Since, lets say, November 5th, I have seen a lot of people frantically asking questions about moving to PT. I get it. Honestly if I hadn't come 4 years ago I would be one of those people too. There are a few things you really need to ask, there are some questions you can google the answer to, and some questions that aren't super important but everyone thinks they are.
First question to ask is super important. Do you have a remote job? Are you retired? If either of these is yes, feel free to proceed looking into the D7/D8 visas. However, if the answer to these is no you need to hit the brakes for a minute. While there are a few people who work for international companies and can get transferred here, most people don't. Do not come to Portgual expecting to get a job (unless you would be highly qualified like a dr). Otherwise, full stop, don't do it. Salaries here are terribly low for the Portuguese, and rents are terribly high (esp compared to the low salaries). If you don't have a remote job or are retired I would suggest you start looking for a remote job as that's your best option.
***Yes I'm putting an asterisk here because there are a few exceptions to the remote/retired route but not a lot of people fall under them but I would be remiss if I didn't mention them. If you are married to an EU citizen, if your spouse makes enough remotely to support you (and kids if you have them) some airline jobs namely pilot and fa. There is an entrepreneur visa as well but I don't know much about that one.
Next/biggest point. Money. Do you have enough? Both the D7/D8 require you have a certain amount in a PT bank and show records of you having either passive income or remote work. If you are coming with a family and kids you will also have to show you have enough to cover them as well. There are a million things that pop up that cost extra, extra months rent because you don't have a guarantor, stupid fee's you will pay because you don't know how things work etc. You need to have a cushion in savings for unexpected things that pop up.
Congrats if you've made it this far keep going. There is a fantastic resource on facebook (yes the old people social media) that is wonderful about having the information you need to submit your visa's. The Americans & FriendsPT page. I'm not about to sit here and tell you step by step exactly what you need. First, it's been 4 years since I did this and a lot has changed. Second, I assume that if you are reading this you are a competent adult and if digging for information for a visa on a facebook page is too hard, you might want to rethink Portugal.
Now for what I actually see most people be concerned about.
Where should I move to in Portugal?
I don't want to say this isn't an important question because well it kind of is, but in the grand scheme of moving its not. For either D7/D8 you're going to have to have at least a year lease (yes I know I have heard someone's friends, cousins, dog got approved with an airbnb but that is not normal). I have seen some people lay out some wild perimeters for where they want to live; good medical care, not close to a big city, on the coast, walkable with good public transport and cheap. This however happens to be an actual country and not fantasyland, so the place people are looking for doesn't exist, not to mention it shouldn't be first on your checklist.
Should you decide(ish) where to live on paper, be ready to throw that out the window when you visit and decide you don't like it/too expensive/not walkable/etc. Even when we were looking at places I knew I wanted to be near Lisbon (yes I know I recently moved) but I didn't think I wanted to be IN Lisbon. We had visited Lisbon quite a few times beforehand but nowhere else in the country, so in my mind I landed on Sintra as the perfect place to live. Sintra to me (on paper) was Narnia. Mountains/cooler weather/"close" to Lisbon/hiking/cheaper/ the list went on and on..... on paper. Needless to say we never moved to Sintra, and I'm glad, the few times we have visited have been enough for me, the mountains were not "mountains" like I was thinking and "close" wasn't as close as I wanted. But again that's why asking people and watching you-tubers who are paid to sell you whatever it is your looking for are a poor replacement for actually being there.
So of course you have to live somewhere to get the visa. My suggestion: pick a city, a bigger city. Yes it will be more expensive (reference my paragraph on money) but it will help ease the transition. For example you might be able to find someone at the bank or the dr office who can speak english in a bigger city. It will be easier to get around with Uber or Bolt, even grocery shopping is easier, and above all it's less isolating, and you will be able to find expat groups who can help point you in whatever direction you need if you don't know something. I see it time and time again, people move to a cheap cute quinta in the middle of nowhere and don't last long, sure some do, but most don't. So absolutely yes give it a few minutes of thought where you want to live, check out prices on idealista (no MLS here) then pick your favorite sounding big city.
Last on my current list of useless questions is the bringing of the car. Unless you are stupid rich and have the patience of a saint don't. The rules are crazy and strict about inspections and all cars coming over must be brought to PT standards. I very rarely hear of a happy ending from someone who has brought/is trying to bring their car over. So unless you have a super rare collectable car don't, sell your jeep so you have more money to fund your move and let's be honest it won't fit through half the streets in Lisbon anyway.
At any rate you reasons for Why Portugal? had best be firm in you mind once you make the move, because there will be a lot of headaches, a lot of WTF moments that will make you question why you moved.
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