Countries offering retirement visas

[NoEZmoney]

Health Insurance in Portugal

For folks interested in Portugal, health insurance options are pretty good. This video explains it all quite well:

https://youtu.be/-wPWtM7N7ow

 

[lordjust]

We are in the same exact position. Had our sights set on Spain (Valencia) after visiting Spain a number of times but after researching tax issues, especially wealth tax, our focus has shifted to Portugal.

Why did people pick Valencia ? I thought it was roasting hot and couldn’t take it. Funny enough I had mixed reactions with the people as well.

Lagos Portugal was nice though.

 

[Focus]

Why did people pick Valencia ? I thought it was roasting hot and couldn’t take it. Funny enough I had mixed reactions with the people as well.

You must have gone to Valencia in the summer. The greatest heat and highest humidity I've experienced were during an August in that city. Despite that, I liked the city a lot. Although I have wonderful friends there, I do think people in general are nicer in, say, Madrid.

 

[lordjust]

You must have gone to Valencia in the summer. The greatest heat and highest humidity I've experienced were during an August in that city. Despite that, I liked the city a lot. Although I have wonderful friends there, I do think people in general are nicer in, say, Madrid.

June 3rd... i think that counts as summer. Yes I prefer Madrid, Malaga and even the south of Barcelona (more expensive).

 

[JakeinChina]

You must have gone to Valencia in the summer. The greatest heat and highest humidity I've experienced were during an August in that city. Despite that, I liked the city a lot. Although I have wonderful friends there, I do think people in general are nicer in, say, Madrid.

Funny, because we were thinking of settling down in Valencia before moving back to the States. People in Valencia I have to say weren't the friendliest and as much as we tried to speak Spanish, they just got frustrated and didn't seem very accepting of foreigners. Plus, the summer months is was so hot there, even with the beach and such nearby.

 

[Focus]

Funny, because we were thinking of settling down in Valencia before moving back to the States. People in Valencia I have to say weren't the friendliest and as much as we tried to speak Spanish, they just got frustrated and didn't seem very accepting of foreigners. Plus, the summer months is was so hot there, even with the beach and such nearby.

That lack of friendliness we perceived could be a regional difference, or perhaps it's because Valencia used to be off the tourist track and now gets its full share of foreign visitors -- good for small businesses, but not so great for the locals who preferred how it used to be.

Much as I liked Valencia, I decided it's not a city I'd choose to live in for the reasons mentioned. I'm not a beach guy either, so that wasn't a draw.

 

[matjung]

I was hoping to find a list of countries. Perhaps with a few links per country. And not a long list of contributions.

 

[rt-texas]

I was hoping to find a list of countries. Perhaps with a few links per country. And not a long list of contributions.

You might check out International Living dot com. They have some good general info on a lot of countries in one location. Take a lot of what they say with a grain of salt but...they have always seemed fairly up to date on their individual country visa requirements in the past.

Just doing a short list is difficult because everything is in flux right now obviously. If you have a particular country your interested in then just google that country plus retirement visas.

But I have never seen in one location any type of consolidated list of retirement visas for different countries, at least that I ever found.

 

[NoEZmoney]

Ditto on International Living as a place to start. It's a good first step in gathering info but I too think they often gloss over some realities. You can get free newsletters and some free article / guide downloads. They publish a "Top 15 Places to Live and Retire" e-book. They do want you to subscribe to their magazine and seminars.
Here's a link:
https://bookstore.liveandinvestoverseas.com/sub/overseas-living-letter/index-special/

 

[explanade]

There are links throughout this thread.

However, some forums let users create and edit a Wiki for each thread so that would be nice feature to have in this case, to add some links at the top of each page of the thread.

 

[FIREarly]

Portugal is believed to have good Expat laws and their Healthcare is very affordable.

Portugal is also always near the beach and a "short" drive from lots of beautiful European cities.

You can learn more about it from retired federal employees with 2 kids that moved to Portugal via YouTube @OurRichJourney

 

[NoEZmoney]

P\
Portugal is also always near the beach and a "short" drive from lots of beautiful European cities.

You can learn more about it from retired federal employees with 2 kids that moved to Portugal via YouTube @OurRichJourney

While I agree with most of what's said about Portugal being a great place for Expat living/retirement. It is not a short drive to major European cities and it can be a haul just getting over the mountains to major places in Spain.

Rail service is great in-country from Porto in the north to Lisbon in the south and even to the Algarve region which is the southerly most region of nice beaches and all. There you can get to the south of Spain pretty easy but from there it's not all the quick to places by car.

I've traveled all over Portugal, Spain, south of France and then some. You have geography that can be a highway obstacle and it's faster / cheaper by plane to Madrid to Porto for example via TAP airlines. Don't take my word for it about travel times -- use the app http://www.rome2rio.com and enter to and froms to get a sample of what's available by train, bus, car, air. It's a good tool.

