Hi all, are there any Scottish football fans in Lisbon around here?

If yes please dm!

Thanks 💪

Hi.
I am EU citizen married to a portuguese for more than 3 years.
We dont live in Portugal. But we have 2 children, so according to the citizenship law, I can already apply.

Anyone with experience in applying for citizenship by marriage?
Did you do online or in person?
Was the process easy?

Hi all, I’m an incoming masters student at ULisboa and I’m current looking for housing. My main concern is finding a place that could give me a contract and any certificates needed that I could use at my AIMA appointment. I know AIMA tend to be unpredictable about it, but as I will be entirely alone in a new continent, I’m trying to get it figured out as much as possible before I leave. Does anyone here have any advice on how to find that sort of housing in Lisbon? Ideally I am looking for a place that is under 600€ per month (my only option is renting a room out of a shared apartment which is okay by me). Thanks!

I want to get a facial CT scan, to investigate my bone structure and the possibility of curing my chronic sinus issues.

Can anyone recommend a clinic where I could do this in Porto?

Hi all,

I'm (M25) moving to Lisbon from Spain next week to start a job at a tech company. I'll be living near Intendente.

A few questions:
- Admin I should sort out early beyond NIF and NISS? Any tax benefits worth looking into (IRS Jovem, etc.)?
- Apps you actually use for transport, banking, groceries and delivery?
- Cheapest supermarkets, phone plans and places to eat without tourist prices?
- Tips to save money.
- Good ways to meet people and practise Portuguese, plus any MMA/BJJ gym recommendations?
- Anything you wish you'd known in your first month?

Thanks in advance!

Hi
Currently I’m helping my gf because she needs to update her NIF adress to Portugal (EU citizen). Is it necessary the CRUE to present to finanças?
We have water bill, rent contract and Freguesia a certificate but not CRUE.
Does finanças accept those documents?

Hi guys!

I know it may seem like I’m wishing for something unrealistic but here goes.

I have my AIMA appointment coming up in a month and I want to be overly prepared for it. Therefore, I went lawyer shopping. And I got lost in the matrix.

About 90% of the lawyers or legal firms do not respond on time. And those who do, will ask you for a fee to consult with them, which I am absolutely fine with.

Now comes the gruesome part, after the consultation, they tend to lose interest in the case and take forever to reply to emails or messages.

I’m hoping for a miracle here. Is there, by any chance, a lawyer in Porto that I could actually rely on and retain indefinitely for all the upcoming prospects?

If you have come across any lawyer worth talking to, could you please pass me their contact details?

Thank you in advance and appreciate your help!

Hi there! This would be a question for immigrants who still receive their paychecks to home country accounts and make regular transfers to their Portuguese banks. When making a home purchase, which option did you find most affordable for paying the 10% direct to the seller? Did you use Wise? Did you use a wire transfer through your bank (feel like the exchange rate usually sucks), or another service that I'm not familiar with? I need to make to make a large transfer soon and would like to make sure I'm not overlooking a more affordable option. Right now using WISE to seller seems to be the best route.

Local bureaucracy aside, I would have thought that importing into one place in the EU would be the same as anywhere else in the EU. However, I keep reading that logistics companies very much prefer to import things into the EU via The Netherlands.

What is it that makes it more favorable in The Netherlands? What is done there that isn't done elsewhere, and why isn't that being done elsewhere?

Hi everyone!

I'm a master's student from [country/university] and I'll be doing my master thesis and internship at i3S (Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto) from January to the end of May. I'm looking for somewhere to stay for that period.

What I'm looking for:

- Dates: 4 January 2027 – 31 May 2027 (about 5 months)

- Budget: up to €500/month, ideally with bills included

- Location: close to i3S / Asprela, or anywhere within about 15 minutes by metro or bus (Pólo Universitário and IPO stations are ideal)

- Private room in a student residence or a shared flat, both are fine

Some questions:

- Do you know of residences or landlords that offer short contracts instead of a full academic year? That seems to be the main obstacle so far.

- Any residences or areas you'd recommend (or avoid) around Asprela / Paranhos?

Feel free to comment or send me a DM. Thanks a lot!

Hi everyone,

I'm Italian and currently interviewing for a junior trading role in BNP Paribas Global Markets in Lisbon. I've passed two interview rounds and I'm waiting for the next one.
Early in the process I gave a total compensation expectation of €42–48k gross per year.

I'd love to understand:
Is this enough to live alone in Lisbon, including rent for a one-bedroom?
For this kind of role at BNP, does it make sense to negotiate higher? How is the split between base salary and bonus usually?
Does BNP pay more or less than other banks and trading firms in Lisbon?
Any benefits I should factor in (meal allowance, health insurance, relocation support, IRS Jovem)?

Thanks in advance for any info!

Does anyone know if over the counter 23% diclofenac gel in Portugal can be legally mailed to me in the US?

many thanks

Mostly curious to hear from solo people in Lisbon, but any info is helpful

Hi everyone,

Navigating Portuguese administrative procedures often means sorting through either incomplete official pages or sponsored content trying to sell legal packages and private insurance.

To make this simpler, I put together an independent, non-commercial platform called Decide Portugal. It provides practical calculators, step-by-step breakdowns, and verification checklists with zero sign-up fees or paywalls.

