Our Checklist for Moving Abroad: What’s Next?
So.
Many.
To-do’s.
Where to begin? Migrating to another country without a job offer in hand or relocation assistance is not for the faint of heart. It feels like a million tasks that keep morphing and multiplying and taking forever to accomplish. Patience is not my strong suit. When I want something done, I want it done now, yesterday even.
Checking things off lists, however, is one of my greatest joys. So, I’ll relish every little checkmark win I can get no matter how long it takes to complete our checklist for moving abroad to Portugal.
And in the meantime, learning how to cope with fear and anxiety during difficult times.
Renovating Life contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Links like this allow us to continue providing top-quality content at no cost to you.
The D7 Visa Process
The D7 visa process takes approximately six months to complete, give or take. We’re applying for what is called a D7 Passive Income visa which is the first of a two-step process to establish residency in Portugal. This is different than a tourist visa and requires a f*ck ton of planning and paperwork. Portugal also just launched the new Portugal Digital Nomad Visa for remote workers as an option, and you can still take advantage of the Portugal Golden Visa Program if you have the money to invest.
I’m usually a DIYer who takes pride in doing things myself, but we both work full-time and have two munchkins to take care of, so we opted to hire a Portuguese immigration lawyer to help us navigate the process and get it right (🤞🏻) the first time.
House Hunting in Portugal
Finding a place to live without ever stepping foot in it, in a village you’ve only seen pictures of, using a realtor you’ve never met in person…let me tell you, it’s no House Hunters International.
The D7 visa process requires a minimum 1-year signed lease. They used to allow vacation rentals like Airbnb and the like, but as I mentioned, the rules change almost daily. Also, you submit your application 90 days before your anticipated departure date, so you must have your lease secured by the application submission.
Anyone who has rented in a metropolitan area like, say, NYC, knows that properties move quickly and don’t hit the market until about 6 weeks before they’re available. If you’re trying to make a mental timeline, don’t bother. The math doesn’t add up. What will probably end up happening is we’ll find a place available around our submission date and pay double rent (again) until we are approved and can get to Portugal to move in. Stay tuned for more on the house hunt.
UPDATE: We Found Our Dream Home!
Portugal Schools
As it turns out, choosing schools for the kids is not just choosing schools for the kids. It’s choosing where to live, public vs. private vs. international, full language immersion vs. Portuguese lessons a few times a week, Cambridge vs. IB vs. Portuguese curriculum, and so on and so on.
We started by choosing the general region we wanted to be in and then narrowed it down by researching every international school in that area—holy spreadsheets! We’re still narrowing it down, but we’ll have to decide soon, as enrollment for the 2021-2022 school year is opening soon!
Moving Logistics
Managing a move from one apartment to another is hard enough. Moving your life to another part of the world seems impossible. In the past, when we’ve lived abroad, it was always temporary. We always had our stuff waiting for us when we returned. But this time is different. We’re moving our entire lives. The question is, do we actually want to move our entire lives?
Ideally, we’d get rid of everything we couldn’t fit in our checked bags. But I know me, and I have a particular knack for finding value in something as meaningless as dish soap. It will be an ambitious exercise to whittle down to only the things we truly love. Embracing a more minimalist lifestyle is a mood, and I’m excited for the challenge. Just call me Marie Kondo.
This is something relocation experts usually handle, so we’re weighing our options between only taking checked bags, sending bags/boxes ahead using a service like SendMyBags, or shipping a container with an international moving expert like Three Movers.
Needless to say, we have a lot to do if we’re going to complete that checklist for moving abroad. And considering that everything takes for-eh-ver to do or has 27 steps involved, that 6-month timeline is making more and more sense every day. We got serious about starting the process after the new year. And so far, I can confidently say we’ve accomplished nothing. At least not completely. A lot of research. A lot of first steps. The ball is rolling, just very, very, slowly.
UPDATE:
Check out how our visa application went, learn how to open a Portuguese bank account remotely, and check out the resources section for more ways to make your move to Portugal easier!
Move to Portugal
