# Dual citizenship



## chriskjag (Mar 6, 2018)

We are planning to retire to Portugal. In additions to being US citizens, we are also EU citizens and hold a valid EU (Polish) passports. We have never used our EU passport for travel and have not resided in Poland for over 30 years. We wonder, if despite of this, we can still use the EU citizenship to apply for Portuguese residency and have the same privileges as EU citizens who actually reside in EU. Also, is it possible to have some of the paperwork completed through Portuguese consulate in Chicago before moving? We are planning to take a car most likely Toyota Prius. Is it a right car to take there?
Any advice would be appreciated.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Welcome to the forum. 

If you have passports from an EU member state you have the RIGHT to enter & reside & you do not have to apply for residency but rather you just rock up, show your passports, enter & before 4 months you register you residency at the local Camara/Town Hall.

Once registered as a resident, you're entitled to the same more or less free healthcare as any Portuguese person but before you register you'd be well advised to either have medical insurance or a Polish EHIC card but I don't know if you'd be entitled to a Polish EHIC card having been out of the country that long? 

Regarding your car, you can get a tax free import if you & the vehicle fit certain criteria such as having owned it for at least 12 months prior to import, begin the matriculation/registration process within 6 months of import & if you can supply a Certificate of Conformity but if you don't fit the criteria then you have to pay a matriculation/registration tax which is obscenely high for ordinary cars but more or less free for electric cars. I'm not sure about hybrids but would assume they pay a lowish amount.

You might also check with a Toyota dealer here to see if spares will be available for your car because if not, you'd have to import spares from the US & Portuguese Customs & Irritations are a royal PITA with that........ I ordered some car spares from the US last year & Customs have been holding them for more than 4 months for no apparent reason........ I've sent them all the paperwork they need on 7 separate occasions but they still haven't released them. 

You'll also find a lack of public charging points.......... I guess they do exist (probably in the big cities) but I've quite literally never seen one anywhere here. 

Let me know if you want the full process & requirements for that import & hope I've been of help?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Oh & I forgot to add that if you're shipping personal possessions/household goods etc (including vehicles) you need to get it listed on a stamped/signed certificate of baggage which you obtain (in person) from your nearest Portuguese Embassy or High Commission before you leave.

Without that document you'll be charged import tax.


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## chriskjag (Mar 6, 2018)

Thank you for your replay. That explains a lot . We can plan accordingly. I thought that Toyotas were quite common in Europe ( we saw a lot of them, including Pruis's when in Austria recently)so the basic parts would be readily available.I will do some research regarding that before buying this car. Currently we owe a Jeep, I don't think that would be a good idea to bring it to Portugal. We still have time, but we are selling the Jeep soon. 
Thank you again.


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## chriskjag (Mar 6, 2018)

How do you get health insurance before getting residency? We are prepared to buy some form of private insurance in Portugal anyway, but I thought one needs to be resident to be able to do that. We could have some private insurance from US (that would cost us at least $1000 a month). Here in US, once you quit your job, you loose insurance (if your employer provided one for lower cost) and we are not eligible for Medicare (health care for retirees) because it starts at 65 and we are not that old yet. One can get so called COBRA, which is extension of whatever employer provided insurance one have had, but at full cost, terrible deal.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

chriskjag said:


> Thank you for your replay. That explains a lot . We can plan accordingly. I thought that Toyotas were quite common in Europe ( we saw a lot of them, including Pruis's when in Austria recently)so the basic parts would be readily available.I will do some research regarding that before buying this car. Currently we owe a Jeep, I don't think that would be a good idea to bring it to Portugal. We still have time, but we are selling the Jeep soon.
> Thank you again.


If you go the tax free import route you need to have owned it in the country you're coming from for 12 months previously but I'm pretty sure the tax will be quite low for a hybrid anyway. 

Yes. Toyotas are quite popular here but one made for the US market may well be different than one made for the European market. 

I have 2 Jeeps here one of which I imported from South Africa when we came but if yours is a gasoline model with big engine the annual road tax would be expensive. - The one I imported has the 5.9 litre V8 engine & road tax was €776 per year.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

chriskjag said:


> How do you get health insurance before getting residency? We are prepared to buy some form of private insurance in Portugal anyway, but I thought one needs to be resident to be able to do that. We could have some private insurance from US (that would cost us at least $1000 a month). Here in US, once you quit your job, you loose insurance (if your employer provided one for lower cost) and we are not eligible for Medicare (health care for retirees) because it starts at 65 and we are not that old yet. One can get so called COBRA, which is extension of whatever employer provided insurance one have had, but at full cost, terrible deal.


If you join afopop.com they can advise you on health insurance and you might find ads for health insurance on this site as well........ but if I were you, I'd first look to see if you can get EHIC cards from Poland...... and perhaps ask your local Polish Embassy if you're entitled to them?


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## chriskjag (Mar 6, 2018)

Thanks. Wow, my Jeep is not that big, only 3.0 L. V6. I'd rather downsize, save on road tax. I will take a look at Prius if there are differences between European and US versions.


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## chriskjag (Mar 6, 2018)

Looked the EHIC app in polish and seems like a long shot. I've only worked in Poland for two years, my wife for five and it was 30 years ago. Nevertheless it is worth a try since polish consulate is right here. Private insurance in Portugal seems to be quite cheap compering to what we have here in US. Even with employer contribution, it still cost me over $6000 a year, not including dental and vision.
Thank you for your response.


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