Portuguese-American wants to move to Portugal - advice please

[SaintBernadette]

Oi tudos, I am a third generation Portuguese-American woman born in the United States who has decided she is moving to Portugal. I am a business owner who foolishly did not get a college degree in the 1980s when I could have - instead I ended up finding work in my industry and have been working in it ever since. I find that America no longer feels American to me. A lot has changed, and I want to live someplace that offers a better quality of life, particularly where children are concerned. I plan to marry and have children, and the USA is definitely noplace any longer to be non-feminist and to raise babies; the state of education here, and the racism and bullying in public schools is unacceptable. Add to that the plunging dollar, the rising Protestant Christian influence over the state and Constitution, and America's behavior around the world, and you have here a very unhappy Catholic convert Luso-Americana.

I have begun talking with some people recently from the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the US who know an immigration attorney who is said to be very good, but I am anxious about this and don't know where to start. What are my options in moving to Portugal? How difficult might it be? Is it impossible? What should I do?

I have no paperwork documenting my great-grandfather's Portuguese identity, although he and his family were when they moved to America. All I have are memories, songs and some personal items.

I am very skilled in the industry I work in, which is television production, and I have references. However, I am scared I might have to accept work as an au pair or in a bar somewhere, simply for being American and not part of the European Union. What should I do? How do I begin? Is there hope?

Should I take my chances going about emigration to Portugal the correct, legal way, or am I being naive and ought to just fly over and take my chances? I do speak Portuguese with medium fluency and read it extremely well. But I'm scared that is not going to help me... please advise...

[kaz101]

Welcome SaintBernadette.

I'm sure someone will answer your questions soon.

I would never just fly into a country and take my chances. Some countries look very unfavourably upon that and chances are you won't end up living the life that you want to lead.

Regards,
Karen

[Stravinsky]

I feel one of the surest ways to fail is just to "fly over". As an EU citizen who doesn't have to work I still did a lot of research and still found things tough when I made the move.

I cant help you on the visa issues, but all I would say is do all the research you can. If you can't speak the language (I'm not sure from your post if you can) then your options are going to be limited.

[SaintBernadette]

Thank you for responding. My common sense agrees with you, it's not best to just "fly over and take my chances". I'm just scared the bureaucracy will either take too long or find some arbitrary, ridiculous tiny reason not to approve my visa if I go about this correctly. So often doing the right thing is punished.

I got off the phone a few minutes ago with another Portuguese-American woman who is a good friend of mine. She lived in Lisbon for two years and has spent many months there at a time, and has contacts there. She says to go visit for a couple of months and see how I like it. She has friends who will rent an apartment to me for 300 Euros a month if they have time during my stay there. Interestingly, she also says that Portugal's television and film industry are suffering, and that the country badly needs "that Hollywood touch" and would welcome me. She strongly feels I should go there and got that across in no uncertain terms. She also said Portugal's president is keen on bringing Portuguese-Americans to the country and granting us citizenship. This is all very positive; however, she also warns that Portugal is not a "dream country" or fairy tale where all turns out wonderful. She says the country definitely has issues all its own and I will miss and appreciate the US when I get over there. Also, since my father is preto, she said I may run into racism there. (But I laugh at what I may encounter in Portugal; as an American I know very well what anti-black racism is! Besides South Africa I have seen very little anywhere that can parallel America's)

On the same coin, she said she wanted to introduce me to some friends of hers who want to marry an American woman - this way I could get Portuguese citizenship - but at the same time, "I have a feeling you will meet the right man in Portugal when you get there, so I'd rather you go over there single and with your options open!" A lot of inconsistencies and a whole lot of intriguing information. I look forward to this and have set my date:

April 24, 2008, my father's birthday. This is it. I hope someone on the forum might also have some additional ideas my friend may not have yet thought about. Sorry for making such a long reply, and thank you again Karen for answering! I have lurked here enjoying your comments and suggestions for quite sime time! Good to finally meet you!