 

[FIREarly]

NoEZmoney, nice point and like that website. Appreciate you sharing it.

And, yes, per that website, driving is more expensive and time consuming (used Lisbon > Rome)

 

[brett]

Last time we flew from Porto-Rome it was $100. on TAP.

 

[Lagniappe]

I flew Lisbon to Rome recently for less than 40 Euros roundtrip on TAP. Way less expensive than driving. And way faster.

Portugal is a long drive from most major cities in Europe. I did drive from Lisbon to Seville in about 5 hours, but only because I was picking up some items at Costco as well as sightseeing. Luckily everything is a relatively quick flight away.

 

[samm]

.. I had my heart set on moving to Spain, ... However, the deeper I looked, the riskier it seemed financially. ...

To mention just a few issues: Spain's tax rates are essentially double the U.S.'s. ...It forces you to file an "information only" annual form detailing all of your worldwide assets ...

Tax residents must comply with "Modelo 720" by disclosing all worldwide assets...with large penalties for omissions. The Modelo 720 purpose is to prepare to impose a global asset tax, like France has. Spain is a graying country with too few people declaring taxable income and paying income tax, with a high VAT tax already, so asset taxes are needed to tax the affluent retirees and people that hide assets/income.
https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/en_gb/procedimientoini/GI34.shtml

 

[explanade]

Asset tax?

Didn't they kick out a lot of UK expats when Brexit occurred?

Lot of those Southern Spain towns depend on retirees from colder countries to settle there.

 

[Alan]

Asset tax?

Didn't they kick out a lot of UK expats when Brexit occurred?

Lot of those Southern Spain towns depend on retirees from colder countries to settle there.

Not that I’m aware of. There was a mutual agreement on both sides that all expats already in UK and EU could stay.

 

[explanade]

A new article.

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-places-in-the-world-to-retire

Not sure their info is comprehensive but they link to some resources.

Really favor Western Hemisphere over Europe. No Asian countries.

 

[samm]

There are wealth/asset taxes in Spain, France & Portugal

See articles for description.

https://taxfoundation.org/wealth-taxes-in-europe-2020/

https://www.blevinsfranks.com/services/wealth-tax/

 

[explanade]

See articles for description.

https://taxfoundation.org/wealth-taxes-in-europe-2020/

https://www.blevinsfranks.com/services/wealth-tax/

That's even with just a 1-year residency visa?

Or only after you've lived there a few years or have obtained citizenship?

 

[explanade]

So not retirement visas but Americans of all ages are increasingly moving to Europe.

One big reason is affordability according to the article. A lot more moves in the last year or two.

Some people are at or near retirement age and drawn by lifestyle and things like 1 Euro homes in some remote villages in Italy.

But now there are more people of working age moving to Europe because they're able to do their jobs over the Internet.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ing-prices-and-strong-dollar-fuel-relocations

 

[Alan]

So not retirement visas but Americans of all ages are increasingly moving to Europe.

One big reason is affordability according to the article. A lot more moves in the last year or two.

Some people are at or near retirement age and drawn by lifestyle and things like 1 Euro homes in some remote villages in Italy.

But now there are more people of working age moving to Europe because they're able to do their jobs over the Internet.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ing-prices-and-strong-dollar-fuel-relocations

Our daughter and her partner are planning on the same thing this year, moving to and working in England for 10 or so years before retiring to Australia. She has a UK passport, his company is applying for a work visa for him, and she expects to continue to work for her existing company as remote working is common in the company plus they have a presence in the country so can continue as an employee rather than go on contract.

 

[tulak]

Our daughter and her partner are planning on the same thing this year, moving to and working in England for 10 or so years before retiring to Australia. She has a UK passport, his company is applying for a work visa for him, and she expects to continue to work for her existing company as remote working is common in the company plus they have a presence in the country so can continue as an employee rather than go on contract.

Out of curiosity, do you know if they will adjust her salary?

I’ve been curious about this, but wouldn’t want to make the move due to reduced salary in Europe vs US.

While traveling through France, I look at the cost of real estate. Very affordable compared to my HCOL area in the US.

 

[Alan]

Out of curiosity, do you know if they will adjust her salary?

I’ve been curious about this, but wouldn’t want to make the move due to reduced salary in Europe vs US.

While traveling through France, I look at the cost of real estate. Very affordable compared to my HCOL area in the US.

I don’t know how they will handle it. She hasn’t told them yet, waiting for a promotion to be confirmed first. She is owed a 6 month paid sabbatical so that will be at US rates regardless.

After paying off the mortgage she expects to clear $1m on her house sale so will have no problem buying something here.