#8 D7 Requirements for Portugal visa - Income and how we intend to do it

We are starting to clear up some unwanted stuff from the house and today we explain the d7 visa, how we intent to obtain it and what information we have come across.
We found a great website to help explain a little further - digitalemigre....
Steve Robinsons group (if you are uk) is great to ask questions- / 413115937699774
For reference this was filmed September 2023
Leahs Yoga Channel - / @lakorayoga

[@mandywinkworth5380]

Hi, just a word of warning, please check the legal status of the quinta that you like. There are many properties advertised as "farm houses" that are actually "agricultural support buildings" and therefore do not have a Habitation License. This happens a lot in the Castelo Branco region as so many foreigners are eager to pursue the KZbin off grid lifestyle, and unscrupulous sellers are cashing in with all types of properties at inflated prices. Have you considered looking in other regions of Central Portugal?

[@thehynelife]

We have yes. Like you said, castelo branco is the first place that started to pop out, possibly because it's so popular for expats. But we are open to anywhere xxx

[@catherineshaw3197]

Thank you for this video. It was very informative. Wishing you all the best in your move to Portugal.

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

You are doing well with your cost planning, but you need to consider a few more costs: * COST of changing the registration of your UK car to portuguese registration. You can only drive a UK registered car in Portugal for 90 days. After that, you need to take it back to UK or register it in Portugal, and that involves importing it. I've heard it's very expensive and takes time. Most people opt for taking the car back to UK to sell it there and buy another one in Portugal. Both new and used cars are more expensive in Portugal than UK. Other car expenses are road tax and road tolls. * If you buy a large property you'll need a tractor to cut grass, brambles and shrubs and keep it clean as required by law. For smaller properties up to 5,000 sq meters you may do without buying one, you may hire a "man and tractor" for 40 Euros an hour current rate. You'll need to clean at least twice a year and if the 5,000 m2 property is not flat, has a lot of trees and undergrowth, it'll take longer than a couple of hours. It's a dead cost that does not produce any income. With that in mind the larger the property the costlier the maintenance and the more machines you need to work it. Not cheap, you could end up spending thousands every year for a property of 18,000 sq meters. A property of up to 5,000 m2 of good arable soil with water will produce enough crops for you, and to feed animals, and is a manageable size if you are planning to do all the work yourselves. Large properties will need you to pay out a lot just for maintenance, specially if it includes forest = it's a no, no, sooner or later it will burn down. * You need to plan for income TAX because it's also a COST and in Portugal taxes are high. As soon as you become a resident of Portugal you'll also become a taxpayer of Portugal. That's how the country pays for the good healthcare & education services so many KZbinrs praise so much. You'll be required to annually declare in Portugal ALL your income earned anywhere in the world. If you are elegible for NHR status (Non Habitual Resident) you'll pay a flat rate of just 20% on all your income, including UK income. Annuities also pay tax and you may even be taxed twice: in the UK at UK tax rate, and then in Portugal if the same tax in Portugal is higher than in UK. So... plan for an overall tax bill of 20% at least if you have a NHR rebate. KZbin income is taxed at a higher rate = royalties. After the NHR rebate expires you'll be taxed like the portuguse = up to 48%. And... another expense is the accountant you'll need to hire to prepare your tax declarations. As a guideline, the portuguese pay on average 100 to 200 Euros for an accountant that will prepare the tax forms once a year, but... since your tax affairs will involve income from abroad and different strands of income and tax, you may be charged 100 to 200 Euros per month, because many accountants want to make sure you are doing everything right and will not be hired at 5 minutes to midnight on the tax deadline. (That's what an accountant told me, she said she was not taking any foreigners on just a "once in a year" basis). So... another 1,200 Euros on top of the tax bill. * You keep saying that living off-grid means no bills but... as someone who has lived off-grid, it's not true. Things break down a lot: water pumps break at least 2 to 3 times a year. If you cannot repair them you need to pay someone. We used to have 2 pumps to make sure we had water at all times and on occasions both broke. It's to do with the weather extremes in Portugal. Leaks and burst pipes sometimes need to be dug out and replaced. Water pressure goes down and becomes a trickle and the shower may not work... You may have to pay for water treatment and for water tests regularly. I've heard of someone who had beed drinking their water for a while (the previous owner said it was drinkable) and later had a water test result of "fecal matter in water"... Fancy that...! It's what happens when folks don't build septic tanks according to rules. You may also have o pay to have your sceptic tank emptied by the local council. The solar panels get broken in a bad hailstorm = expensive. You may find that off-grid does not mean bill-free, on the contrary... it could be more expensive than on grid. In my village everyone connected to the grid because it was cheaper and meant no problems. And you may like to know that 90% of grid electricity produced in Portugal is green electricity from renewables. Solar energy is not that sustainable because... Lithium bateries are produced on the back of slave labor in the mines of Africa, have a short life, are very difficult to recycle and you may have to pay to get rid of old ones. Never free from bills... There are more costs, but these are the major ones, not to be ignored.