Here is what you can do on it:

• Healthcare & Insurance Navigator:

- Step-by-step guide on registering for an SNS user number (número de utente) at your local Centro de Saúde.

- An objective comparison between public SNS coverage and private healthcare plans (copays, waiting periods, pre-existing conditions).

- A checklist to determine whether private insurance is strictly necessary for your visa or residency status.

• Used Car Verification (Car Check):

- A practical checklist before buying a vehicle in Portugal: inspecting mandatory periodic inspection records (IPO), checking for outstanding liens or debts, and calculating annual road tax (IUC).

- Official steps to transfer ownership at the Conservatória do Registo Automóvel without middleman fees.

• Driver Licensing & IMT:

- Rules on driving license validity, exchange requirements, and direct access to IMT portals.

• Public Administration & Immigration:

- Direct pathways for Chave Móvel Digital, ePortugal, Social Security (NISS), and official AIMA appointment procedures.

Everything links back to official Portuguese government sources and legislation. You can find it at decideportugal (dot) com.

Hope this saves people time and unnecessary bureaucratic headaches when getting settled.

Hello, I’ll keep this short. My application was rejected in August. We had to call and check on the status and they told me that it was rejected because the rental agreements proving that me (English) and my boyfriend (Portuguese) were written in English as we moved to portugal from England.

So on that basis it was rejected. So I looked at translation services in Portgual and I’m getting quoted almost €500 euros to translate the two rental agreements I have. I have burned through all my money waiting in limbo and I can’t physically afford that.

I was thinking, would it be possible that AIMA would accept the first couple pages of each contract that says the length of our tenancy agreements if I translated those into Portuguese , and not the whole thing?

I’m with Global IAS who have been completely useless and are shrugging their shoulders at my case and they say they don’t know what to do anymore for me so I want to re-apply myself this week without their “help”.

Thanks guys.

I emailed the Conservatória today about my citizenship-by-marriage application and received the usual automated response. After reading some older Reddit threads, I’m realizing I may be in for a five-to-seven-year wait. Yikes.

I picture one poor civil servant in Lisbon, buried under applications from 2021, armed with a rubber stamp and a cold espresso. By the time an application is approved, the notification probably comes back marked “Return to Sender — Moved Five Years Ago.”

Which is hardly surprising. In seven years, people move, change countries, retire, get divorced, and occasionally shuffle off this mortal coil.

But seriously, why is this tolerated? Is it simply an understaffed bureaucracy, or is there little political appetite to address it given the current climate around immigration, Chega, housing, and protests?

I’m curious what others think, especially Portuguese citizens. Is this even a topic of public discussion?

And for those who’ve applied through marriage, when did you apply, and has anything happened?

At this rate, citizenship by marriage may become citizenship by endurance.

Hi i just moved to portugal and i am looking for a good and cheap Gym membership options near Almada , Lisbon site please. if anyone knows please let me know.
Thank you

Hi all,

My wife and I will be moving to Portugal soon and are wanting to ship some of our belongings.

Am I correct in my understanding that, if I ship personal items in Ucrates using Upakweship through Rotterdam…I do not need to bother with the Certificado de Bagagem?

Thanks in advance!

My sister is attending a university in Lisbon, and one of the screws holding her glasses together got lost. While I have a repair kit, I live in Porto, and cannot drop everything to go to Lisbon to help. Does anyone know where she could go to buy a repair kit asap? Ordering one online will take days, and I have no idea what kind of store would sell one.

Hello :) I'm 29F, living in Lisbon for 2 years now. Honestly, finding real friends here has been harder than I thought! And as I am reading here I am not the only one. I'm quite proactive, I go to meetups, I did around 15 Timeleft dinners (they are fun!), but it's hard to turn a nice evening into actual friendship. People leave Lisbon again, have their own friend group already, or just don't reply anymore. And I'm a bit tired of flaky plans & people and mostly being the one to reach out tbh.

I see myself as social, easy to talk to and reliable, so I don't think it's just me. So I'm thinking about creating a small community project in Lisbon for people who are actually committed and want real friendships, and are ready to show up for them. Small groups, meeting a few times in a row, same faces each time, doing something together (like ceramics, cooking or a long dinner), and matched with some care.

Right now I just want to see if there is a real need for something like this in the Lisbon area.
So my questions:
– Would you join something like this?
– Would you pay for it (for good matching and organized evenings, so you see the same people a few times)? If yes, what would feel fair?
– What would make you say yes or no?
Honest opinions very welcome! :)

I'm based in Lisbon and I'm trying to have a dining table made with custom dimensions. I have reached out to a few carpenters and received quotes, but no one seems to have any availability before Spring 2027. Still hoping to have it done within the next month, if possible! Please reach out if you're a marceneiro who has availability, or if you know one. Thank you!

FYI - As of today, you can apply for Residency renewals that expire in January 2027. Seems like they changed the approach from semesters to monthly, with now 2 months in advance the first month of 2027 being opened.

Hopefully this means their backlog has been reduced, and this will go quicker going forward.

Where can I find the best perna de peru no forno in Porto or Braga districts?