NHR - Government launches transitory tax regime

These exemptions might help some people who started the process a long time ago. To actually achieve any of these things if you are not well down the path of the application process already, will be quite difficult, based on how difficult these steps are to achieve, in Portugal right now (finding a place to stay, for example).

Also, it will be interesting to see if this proposal actually appears in the budget that gets voted on, on the 29th. I saw another report that said they were only thinking about doing this.

Our family would like to move to Portugal but we assumed that we were too late to be eligible for the NHR

We have now seen this news and we wondered if it was still possible

We are in Ireland now and we would like to move to Portugal as soon as possible

We have a minor child who is a EU citizen and so has freedom of movement

As his parents we also have the right to move with our child to any EU country as long as we have sufficient resources

Neither of us are EU citizens but I do not need a travel visa to enter Portugal and my wife would require a travel visa to enter Portugal

So our only requirement to move to Portugal and to begin residing in Portugal is a travel visa for my wife

So my question is would requesting a travel or entry visa for Portugal from the Portuguese Embassy in Ireland before 31st December 2023 for my wife be acceptable proof of our intention to move to Portugal and to reside in Portugal and to claim the NHR ?

And would this proof make it possible for us to claim the NHR ?

As far as we know today, nothing definite exists (because the budget will only be approved on 29 November, and there will be early elections on 10 March 2024...)......

Answering to your question: it's not enough to have a travel visa. If your read carefully you must apply for a residence visa or residence permit via the VFS global before 31 December 2023. That's one option among others.

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Anyone who wants to benefit from the NHR until 31 December 2024 can do so as long as they present ONE of these documents proving that they have planned their move to Portugal in advance:

https://www.idealista.pt/news/financas/ … do-em-2024

I think your situation is more complex than casual forum members will be able to advise on. In fact, i think it might be difficult even for a professional (or professionals!) to be able to give quick advice on. There are both immigration and financial aspects to it. I personally have not come across your situation. It's a pity that you were not able to get this ball rolling much earlier, as time wise you are now up against it.

It does appear that NHR is on its way out, however .

I personally wouldn't take any bet that it will be retained in any similar mode.

In my personal case,it was very fortunate that I applied and was granted in 2019.

The benefits were greater than they are today.

Five years in, I am now in my next 5-10 year plan and have applied for and have been granted a Long Term 10 year Visa elsewhere with much better terns than even pre-2019 NHR, which could not be extended in any case. My new Tax Residency Visa option is extendable.

In my case I see no long term logical option to remain in Portugal post 2029 when my NHR benefits come to an end. 

With others, as myself, planning an exit, the entry requirements becoming less advantageous, countries such as Sweden taxing their own nationals abroad etc, then the influx of new residents (and the underpinning of property costs and the economy), may well reduce considerably.

There may still be many elderly expats who remain - but if most are elderly then there is the issue.  As expats and elderly, their wealth may not be retained in Portugal for decades to come (through family) and their spending contribution will soon come to a juddering halt.

Quite soon the Portuguese socialists may well be lamenting the demise of NHR.

@JohnnyPT

Thank you for your advice

We are still in Ireland and we have not yet applied for any travel visa or any residence visa

We will also not be able to travel to Portugal before the end of this year

We have more or less abandoned our plan to move to Portugal as getting the NHR was an important factor for the move

We would also not want to begin the application process and then find out after we had moved to Portugal that we were not actually eligible for NHR becsuse we did not complete a specific form on time, or have a meeting with SEF on time, etc etc

So having said that, is there anything that we can do at this very late stage just before the end of 2023, that would definitely make us eligible for NHR?

What if we began a residence visa application on this government website? As stated earler, we have a EU citizen minor child and so we have EU rights that allow us to live in any EU country as long as we have sufficient resources

https://imigrante.sef.pt/en/solicitar/

And even if we started a residence visa application on this website, would this be considered to be sufficient to get NHR?

We would not be able to provide certain documents such as police clearance before the end of 2023

We would not be able to travel to Portugal before the end of 2023

We would not be able to have any appointment with SEF or the Portugal tax offfice before the end of 2023

We would not have any owned or rented property in Portugal before the end of 2023

So are we correct to assume that it is not possible now to get NHR with 100% guarantee of eligibility?

Or is there anything that we can do at this very late stage just before the end of 2023, that would definitely make us eligible for NHR?