[@thehynelife]

Thank you, that is very informative. Definitely all things we will consider. Thank you for going so in depth. It's all new to us and we have a lot to learn. X

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

@@thehynelife Glad you found it useful. Some youtubers don't like to know the truth, they just want cheerleaders... Don't believe everything expats tell you about how easy it is to live in Portugal. They never mention the difficuties, or why they left.

[@thehynelife]

@@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn exactly. I appreciate it. Thank you.

[@jonathan2012alvarado]

This is an awesome video regarding cost. I am actually planning this as well currently selling my house but moving from Seattle my only concern is this only covers your initial two year D7 window and then to reapply for the next three years you need to meet the same qualifications, you met the first time which means you would have to have all this all over again the second time.

[@thehynelife]

Exactly. It's alot. We actually didn't end up doing it because we couldn't afford the monthly deposits that they want in the bank. But maybe one day x

[@jonathan2012alvarado]

@@thehynelifewhat’s was your number for a family of three. I’m in the same situation as you

[@thehynelife]

We couldn't get enough for our house here in the UK. Had to lower the price as house prices were dropping so it didn't work out for us. We could only go if we got a certain number for our house.

[@angelogouveia2487]

Great video again, can't wait to follow your journey to Portugal ❤

[@thehynelife]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@marilynfdavis891]

Good to hear you are making progress! I am hoping your home sells soon! 💜

[@thehynelife]

Thank you. Me too 😂❤

[@javiersanchez8440]

Wow it's wonderful!!

[@The-Seven-Seas]

Wishing you all the luck! Great that you have proper legal representative, I would avoid the incredibly long-winded YT advisors😉

[@thehynelife]

Yes agree. Xxx

[@mandywinkworth5380]

Some additional costs to be aware of when purchasing a property of €145, 000.... IMT tax of 5% €1, 325 stamp duty 0.8% €1,160 Notary fees of around €700 lawyer fees of around €600. Being connected to the grid is nowhere near the cost of the UK, for our small 3 bed house electricity is around €38 per month, lpg gas €31 and water €26. Hope this helps with your budgeting.

[@thehynelife]

Amazing thank you. Xxx

[@oliverpapp8271]

It was a very importand and edutacional video. Thanks.

[@thehynelife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@arturjcrebelo3275]

I dont know if you already buy... But be aware the work to much land is. In Portugal brambles and weeds grow faster than ppl expect, because the fertile land and the morning dew. Even we dont have lots of rain but the dew do the work. And to much land need a lot of work. Be aware of that. For me to have lots of fruit trees and a place to plant vegetables is 5000m enough, even more because both of you guys have jobs.

[@thehynelife]

Yes totally agree. We have started looking at places with a little less land x

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

Property PRICES in Portugal: From my experience which is large and long... asking prices in Potugal are ALWAYS above what the seller expects to get, everyone knows that and negotiates down accordingly. It's not rude to negotiate, it's expected. Sellers start by asking ridiculous amounts to check which way the wind is blowing and in the hope that some silly ignorant will bite the hook. If nothing happens they'll lower the prices... several times... till they sell. Example: in our village there was a house with land for sale with an asking price of 100K, for years nobody was interested, finally they decided to lower the price to 75K, still not much interest... then they really and seriously wanted to sell and get rid of it. A young couple from the village offered 25K and got it! I know you are dead set on Castelo Branco area but I think all properties there are overpriced because all foreigners go there. Recently I saw a property on youtube with a asking price of 100 times (no typo, one hundred times...) what it is worth. Most portuguese would not want it for free... LOL Will some idiot buy it? Await and see... (I can provide detais of channel). KZbin "sheeple" and all that effect... And Castelo Branco is not even the best area of rural Portugal. Just have a look at another youtube channel titled " Bailey's Homestead" who bought a very nice property for 75K with a livable old house, in a gorgeous area in the north, close to amenities and just 5O minutes from beaches... That's an honest price. As a general basic rule, arable land is worth around 1 Euro per sq meter and forest land 50 centimes per sq meter max. Value of houses depends on quality, location, etc. a recent built house is far superior and more expensive than an old building that may (will) have damp and insulation issues, sometimes impossible to correct. When you find your property you can find out if the price is right or not this way: ask a local notary, Camara, or Finanças to give you the contact of a local "avaliador" = valuer. They are independent surveyors not connected to estate agents and are hired by families to provide legal valuations of inheritances. They have to be fair and correct as dividing inheritances is serious stuff. They may charge you something like 50 Euros to visit the property and tell you the right price to offer. Could save you a fortune.

