# More Info for a Canadian Please :)



## amarreiros (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi Everyone  
I stumbled across this forum while doing some google-searching & i hope some of you may have some knowledge to share w/ me. 
I am Canadian, currently living in BC. It's beautiful here, but i feel like a change & my husband is Portuguese. His family owns a home in a place my husband says is called Belverde. He says it's close to Lisbon (i have never been there). My husband was born in Canada but has a Portuguese passport. His parents live there for 1/2 the year & he used to spend months at a time there each year through his childhood. 
I would love to go spend a year living at his families place (in this place called Belverde?). I have no idea what it's like there, but i hear there's a beach close by...? 
We have two small children, our oldest is school-age. 
My husband says Portugal is no place to live since the Euro crisis (& apparently the country being bankrupt). I'm not sure what this means or how this would affect us if we chose to love there for a year or two....? 
I've lived in other countries before (Australia, HK, Thailand) for long periods of time but not since being married or having children, so at those times i was on extended holiday or working holiday visas. 
I'm not sure how it would work for my family to move to Portugal...? Could we all go if my husband has his Portuguese citizenship? 
would i have to apply for my children's Portuguese passports and if so, how would i do that? 
Could we simply move and could my husband work and could he just "sponsor" me to live there too? 
How easy is it to find work if my husband is not speaking fluent Portuguese? (he understands it but does not speak fluently).
How nice is this area Belverde? Are there places to go with young kids? Are there libraries/ stores/ kids activities/ schools? Could i send my children to an English speaking school & if so- is there tuition to pay ...? Or would i just homeschool my children? 
Sorry for so many questions, but i'd really love to know more. 
THANK YOU in advance!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

As your husbands Portuguese you could all just move here for as long as you like, he would need to apply for a re-unification of family for yourself once here and is a formality, he could apply for dual citizenship of your children whilst in Canada, benefit for them in that they could move freely in Europe as they would be classed as EU Citizens, or they travel on Canadian passports and included in re -unification.

Work very difficult unless he has a niche skill.
Don't know Belverde thinks it's near Santarem, just Google it, English speaking schools only if you boarded in Lisbon and paid.
Portugal bankrupt not yet and fairing better than the other EU counties that are in crisis.


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi,

I will be heading over next year with my husband next year. I'll give you my opinion based on my research and experience so far :

Work:
Our circumstances are difference as we will be in early retirement. If you are dependent on your husband finding work, this is the biggest challenge. If he has family in Portugal, he may want to ask them about the situation. I would recommend securing a job before moving the family - unless you have savings to live for a year and are prepared to return home to Canada in the event you don't find work.

Residency / Citizenship:
I was born in Montreal, but was able to obtain my Portuguese passport. My husband is Canadian and will go with me under the family reunification. However, we will apply for him here in Canada before we go (at the Consulate in Ottawa they recommended applying 2-3 months before we go).

There is a Portuguese consulate in Vancouver, as it is not too far you can sort out a fair bit in Canada.

Language and work:
My Portuguese is not great (I never lived in Portugal and my parents spoke mostly English at home), but I find after 3 weeks in Portugal I find my Portuguese gets better - I suspect your husband will find the same. However if the work he does relies on a strong command of language, or writing skills, then it would be difficult to start with. 

Belverde and your children:
I took a look on Google maps (Belverde, Portugal will find it) and it is indeed near Lisbon. I don't think you would have any problem finding things to do with your children, it is fairly close to the beech (it looks to be about 5km) and the Portuguese like children. I used to travel to Portugal with my children and they were always treated really well, they played endlessly at the beech and we had great fun visiting the castles and play make believe. 

You will find that many people speak English that will help you to adjust. As your children are young, they are likely to learn Portuguese very quickly, especially if you enroll them in a Portuguese school. There are international schools as Canoeman pointed out, but I'd consider Portuguese schools and then use homeschooling to keep their English up to standard. 

Portugal is a beautiful country with much to offer in history and beauty.
It's much easier to make a living in Canada. If you have the means, I would definitely recommend visiting Portugal before you make up your mind.

My husband and I can't wait to move to Portugal, but our circumstances are different. We will be living about an hour north of Lisbon. 

Best of luck with your research and you've found a good forum to ask your questions. There are several folks with good experience, they've been a great help to me.


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