Well done Nancy! As you know, I have done my due diligence in regards to the D7, D8, and NHR. In fact, I had a paid one hour call with Gail. In the end, even though we qualify for the NHR this year, at this time we have decided to slow travel at least through the end of 2025 because of the taxes (90 days in our home in VRSA, and 90 days somewhere else in the world, and so on). And believe or not, this was Gail's advice based on our circumstances. Who sends people down a different path and gives up the potential income - HONEST PEOPLE like Gail do. So, when we decide to immigrate to Portugal full time, then we will use Relocate to Portugal and their services.
Gail and RTP are the gold standard. They were so enormously helpful to us in our move to Portugal, and have continued to provide support and assistance with myriad issues since that time. While they certainly don’t need our recommendation, they have it anyway. Great people doing great work.
Very interesting article Nancy, thanks. We did the whole D7 (retirement in Portugal) process ourselves. Our residence is up for the next (3 years) in September. I am praying that it will go without any hiccups. We had some guidance from our South Africans Facebook Group and our well informed Admin.
We relied on RTP for the visa process, finding our first apartment in Lisbon and later helping us buy our current home in Braga.
One thing I really appreciate about RTP is how up-front they are with costs. So many other services, or (shudder) immigration attorneys, are very coy with the pricing. Gail and team have their pricing right on their website, so no surprises.
It's great to read that people who are relocating to Portugal are taking their whole support system with them! What a smart move. Very informative and enjoyable, thank you!
We used RTP to help us find our apartment for our application process (they were very busy at the time and were unable to sign us up for a more extensive package based on our projected timeline). We had an initial video conference with Gail and then worked with Nilse and her assistants. Without their help, I do not know how we would have fared with the lease and attorney stages of that process. People do it on their own, for sure, but RTP's help was invaluable for us.
We decided to ask for their help with our SEF appointments in Porto just to ensure things went smoothly - we were very nervous about that step - and got to meet Nilse in person. We met up at her office and she made sure our paperwork was all in order. Then we made the very quick walk to the SEF building and she was incredibly patient with us as we fretted and distracted ourselves with all sorts of questions about things we'd run into since our arrival in Portugal.
We would absolutely use them again if we had to do it all over.
We arrived in Portugal in Sept. of 2023 with the reliable and unwavering assistance of RTP. We have nothing but praise for their professionalism and very personal guidance. We really don't think we'd have been able to navigate the complexities of our move without them. Gail and her entire wonderful team have our everlasting gratitude and we highly recommned them to anyone!
could not agree more about Gail and RTP; awesome people and incredible services. And...working with them once again, trying to renew my temporary residence permit/AIMA challenges. Thank you for encouraging others to contact Gail and her staff if planning a move to Portugal.
We didn't use RTP, but another immigration firm, and I'm so glad these exist, in general. While I know many go it alone, we had a complicated situation in which we needed to bring my adult trans son and his trans partner with us, and between the fact they weren't minors but still financial dependents and issues with legal documentation not matching up perfectly due to name and gender changes, we really needed help navigating when we had little financial wiggle room for surviving setbacks. The money invested in engaging legal immigration professionals has been worth every penny.
We are in that category of immigrants who chose Portugal in complete ignorance of the existence of the NHR. We were coming either way. I'm glad to see that people are still choosing to come here, that only the type of person seeking it out has changed. It's such a wonderful country.
And I'm glad we pulled it off when we did. The company I was contracting for remotely ended my new contract 2 months into it, just after we moved here, which has been a real hardship for us as I didn't anticipate ending up unemployed right after arriving in a new country. I have heard rumors that this happens quite a lot. I know I had a lot of coworkers asking me about how I managed to pull it off, and I suspect the prospect of having a bunch of remote workers gaining too much freedom by escaping their American cage was seen as a threat and I had to be eliminated. But we're here and making due and that's all that matters to us in the end.
We did not use Relocate to Portugal when we were preparing to move here in 2021 but I have heard so many positive things about Gail and her team from many of my subscribers that I now regularly recommend her company. I have never received any negative feedback but only glowing accolades for RTPs services. Nicely written post! Give Onix a hug for me. She IS special! - CW
Certainly, it is possible to relocate without a company assisting you. Many people have. But for many, including us, the handholding before and After we moved was worth much more than they charged.
The Substack server just served you up to me, so this is your first post I’m reading. I also emigrated from California to Europe (Ireland). Nice to meet you. I’ll have to read your other posts!
