Look inside
The plan for Portugal, from the inside
These are all 28 steps of the Portugal journey, exactly as they appear in your personal plan — with the lead time and the costs next to them. Not a brochure: this is the file that feeds the platform. Pick another country below if you're heading elsewhere.
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Every country has its own steps, its own order and its own clocks. Switch as often as you like.
- Steps
- 28
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 50
- Only for your situation
- 9
Phase 1
6 steps
Orientation
There's no counter that stops you — and so nobody who tells you what to arrange either. This phase is that conversation.
- 1.1
Being allowed to stay is something else than being settled
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 1.2
Know how you'll meet the income and healthcare requirement
- Lead time
- an evening of research; arranging it can take weeks
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.3
Choose your region
- Lead time
- weeks of research, preferably with a scouting trip
- Costs
- none — a scouting trip is a choice, not an obligation
1 official source
- 1.4
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.5
The family conversation
- Lead time
- weeks, not hours
- Costs
- none
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
9 steps
Closing the Netherlands
The biggest head start in this journey is called NIF: the number everything hangs on, and which you don't want to discover only in a Portuguese queue.
- 2.1
Arrange your NIF before departure
- Lead time
- days to a few weeks, depending on the route
- Costs
- the assignment itself is free to a small amount; getting help costs tens of euros
3 official sources
- 2.2
Collect your basic documents
- Lead time
- 1-4 weeks
- Costs
- fees per extract, tens of euros in total
1 official source
- 2.3
Arrange healthcare cover that's valid in Portugal
- Lead time
- researching and taking out, 1-3 weeks; the CAK route you start two months before departure
- Costs
- premium depends on age and cover; with an S1 or Portuguese work no extra policy needed
3 official sources
- 2.4
Know where you'll pay tax
- Lead time
- one good conversation with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours — depending on your situation
2 official sources
- 2.5
Deregister and close the Netherlands
- Lead time
- deregistering is possible from 5 days before departure; the whole takes 4-8 weeks
- Costs
- limited — cancellation costs per contract
2 official sources
- 2.6
Partner comes along without a job of their own
- Lead time
- an evening together, then a few things to arrange
- Costs
- none — the consequences are in the article
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.7
Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month rule
- Lead time
- one decision, before you commit to anything else
- Costs
- none
4 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.8
The house in the Netherlands: sell, rent out or keep
- Lead time
- one conversation with the mortgage lender and one with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours; when renting out possibly an interest surcharge from the bank
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.9
Children staying in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the house
- Lead time
- an evening, and after that one report a year
- Costs
- none
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
Phase 3
5 steps
The move
By road, but far: two thousand kilometres. And whoever brings their car has an exemption to win here — or to forfeit.
- 3.1
Choose your form of move
- Lead time
- decision moment
- Costs
- none — the consequences of your choice are in the calculator
- 3.2
Request quotes and plan the transport
- Lead time
- quotes 2-3 weeks; the trip itself is days, not weeks
- Costs
- according to your moving choices
Only if this applies to you
- 3.3
Pet along: chip, rabies jab and the EU pet passport
- Lead time
- start at least three weeks before departure
- Costs
- per animal — chip, vaccination and passport at the vet
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
- 3.4
Decide about the car — and know the ISV exemption
- Lead time
- decision moment; the conversion itself comes after arrival
- Costs
- if you bring it — inspection and fees; the import tax is exempt on relocation, provided you apply in time
3 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 3.5
Arrange your first accommodation
- Lead time
- booking can be quick; do it before your departure
- Costs
- falls under "the first months" in your budget
Phase 4
4 steps
Registration in Portugal
The same European law as in Spain, a different counter: here you register at the municipality. Every document is the key to the next — come complete.
- 4.1
Find your home, and build up your proof of address
- Lead time
- weeks to months, depending on region and season
- Costs
- deposit and rent in advance — legally at most two months each
2 official sources
- 4.2
Collect your CRUE at the câmara municipal
- Lead time
- the appointment plus issue — count on weeks
- Costs
- € 18 per person at the counter (€ 15 digitally); children cheaper
3 official sources
- 4.3
NISS and número de utente
- Lead time
- a few weeks, partly waiting for post
- Costs
- free
3 official sources
- 4.4
Bank account and running matters
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- limited — many Portuguese banks charge monthly fees; the basic account is legally almost free
3 official sources
Phase 5
4 steps
Arrival
From settled to simply living — school, GP, plates. The deadline with the most expensive delay of the whole journey is in this phase.
- 5.1
School for the children
- Lead time
- enrolling is possible all year; the regular window falls in spring
- Costs
- public education is free; materials, meals and trips aren't
3 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 5.2
GP and completing healthcare
- Lead time
- a few weeks
- Costs
- none with access via work or S1; otherwise it runs via your own policy
3 official sources
- 5.3
Put the car on Portuguese plates
- Lead time
- weeks — and the exemption deadlines are hard
- Costs
- inspection and € 45 registration fee; ISV only with a missed exemption
3 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 5.4
Landed
- Lead time
- it's done
- Costs
- none
9 of these steps aren't always there. They appear only when your answers call them up — a pet, a car, children staying behind. That's the difference between a plan and a checklist in which you have to work out yourself what applies.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Portugal journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 3.4 of your plan
Decide about the car — and know the ISV exemption
- Lead time
- decision moment; the conversion itself comes after arrival
- Costs
- if you bring it — inspection and fees; the import tax is exempt on relocation, provided you apply in time
Portugal levies a hefty import tax on cars — the ISV, for an ordinary mid-range car quickly thousands of euros. But whoever moves their main residence to Portugal can get a full exemption. The conditions to know now: the car has been your property for at least six months, you lived outside Portugal for at least six months, one vehicle per person, and once every ten years.
The deadlines are hard: you apply for the exemption within twelve months of your move, the customs declaration of the vehicle (the DAV) belongs within twenty working days of entry, and after the grant the car may not be sold, rented out or lent for twelve months.
With the exemption, bringing it is suddenly the cheap option; without it the sum tips completely. So weigh it before departure: check the ownership date on your registration document, and only then decide whether the car goes onto the lorry or gets sold in the Netherlands. The execution — inspection, plates, application — is ready for you in phase 5.
This is step 3.4 of 28. The other 27 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
And what you don't see here
This page shows the content. What a page can't show is the work the platform does for you afterwards:
- The clocks that start running the moment you begin, and a nudge at the moment something is asked of you — not earlier.
- Your documents in one place, with their expiry dates watched, so nothing lapses while you wait for something else.
- The ticking off, together with your partner on the same journey.
- The steps that drop out or appear based on your answers, so your plan holds only what really applies to you.
Ready to start on Portugal?
All 28 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 199 once, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Portugal: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Portugal really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
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