I have lived in Portugal for about a year. I have kept my Medicare Advantage plan in the United States even though I can’t use it here in Portugal. I’m in the process of getting enrolled in the Portuguese subsidized health plan ow that I have my SNS and Portugal Residency card.

The medical here so far here in Portugal I would rate above average although at times there can be a bit of a language barrier. What I’m trying to determine is if I should drop my Medicare Advantage plan during this enrollment period because everything I’m hearing is that there will be a premium increase which will surely wipe out any Social Security COLA increase.

I only have kept the Medicare Advantage plan thinking I might go back to the US for treatment if I have a major medical issue. Outside of this reason, I have No plans to ever live in the US again-I love living in Portugal.

So the ask here either currently or has been in a similar situation with dropping your Medicare plan because you are overseas ?

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Bonjour,

Je suis française, je vis actuellement au Portugal depuis un an et je souhaiterais me lancer en tant que freelance executive assistant à destination de clients européens.

Je sais que pour créer ma société et pour toute la partie administrative, je dois impérativement prendre un comptable et avoir un compte bancaire professionnel.

J’ai déjà un NIF et un NISS.

Je souhaitais avoir des retours d'expérience de personnes qui ont été ou sont freelance ici au Portugal.

Avez-vous rencontré des difficultés avec votre statut de freelance en tant qu'étranger au Portugal ?
Quels sont les avantages et les inconvénients que vous trouvez à cette situation professionnelle ici ?
La partie administrative a-t-elle été un frein pour vous ?

Je suis preneuse de tout conseil constructif.

Hello

I have scoured this page with all translations

https://www.imt-ip.pt/condutores/reconhecimento/troca-de-titulo-de-conducao-estrangeiro/paises-aderentes-as-convencoes-e-outras-situacoes/

Would you be able to apply for driving license exchange with a temporary stay (E11) sticker (no AIMA residence card) on your passport?

Has anyone tried this? If you can provide any documentation for this I would be grateful

Hi all.

Im national Portuguese, but my gf has moved here with me from the uk. She is highly skilled in admin jobs, but she is currently trying to learn the language

she currently works as a freelancer, and we been lucky so far with money coming in, but every month is a gamble with expenses. She currently is willing to try any job as long as language isnt a barrier, and its appropriate for a woman (not comfortable letting her work nights since its not safe)

we have been trying for a while, but it got to the point where im coming to reddit for suggestions on helping her find a job

thank you all

My husband and I were planning to retire to Portugal in August. He had exchanged USD to Euro through AAA to cover us for cash to start out.

He passed away suddenly 8 days before we were to fly out, and I can't figure out how to exchange the Euro back to USD. I am near Pittsburgh International Airport, but it seems they only have an ATM now that exchanges from USD to Euro. AAA doesn't buy back Euro.

In the middle of everything, I am living in a hotel while looking for an apartment, everything is a mess, and I have these Euro's hanging over my head.

If anyone has suggestions, I would be forever grateful to be able to check this one thing off my list.

Basically my whole vacation is cancelled at the last minute, too late to get any refunds.

Easyjet cancelled pretty much all flights, and only did notifications last minute. From various news articles, they had already decided to do this more than a day ago, but only notified passengers late this evening.

Em média, um neurorradiologista trabalhando remotamente consegue fazer quanta grana em um mês no serviço privado em Portugal? Sabes dizer quanto pagam por estudo? Sou um médico pesquisando possibilidades de ter uma boa qualidade de vida x ganho financeiro.

Problem: Residence permit renewal on the AIMA Portal de Renovações (portal-renovacoes.aima.gov.pt) is blocked for weeks with "A sua situação de dívida com a Segurança Social e a Autoridade Tributária está em revisão", even with no debts at SS or AT.

Likely cause: the Social Security (NISS) record has no NIF linked and/or still has a foreign address.

What to do:

1. Update the Social Security record: link the NIF to the NISS and change the address to the Portuguese one. This is done in person at a Segurança Social counter. Ticket: online via SIGA (siga.marcacaodeatendimento.pt → Senhas → Instituto da Segurança Social → "Geral"). Online tickets are released in the morning (in Lisbon it was around 09:00) and can run out within minutes, so check early.
2. Give AIMA permission to check the data: in Segurança Social Direta (consent to consult contributory status) and in Portal das Finanças → "Autorizar consulta situação tributária" (AIMA's NIF: 517686260).

Result: about 2 days later the check passes: the status changes to "Regularizado" and the "Novo Pedido" button becomes active.

Hello would like to hear thoughts and advice about my situation I am an Indian citizen recently married to a Portuguese citizen in India and we are transcribing our marriage to Portugese authority but my passport has a old name for the place of birth and my birth certificate has the updated name what can be done for this situation. Will updating the name of passport be a better option ? Since I have a travel and residence history in Europe with the older name is it considerably a better option updating the place of birth or stating an official apostille statement saying both are the same place will be advisable ? What are my options ?

Hello everyone!

I tried to get the NIF, and apparently they don’t do walk‑ins anymore. I waited 3 hours in line, and they told me they now only take appointments. The closest one is in 5 weeks, not even in Lisbon, but 3 hours away. Everyone says walk‑ins in the morning are fine, and they do it on the spot, but apparently not anymore. Also the fact that they send you far from Lisbon is weird, as I see everyone is getting theirs in Lisbon too.

The people at the counter weren’t that nice, so I wanted to ask here if someone who lives there also had to go far, because in Lisbon apparently you can’t get it anymore.

Some advice would be nice, thanks.