[@thehynelife]

That's amazing thank you. Yes I follow baileys channel. It's hard when looking from the UK but I'm trying to figure out the best places. Would love to know the property you mentioned though as I follow a few estate agents from Portugal. Thank you so much for the insight xxx

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

@@thehynelife I've just seen a property that may be of interest to you, if only to compara prices and areas. The asking price is "silly" at 155K, it's worth only half that amount, or less... I can send you a link by email if interested, please let me know or put your email on your profile page. Cannot post link here as it will be automatically deleted by youtube. I don't have any interest or connection with the sellers or agents but I know the area = good area.

[@thehynelife]

@@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn I've just put it in my about section. Thank you x

[@duosiris34]

145 ,000... i think you can do a lower offer

[@thehynelife]

Definitely ❤

[@veraalex7446]

HOW to get NIF ? I NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT

[@thehynelife]

We had a lawyer do it for usm Liliana solipes I think her name was

[@mariomarques4247]

Why?????????

[@thehynelife]

Why what? Can you elaborate? X

[@donnacosta5633]

I'm not an expert on financial matters but... I've heard annuities are very good for financial advisers, and brokers, and financial institutions that sell them... BUT a terrible product for the client. Make sure you do know what you are buying.

[@thehynelife]

It's the only way we can get the passive income right now. So I think it's our only choice. Wouldn't be for long. Hopefully x

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

@@thehynelife It's not the only way. You can get a residency visa if you get a full-time job in Portugal. To get a job you don't even need to get a visa before moving, so no visa expenses. You can enter as a visitor which will allow you to stay up to 90 days in any 6 month period, during the 90 days stay you can look for a job, which will be quicker to find if you start applying online from UK. When you have a solid job offer, you ask the employer to provide you with a signed employment contract with the start date, take the contract to any SEF office in Portugal and they'll give you a residency visa for the term of your contract, or even longer... That visa will be renewed each time your contract is renewed and you can change jobs and do other self-employed work as well. The only problem with this route is that it is more difficult (but not impossible) to find a suitable job in rural areas. But one of you could go first and when a job is found you could then make plans to buy property and move the rest of the family. There is a shortage of workers in all sectors. If you have specific qualificarions that are in demand it will be a doodle... No costs. Easiest route of all. Note: Ukrainian refugees have found work in Portugal and many can already speak very good basic portuguese without any prior knowledge and coming with a different alphabet.

[@MarizaRodrigues-mw4bn]

@@thehynelife You say: "Wouldn't be for long". I don't understand what you mean by that because once you buy an annuity you cannot go back on it, can you? Your money is gone. And also... if you get the first entry visa on the basis of passive income from an annuity, you'll still need to show passive income later at renovation THROUGHOUT the 5 years of your visa, till you apply and get permanent residency or citizenship. I've heard of folks who borrowed money from their familes and transfered it to Portugal to their bank accounts to get the visas... and a little later transfered it back to their relatives. Guess what? It automatically triguered an alert and their visas were cacelled and they were deported. Others submitted fake contracts for online work that didn't exist... but then when the time came to renew the visas they got in trouble because they could not show payments received and tax paid from that "work". There are many folks giving up living in Portugal around the 2 year mark. Why would that be? Because they provided fake documents and cannot keep up the pretence... but nobody will tell you that on KZbin, they'll say they didn't like the food, or the sea water was too cold... LOL Not recommended!

[@thehynelife]

If we get a cheaper property, we will have an annuity that lasts for 5 months. So untill we are residents 😊

[@pathkris2984]

@@thehynelife If we only use an annuity to show proof of income, without buying any property at all, does the annuity have to prove life long income or it could be a short term annuity, say like a 5 year annuity that we can show? If the annuity ends in 5 years is that still acceptable proof for a D7 visa. Thanks.