal cannot do this for you. I'm not convinced that a GHIC is a substitute for the required health insurance as a GHIC does not include repatriation.

x-camone

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Apr 04, 2021 8:19 am

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old-bloke

Posted by: @old-bloke

You could drive across and enter as a tourist initially but would need to apply to SEF for residency as soon as possible. As you must report your entry into Portugal to SEF within 3 days that would be the ideal time to apply...

...The documents required to obtain residency as a third country citizen can be found here.

OB - on that link, one of the required documents listed is "Valid residence visa". My understanding is that that has to be applied for before entry to Portugal.

You have to apply for your own S1 and GHIC from the UK authorities, Portugal cannot do this for you. I'm not convinced that a GHIC is a substitute for the required health insurance as a GHIC does not include repatriation.

On this, I don't think he's going to have much joy applying to the UK for S1 or G/E HIC if he moves to Portugal, is he? He would only be eligible for either of those if he was living here prior to the end of the transition period, and if he were eligible for one in Spain, that entitlement would cease once he left.

old-bloke

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Apr 04, 2021 9:36 am

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x-camone

@x-camone

It does. However it is theoretically possible to apply for residency having entered on a Schengen (Schengen waiver) visa (i.e. without a residency visa). Due to covid impacting SEF appointments I don't think that would be achievable within 90 days whereas a residency visa would be subject to the covid validity extension law.

I'm not sure whether or not the S1 can be transferred from one EU country to another, all the online info says is "if you were resident in an EU country", which they apparently were. Either way, Portugal isn't going to get an S1 for them as they seem to believe.

I have since read a post on another forum by a different user name which is so similar to this post that I suspect they may be by the same person. If so it complicates matters a lot more.

outsidethebox

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Jun 16, 2021 6:22 am

Reply to

old-bloke

@old-bloke Thanks for this info!

Any idea how the SEF backlog is looking now?

As a UK passport holder I am looking to enter next month (new automatic 90/180-days "Schengen waiver").

My gf + daughter have EU passports (we will have a 12-month registered rental agreement). So I am looking at Family Reunification route.

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old-bloke

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Jun 16, 2021 7:52 am

(@old-bloke)

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Posted by: @outsidethebox

Any idea how the SEF backlog is looking now?

Sorry I don't know but assume it is still quite large.

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outsidethebox

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Jun 16, 2021 8:09 am

Reply to

old-bloke

@old-bloke 👍🏼 thanks for the swift response.

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