# Question about acquiring Residency via Marriage to a Portugal Passport Holder



## Ramsen (Sep 29, 2018)

Hello everyone!

I'm a US passport holder that has been in a long distance relationship with my partner in Portugal. It's difficult as one can imagine to maintain this sort of arrangement so we have explored the possibility of us getting married and myself moving to Portugal. 

I don't know the first thing about this process other than needing our birth certificates, paying fees and filling out copious amounts of paperwork. Is there a resource somewhere or can someone explain to me how this process would work for me? What other documents would I need? I work remotely full time for a US company so I can work from anywhere with a stable internet connection, how would that work with IRS being married to someone in Portugal? 

Any advice or resource would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you in advance!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

You don't say where you want to get married but if you're thinking of doing it in Portugal then I'd recommend you think again because it's a nightmare to achieve if one partner is a resident of Portugal & the other not..................... I know 2 couples who tried for several years & failed. 

In the end, one couple (UK & Russian passports) got married in Gibraltar & the other (South African & Botswana passports) got married in South Africa. 

The good news is that once married & the marriage is registered with the Portuguese Embassy in the country the ceremony took place in, the process of getting you residency in Portugal is fairly straightforward & is just a matter of time.................. it's a right that cannot be denied not a privilege that has to be applied for. 

Once here & with residency, you can apply for NHR aka non habitual residency which is a badly named but very useful 10 year tax holiday on most overseas income. 

You say you work online...... be warned that internet connection varies immensely by local area. Some is fantastic & we get 100 Mbps in a small village in central Portugal but just down the road they either have very slow broadband or have to use a MiFi mobile hotspot..... some areas have to use Tooway satellite internet as their only option.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Correction to my previous post. The 2nd couple had UK & Botswana passports not SA & Botswana passports. 

My mitsake. lol!


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Shirley! it would be far more sensible and useful for you to spend time over here - then you'd get some idea if you actually like it here, if the interwebs are up to your requirements (and as you work remotley it would be no great imposition), if it's possible to get married and all the other questions by actually going to the offices which deal with them. Obviously a $30 flight from Porto/Lisbon to London where a PT passport holder can live may smoothe the nuptial paperworks in a Foreign language.


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## Ramsen (Sep 29, 2018)

travelling-man said:


> You don't say where you want to get married but if you're thinking of doing it in Portugal then I'd recommend you think again because it's a nightmare to achieve if one partner is a resident of Portugal & the other not..................... I know 2 couples who tried for several years & failed.
> 
> In the end, one couple (UK & Russian passports) got married in Gibraltar & the other (South African & Botswana passports) got married in South Africa.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for all the info!

I actually just assumed we would marry in Portugal, but I didn't know it was that complicated. We both love Copenhagen so perhaps we will make a romantic trip of it, hahaha. 

I had heard of NHR before, so it sounds like it won't be an issue. I guess I just file my taxes like normal, just noting that I'm married instead of single. 

As for internet, well I have spent collectively a couple of months now between Lisbon and Porto (I'd be moving to Porto) and internet seemed stable enough for me. But I have heard some people say there can be issues. Good to know!


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## Ramsen (Sep 29, 2018)

Another question I now have is, after we marry in, say Copenhagen... Do I make an appointment with SEF? I imagine that's how that works. And that I'd need to bring the marriage license after it's registered by the embassy in the country the ceremony took place in... Are there other documents I'd need?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Assuming your partner has a Portuguese or other EU member state passport you have the right to enter with him/her without a visa but in reality, it's easier to do it on a Schengen Visa & once here, your partner (who is already a registered resident) takes you to any Financas office & gets you a NIF number & countersigns as your Fiscal Representative & then books an appointment with SEF to get you registered as a resident & at that time also asks for a list of documents you need to take with you. 

The appointment will probably be after your Schengen Visa expires but that appointment gives you the required extension. 

Then on the day, you take every possible document you can lay your hands on just in case they spring any new requirements............. Bureaucracy is extremely variable here so don't be surprised if someone asks for an unexpected document or asks a slightly bizarre question. 

You have the choice of registering the marriage in the country it took place in or here & documents in English, French & Spanish no longer need to be translated. If you can get a Police Clearance from the US before you come, it's a good idea to do so because the more documents you have, the more you can baffle them with BS. 

Bureaucrats here also love to slap their stamps on as many pieces of paper as possible so the more you give them, the happier they'll be.


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## Ramsen (Sep 29, 2018)

travelling-man said:


> Assuming your partner has a Portuguese or other EU member state passport you have the right to enter with him/her without a visa but in reality, it's easier to do it on a Schengen Visa & once here, your partner (who is already a registered resident) takes you to any Financas office & gets you a NIF number & countersigns as your Fiscal Representative & then books an appointment with SEF to get you registered as a resident & at that time also asks for a list of documents you need to take with you.
> 
> The appointment will probably be after your Schengen Visa expires but that appointment gives you the required extension.
> 
> ...


Wow, this is tremendously helpful. I actually already have a NIF I got from last year (also have a bank account in Portugal as well) and getting an FBI record only takes a couple of weeks. All very good to know. 

Yes I have heard from every single person that has ever dealt with Portuguese government about the bureaucracy, and it's all the same, hahaha. I'll do some research into what all these documents are so I can start slowly collecting them before my next trip. 

When getting married, I believe all you need are your passports and birth certificates? Or do these requirements vary by country? Or perhaps it's all the same in the Schengen Visa zones?

Thanks again!


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

It will vary by country


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## Ukkram (Aug 21, 2018)

And don't forget that you still need to pay your yearly taxes to the IRS in the US. This may have a significant impact on your NHR or you may not gain anything from having this tax status.


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