Just passed my one year anniversary of biometrics (Lisbon) and I can finally say that I am discouraged.
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Also folks, the initial approval is not the end of the battle. I am seeing renewals are also a big pain (host of payment issues, IT issues etc). Then I am not sure how smooth is the naturalization process going to be. The uncertainty in every step gives me shivers. I did not spend so much money to give me anxiety.
Im in the same boat, I finish a year tomorrow
IT issues during automatic renewal are much better than the previous system of renewals essentially being the entire application process (including biometrics) all over again…
Maybe when current year applicants are ready for their first renewal in 10 years, PT will have upgraded the renewal system!!
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I had my biometric appointment on Oct 26, 2022 in Lisbon. It was originally scheduled for late July but the date didn’t work well for me and I made the mistake of asking my lawyer if it could be rescheduled for the first two weeks of August; instead my lawyer rescheduled it for the third week of August, which I absolutely could not do, and the next available date was late October.
At the time my lawyer told me to expect three months. Now they are saying they expect it will be issued by the middle of 2024.
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Yikes. Do you know why they’re saying ~20 months from biometrics to approval, when Lisbon seems to be running at 11-13 months currently?
(and their initial 3 months seems a wild underestimate, since even in October 2022 we knew Lisbon was running at around 8-9 months)
My lawyer said SEF was working on the end of July 2022 about four months ago, and when they checked back a month ago SEF was still working on the end of July. Add in the slowdown for July and August, and the conversion to AIMA in late October, and it’s easy to see that 11-13 months blooming to 16-17.
It’s particularly important for me as a US citizen because to qualify as a Bona Fide Resident for the IRS you need to be resident overseas for a full tax year, which starts on January 1. It’s a significantly bigger deal to get residency for me on Dec 31 than Jan 1.
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Fair.
I’m guessing you initially applied in 2021? If so, you’re entitled to reside in Portugal with no time limits.
https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/12870-c-2021-176908200
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The problem with that is that, without a residency permit in Portugal, the time spent counts against your Schengen limits.
What does it change with the IRS? As a US citizen, they will still be taxing you regardless of your residence?
I have been living in PT well prior to my final approval that still has not come yet. My accountant in CA is now my fiscal representative and uses his business address for all IRS and CA FTB filings. He is confident that this is sufficient to claim no U.S. or CA residency.
As for federal taxes, just as @ohbee states, you are responsible for paying them as long as you maintain your U.S. citizenship. Unless you are planning to work in PT, your income in the U.S. will be taxed first.
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You can claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on up to about $120,000 of your income with the IRS as long as you can prove 1) you were resident in a foreign country during the tax year, or 2) you were not physically present in the US for about 11 months of the year. I’ve been claiming the FEIE based on not being in the United States, but it would be nice to establish residency in Portugal and spend a couple more weeks in the United States every year.
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Why are you allowed to reside in Portugal with no time limits if you applied in 2021?
Thanks,
Wendy
See these two threads:
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Okay, thanks. I would be surprised if this was still the case.
Regards,
Wendy
When we had how biometrics in January of this year, they noticed right away that we entered the country in June of 2021, and had not left. They just asked us to obtain our Atestado da Residência from our local Junta to declare our permanent status. They did not mention any other issues.
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Okay, good to know.
Thank you,
Wendy
I hope that is true about CA. A lot of advice I have read suggests “moving” to a zero income tax state instead of leaving CA as your last known residence, lest the state come back at you later for back taxes…
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Well, all I can say this Despacho has been tested multiple times and it is definitely still legally in force 
You may require some persuasion skills and extra letters from your lawyer to convince some public servants though.
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It’s particularly important for me as a US citizen because to qualify as a Bona Fide Resident for the IRS you need to be resident overseas for a full tax year, which starts on January 1. It’s a significantly bigger deal to get residency for me on Dec 31 than Jan 1.
Talk to your CPA (or other tax professional), but you get to choose when your year begins for purposes of Physical Presence test. For instance if you moved abroad in July Year 1 and file in June Year 2, you could use June Year 1 to the June Year 2 when you’re filing for the calculation. You need to be outside of the US for 330 days in a 365 day period to pass.
You get an automatic 2-month extension if you live outside of the US, but you still need to pay what you owe in April.