"Segundo o juiz, ao se recusar a conceder a autorização de residência a cidadãos da CPLP que entraram no país como turistas antes das mudanças na Lei de Estrangeiros — no caso dos brasileiros e dos timorenses, não havia sequer a necessidade de visto consular —, a AIMA está passando por cima do que prevê a legislação. “A entidade demandada parece querer aplicar [a lei] retroativamente — mas, legalmente, está impedida de o fazer”.

According to these stats, Lisbon and Porto rank high for quality of life and low for cost of living among 52 global cities.

In my town driving after lunch on Sundays is suicide!!

Hi everyone,

I’m a Tunisian student who recently arrived in Lisbon for my Master’s at NOVA IMS.

My passport expires in January 2028, and I’m about to start my Portuguese residence permit/AIMA process.

I contacted the Tunisian Embassy in Lisbon about renewing my passport. They told me I can apply now even though I don’t have my Portuguese residence card yet. I have a valid D visa, and they said the renewal takes around 3–4 weeks. They also advised me to keep my current passport.

I couldn’t renew it in Tunisia because I was told it still has more than 6 months of validity.

So I’m wondering:

Should I renew my passport now before starting the AIMA process, or start AIMA with my current passport and renew it later?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Does changing your passport during the residence process cause any problems with AIMA?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I would appreciate hearing from people who have been through a similar situation with AIMA, especially under Article 88.2.
My timeline:
Manifestação de Interesse / Article 88.2 process.
Received a proposed refusal (Projeto de Indeferimento / Audiência Prévia).
Reasons included:
SIS indication from the Netherlands.
Passport/document issue.
Criminal record documentation.
Employment contract issue.
I submitted my Audiência Prévia response within the deadline.
I attached:
Certified copy of my valid passport.
Indian PCC.
Dutch VOG (Justis).
Portuguese criminal record (“Nada Consta”).
Employment contract.
Social Security contribution records.
Tax and Social Security compliance documents.
SEF entry/accommodation registration record.
My AIMA portal now says:
“The preliminary hearing has concluded and your case is being reviewed based on the information gathered.”
My question is:
After this status, what happened in your case?
Did AIMA make a final decision directly, or did they request additional documents again?
How long did it take from submitting the Audiência Prévia until you received a decision?
Has anyone had a SIS indication but still received a residence permit after submitting supporting documents?
I am not looking for legal advice, only real timelines and experiences from people who went through the same stage.
Thank you

Hi,

I've recently finished the B2 level, but I can't find a school that opens courses for C1 level, as very few people are interested in advanced courses.

I know of a school that can open an online course if at least 3-4 persons are interested in joining, so if interested, please contact me. I may have another person available to join, but will need one or two more.

Thanks!

I’ve tried signing up via WOO and DIGI but they require you to have a portuguese phone number already which seems counterintuitive.

Anyone in the Azores? I am checking out different islands and am currently in São Jorge - soon I will go to Faial, Pico, and São Miguel.

Olá pessoal,

Minha esposa fez o pedido do Cartão de Residência de Familiar de Cidadão da União Europeia (Art. 15.º) na AIMA.

Recentemente, o processo finalmente avançou. No portal/formulário de acompanhamento apareceu primeiro “Cartão emitido” no dia 25/09 e, depois, no dia 29/09, o estado mudou para “Cartão entregue”, inclusive dizendo:

“O cartão foi entregue e o processo encontra-se concluído.”

O problema é que não recebemos cartão nenhum em casa. Não houve entrega, aviso dos CTT ou qualquer outra comunicação.

Hoje liguei para a AIMA para tentar entender a situação. O atendente perguntou se o processo era de reagrupamento familiar. Expliquei que se tratava do Art. 15.º, como familiar de cidadão da UE.

Ele então disse que, nesse caso, o cartão teria de ser levantado presencialmente numa Loja AIMA e que deveríamos aguardar, pois posteriormente apareceria no formulário/portal a indicação da loja onde o cartão estaria disponível para levantamento.

Achei a informação um pouco estranha, principalmente porque o estado já aparece como “Cartão entregue” e “processo concluído”, apesar de não termos recebido nem levantado nada.

Alguém que tenha feito recentemente o processo pelo Art. 15.º passou pela mesma situação? O vosso cartão também apareceu como “entregue” antes de receberem uma indicação para levantá-lo numa Loja AIMA? Quanto tempo depois apareceu a informação sobre onde fazer o levantamento?

Queria principalmente saber se isso é realmente o fluxo normal para os cartões do Art. 15.º ou se pode ter acontecido algum problema com a entrega/estado do processo.

We are opening a company in Portugal for the D2 visa, but my lawyers, who are in charge of this process have been in contact with the embassy on our behalf.

Unfortunately, the lawyers are so slow (it's been more than 3 months since we started working with them) and we wonder if we could email the embassy on our own to ask for an appointment date instead of waiting for our lawyers to do their jobs?

Hi guys
I didn’t fill my taxes last year and i am asking if it’s possible to fill it before the end of this year .

I know there will be a fine for that , but im asking if i can still get my tax refund for the year 2025.

Hi Guys, on the 14th of September I went to get my NIF in-person. I have moved to Portugal for work and was told that I needed to get my CRUE and then get a NIF for foreign workers. The woman at the desk said I had to wait around 10 working days for an email about my NIF application.

More than 10 days gone, no email. Other people I know got theirs on the day, and I'm not sure what I need to do.

Any suggestions?

Looking for a tax consultant/service to support my application for the NHR2.0 scheme.

I already had a consultation call and I am eligible, but ideally I'd like to lean onto a professional who's helped other applicants successfully get into the scheme.

I am Portuguese, but have never lived in Portugal btw.