# Hello...



## DSquared (Oct 17, 2015)

Hi all from a chilly UK, hubby & I (plus one moggy) are about to take a leap of faith and move over to Portugal, Castelo Branco region specifically at the beginning of November.

I for one am very keen to hear if anyone has any good advice about registering for Doctors as I am a Type 1 Diabetic.

We have been living in the UK for the past 6 years - should we try the reciprocal route & obtain S1 before we leave? Any advice / input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Welcome to the forum. 

The Castelo Branco area is lovely and VERY reminiscent of SA & many other parts of Africa so you'll feel very at home there. 

A lot depends on what passport you have so I won't comment on the registration issues at this point but I will say that assuming you can get the more or less free treatment on the PT NHS that the treatment & support offered to diabetics here is very good indeed. 

Oh and the bad news is the CB area could be helluva cold at that time of year! lol


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## DSquared (Oct 17, 2015)

*Thanks...*

Thank you...
We had heard CB was pretty similar to SA - think that's what ultimately drew us to that region 

I am on EU(Irish) passport - so hope that will qualify us for the NHS PT? I suppose the biggest fear I personally have is that I am going to have to fork out for the costs of the meds, or get a Private Med Insurance cover - there are so many different articles out there and honestly some offer such different advice... :noidea:

Ta for the heads up about Nov temperatures... have been watching them rather closely over the past few weeks, and I think I will cope


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

If you have an EU passport then in theory at least, you're entitled to the same NHS healthcare as any Portuguese citizen but in reality, it often varies from area to area as to whether or not you can get a social security number and PT NHS registration.

As an example, my wife & I arrived in (Figueiro Dos Vinhos) Portugal (from SA) 4 years ago. We're both in our late 50s, both have UK passports and both are in receipt of private pensions but obviously not state pensions and we had no trouble at all in registering for the more or less free healthcare..... but I've heard of others, particularly in areas closer to the coast and that often has higher immigrant populations being refused. 

So in other words you really have to just give it a try and see what happens. - You might consider speaking to the local GP/Sangoma surgery & social security office before you get your residencia and if they give you the impression you might have trouble registering you could 'make a plan' from there.

What part of SA are you from? - We lived just outside White River near the Kruger Park for some years before we came here.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm TM and I agree that CB is a lovely area but people I know who are forced to use the hospital say it is dreadful, not a patch on Coimbra.


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## DSquared (Oct 17, 2015)

*Thanks for the info...*

TM - thanks for the information - we will keep this in mind. I was a Jhb girl, and hubby a KZN'er. You were in a great part of SA! 

Hopefully as we are not heading to the 'popular' areas of PT we will not face too many difficulties registering. We have already registered for our NIF numbers (this was required before we could purchase the property) - it may just be hubby on his SA passport that will face some difficulties getting registered on the health system ... 

Maggie - Thank you for the heads up - will bear this in mind.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Maggy

I don't know anything about the CB Hospital but agree the two in Coimbra are very good indeed. 

DSquared: 

Hubby is a Sharks bloke then.......... I spent a lot of time in KZN - especially around the Pongola area and know it well. 

If your husband has a SA passport, you might like to look into whether he'll have any trouble getting his Residencia here and whether you'll need any paperwork from the UK to assist the application........ it's sometimes a lot easier to get these things before you leave.


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