Well done Nancy! As you know, I have done my due diligence in regards to the D7, D8, and NHR. In fact, I had a paid one hour call with Gail. In the end, even though we qualify for the NHR this year, at this time we have decided to slow travel at least through the end of 2025 because of the taxes (90 days in our home in VRSA, and 90 days somewhere else in the world, and so on). And believe or not, this was Gail's advice based on our circumstances. Who sends people down a different path and gives up the potential income - HONEST PEOPLE like Gail do. So, when we decide to immigrate to Portugal full time, then we will use Relocate to Portugal and their services.
Gail and RTP are the gold standard. They were so enormously helpful to us in our move to Portugal, and have continued to provide support and assistance with myriad issues since that time. While they certainly don’t need our recommendation, they have it anyway. Great people doing great work.
Very interesting article Nancy, thanks. We did the whole D7 (retirement in Portugal) process ourselves. Our residence is up for the next (3 years) in September. I am praying that it will go without any hiccups. We had some guidance from our South Africans Facebook Group and our well informed Admin.
I call RTP my Portuguese Fairies. When I need something, they magically get it done.
So informative! Thank you, Nancy!
We relied on RTP for the visa process, finding our first apartment in Lisbon and later helping us buy our current home in Braga.
One thing I really appreciate about RTP is how up-front they are with costs. So many other services, or (shudder) immigration attorneys, are very coy with the pricing. Gail and team have their pricing right on their website, so no surprises.
It's great to read that people who are relocating to Portugal are taking their whole support system with them! What a smart move. Very informative and enjoyable, thank you!
Very interesting article Nancy, thanks.
We used RTP to help us find our apartment for our application process (they were very busy at the time and were unable to sign us up for a more extensive package based on our projected timeline). We had an initial video conference with Gail and then worked with Nilse and her assistants. Without their help, I do not know how we would have fared with the lease and attorney stages of that process. People do it on their own, for sure, but RTP's help was invaluable for us.
We decided to ask for their help with our SEF appointments in Porto just to ensure things went smoothly - we were very nervous about that step - and got to meet Nilse in person. We met up at her office and she made sure our paperwork was all in order. Then we made the very quick walk to the SEF building and she was incredibly patient with us as we fretted and distracted ourselves with all sorts of questions about things we'd run into since our arrival in Portugal.
We would absolutely use them again if we had to do it all over.
We arrived in Portugal in Sept. of 2023 with the reliable and unwavering assistance of RTP. We have nothing but praise for their professionalism and very personal guidance. We really don't think we'd have been able to navigate the complexities of our move without them. Gail and her entire wonderful team have our everlasting gratitude and we highly recommned them to anyone!
could not agree more about Gail and RTP; awesome people and incredible services. And...working with them once again, trying to renew my temporary residence permit/AIMA challenges. Thank you for encouraging others to contact Gail and her staff if planning a move to Portugal.
We didn't use RTP, but another immigration firm, and I'm so glad these exist, in general. While I know many go it alone, we had a complicated situation in which we needed to bring my adult trans son and his trans partner with us, and between the fact they weren't minors but still financial dependents and issues with legal documentation not matching up perfectly due to name and gender changes, we really needed help navigating when we had little financial wiggle room for surviving setbacks. The money invested in engaging legal immigration professionals has been worth every penny.
We are in that category of immigrants who chose Portugal in complete ignorance of the existence of the NHR. We were coming either way. I'm glad to see that people are still choosing to come here, that only the type of person seeking it out has changed. It's such a wonderful country.
And I'm glad we pulled it off when we did. The company I was contracting for remotely ended my new contract 2 months into it, just after we moved here, which has been a real hardship for us as I didn't anticipate ending up unemployed right after arriving in a new country. I have heard rumors that this happens quite a lot. I know I had a lot of coworkers asking me about how I managed to pull it off, and I suspect the prospect of having a bunch of remote workers gaining too much freedom by escaping their American cage was seen as a threat and I had to be eliminated. But we're here and making due and that's all that matters to us in the end.
Good luck!
We did not use Relocate to Portugal when we were preparing to move here in 2021 but I have heard so many positive things about Gail and her team from many of my subscribers that I now regularly recommend her company. I have never received any negative feedback but only glowing accolades for RTPs services. Nicely written post! Give Onix a hug for me. She IS special! - CW
Certainly, it is possible to relocate without a company assisting you. Many people have. But for many, including us, the handholding before and After we moved was worth much more than they charged.
The Substack server just served you up to me, so this is your first post I’m reading. I also emigrated from California to Europe (Ireland). Nice to meet you. I’ll have to read your other posts!