[SaintBernadette]

Thank you Stravinsky (one of my favorite composers!). I can speak the language fairly well, and I read it extremely well. As you'll see in my response to Mod Karen, I definitely do not want to just fly over and make things hard on myself. My natural inclination is to do this the right way. I've just never done this before, and I am very nervous about getting it right. My hopes would be shattered and my heart broken if Portugal said no to me, one of her daughters.

[kaz101]

Good to meet you too!

Anything you really want is worth working towards and worth waiting for.

When we (myself and my husband) started looking into moving to Australia, the first 2 emigration agents I spoke to said we didn't have a chance. The third one sat us down, asked us questions and said yes he thought he could get us in. It was just a matter of my husband being the principle applicant rather than me. It took us about 3 years to get the visa and then another 2 years to make the move.

Once you know what all the rules are you can use them to your advantage.

No country is a dream country since they all have issues, and they are not always obvious when you are just a visitor. However the fact that you have a friend that is living there will be a big help.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Karen

[SaintBernadette]

Thank you to both of you - we'll see what happens next! Wish me luck!

[Bevdeforges]

Basically, your friend's idea is pretty good - you ought to be going over there to see how you like it and to scope out the job situation. An extended trip of a couple of months (can be up to three months on a "tourist" visa) will give you a good feel for the place and allow you to explore the possibilities for employment in your field.

While you're in Portugal, you can check out the job ads in the newspapers and try to find out what the best sources for job information is. Maybe even apply for a job or two to see if you can get an interview.

Don't pay any attention to those "getting married to get citizenship" deals. I don't know Portugal's rules specifically, but suffice it to say all the EU governments are wise to these scams - and usually there is a period of time (like a year or two) when you can't work, even if married to a local. Citizenship comes sometime after that and usually isn't entirely automatic.

But even after your extended stay there, it may take a while to make the big move. Things move much slower in Europe than they do in the US (it's actually one of the advantages). But anything worth having is worth taking the time to do right, right?

[Arzich]

Hi there, just found this site occasionally.
Well here it goes some help:

Find in wikipedia about: Portuguese nationality
Portugal , information about the country
Porto , info about this city
and try this site - www . sef . pt ( its about Service for Foreign and Frontiers, u can choose english version in lef side)

Well this is the city that i live, if u choose Lisbon,and some near citys, the life style is very expensive, and there is a lack of job and safety.

I advise, and i talk for my own experience, to choose Porto to start life, then u can move whatever you want, here u have all that major cities has,and plus: good food, cheap foof, cheap houses, safety, very good education (the first schools on portuguese rank are here )good health system, 2 quality certified hospitals.

I am speaking for myself, for what i see...and for what every Erasmus , and Exchange Students programs people say about their stay here.

Sunny days,
Good health system,
Cheap food and very good,
Good houses,
Portugal North better to find job since the industry are here,
Good education,

In Lisbon u will get the problems that u will find in major capital citys in Europe like london, madrid , Berlim...

You can see by the reality facts, we had, Red Bull Air race here ( 600 thousand people )Euro 2004 Soccer Cup,Wtcc sports Car FIA CUP...


I hope that i convinced u.

Any more information be my guest.

Best Regards

[synthia]

People who specifically want to marry Americans are usually those who think that marriage will get them automatic citizenship, and they may well expect to move to America. That doesn't work, by the way.

I know there have been some changes in the law, but I think that if you become an Portuguese citizen you will lose your US citizenship. The only way you can have dual nationality is if it is yours by right of birth.

I know of lots of countries with racism problems. Look at Malaysia, which offers all sorts of scholarships and other advantages only to Malays, though that's a religious issue, too. And England doesn't do that well either. I don't see a lot of black presence in the cabinet there, for instance. Some countries have few problems just because the minority population is small. You can't really judge until you have spent some time there, and worked there.