Before any stay in a foreign country, there seems to be an almost impossible amount of paperwork you have to complete and money you need to have. And moving across an entire ocean will take some dedication.
But to give a concise answer to the question in the title: not hard at all if you take it seriously.
There are a few key things to keep in mind, and we put them together here so you can learn about how hard it really is to move to Portugal.
Moving to Portugal from the US
The first thing you need to figure out is how to get yourself and your stuff to Portugal. If you plan on travelling light, perhaps with nothing more than two suitcases, this won’t be much of an issue. You can take a plane to Portugal and only pay a little bit extra for more luggage.
This also goes for pets. All your pet needs to be able to move with you is a vaccination for rabies, and they’re good to go.
But if you’re planning on moving furniture, it’s a different story. Firstly, you have to get a Certificado de Bagagem (Luggage Certificate) from a nearby Portuguese consulate in the US. In this certificate, you need to list all the household goods you wish to ship to Portugal. After it’s approved, your goods will be shipped within 90 days of your arrival in the country.
You also need to pay a private company to do the shipping. To give you an idea, shipping a single container from New York to Lisbon costs around €1000.
Visas in Portugal for US citizens
There are many options here. If you’re staying for less than three months, you don’t need a visa. You just show your American passport to get in (you can only do this every 180 days).
If you want to stay for longer, you’ll need a residence visa. There are many types:
- student visa
- employment visa
- retirement visa
- Portugal D7 visa
- digital nomad visa D8
- golden visa (for business people and job creators)
- or the type 1 visa
Each has its requirements and provide different lengths of stay.
In any case, if you stay in Portugal for five years, you can apply for a permanent residency or citizenship in Portugal.
And since both the US and Portugal allow for dual citizenship, you can become a Portuguese citizen without losing your American passport.
Contact a nearby Portuguese embassy to ask which visa is the best for you.
Anything else you need to do when you get to Portugal?
The worst is behind you. Let's say you already have a mid-term rental in Portugal (you can use Flatio for extra ease and security), you have a job or studies that you moved for (or perhaps you’re a digital nomad), and you’re now truly in Portugal.
Firstly, there will still be some paperwork with visas even after you arrive, and you’ll need to make sure you have private health insurance since the public health insurance is not yet available to you.
But that’s pretty much it. There aren’t really any curveballs from this point. You can relax and enjoy your borderless experience in Portugal.
