Somewhere in the world, a bank closed my accounts after noticing I had a U.S. phone number, And at many places as soon as I’m identified as a U.S. person (FATCA), they typically decline to continue the relationship, unless I maintain 100K or more.
It is a very real issue for sure.
Well, there was no war in Europe and perhaps you didn’t have old U.S.S.R. in your heritage. Even though I have been an U.S. citizen for 40 years (plus additional five years of waiting for naturalisation), having the birthplace of Russia in my U.S. passport was enough for the bank to consider me a black-listed entity per expressed directives of EU. It finally took a PT residency card to have the block removed.
Here is a fun reading in case you are interested (especially Article 5):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02022R0328-20220225
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Yeah, I have read about sanctions against Russia.
Wasn’t aware that it was just the EU though?
The UK and Canada to name just two claimed to have sanctions against Russia.
Did you try to open a bank account in either of those two countries for balance?
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No, but at least my banking in the U.S. has been unaffected. I guess they still recognise the U.S. citizenship as a legitimate proof of residency and affiliation.
Also, there are probably plenty of other nationalities who are “marginalised” by the banks, with or without expressed EU directives. Don’t underestimate the gradations of different nationals.
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As someone whose great-grandparents were born in pre-USSR Russian Empire (nowadays independent EU countries, but controlled by Russia at the time), I am frequently thankful they exited when they did!
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I’d kiss their photos every day if I were you! 
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Well I wouldn’t become too complacent, with good old Putin proclaiming his plans to bring these countries back to the new Russian Empire
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For everyone’s note Spain does allow dual citizenship, BUT for selected countries that have historical or geographical connections; basically all of Latin America (Brazil included) + Portugal + few others, e.g. Philippines and I believe France is also included.. Feel free to check the full list from an official site.
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Luckily Portugal is one of the furthest EU countries from Putin. Maybe only Ireland or Iceland is further…
Thank you for clarification.
Iceland is a lot closer (dont let a map fool you , look at the globe ) - as is Ireland . Lisbon is a good 1000km further from Smolensk vs Dublin or Reykjavik- Murmansk 
- definitely furthest ! 
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I would also note that Iceland specifically is vital from a geopolitical/military standpoint. It doesn’t come up a lot, but the G-I-UK gap is a Real Thing in terms of west/russia sorts of things. The US closed Keflavik, and you can make arguments, but there’s still joint military footprint, and in case of a Real Situation, um… well. I know people say “you always fight the last war” and “things are different now” but it’s never that simple.
Shannon is also a Major Thing, but in a different way, for the North Atlantic Tracks system for transatlantic flights, not exactly geopolitical. Scotland is closer, and Ireland’s never been exactly politically stable, so one ever really cared about Ireland.
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I know most of the disappointments, problems, and stories shared on this page are usually about getting the initial GV card or, in some cases, renewals. After 3 years, I finally received my residence card — but I’m facing a very different kind of problem. I’ve had to deal with a dishonest, greedy contractor who was hired for a renovation project 4 years ago. I paid him €50k, he started but never finished, and now he has the audacity to demand an additional €114k to complete the job. Otherwise (if I terminate the contract), he threatens to “report me” to AIMA. In other words — an extortionist as well.
I won’t bore you with every detail, just a structured summary:
- July/August 2021 – I admit I was careless and didn’t do proper vetting (unfortunately, I didn’t know about this website back then). I signed up for a one-stop-shop package deal in Évora: purchase of 2 units, plus renovation, legal, and management services. Paid ~€115k for each unit plus €25k renovation fee for each, so around €280k in total.
- Renovation delays – The works did not begin for nearly a year after purchase. When they finally started, they were halted by the municipality because the submitted project had not yet been approved. I was warned that if we continued without approval, the penalty could be €1 million.
- Kept in the dark – For almost another year, I had no clear updates. Eventually the contractor admitted the reality: in Évora, many contractors had been starting and even finishing renovations without waiting for city approval. But by then the city council had begun inspecting. If they had started promptly in 2021, I likely wouldn’t be writing this post today.
- Project rejection – The city council rejected the initial project and demanded a new one, citing multiple violations of strict heritage codes. A long back-and-forth followed over who would pay for the revised project. Eventually that issue was resolved.
- Fast forward to early 2025 – After numerous revision requests, the second project was finally approved. I was relieved at first — but that didn’t last. The contractor, who initially agreed to apply for the license and resume works, kept stalling with excuses. Finally, he admitted outright that he would not proceed unless I paid him €114k more.
- The demand – To be fair, I can understand that some extra costs are reasonable: the revised project, deterioration of the apartments over time, plus higher costs of labor and materials. But asking for 2.28 times the original €50k paid four years ago? That defies logic. It’s a scam.
- The threat – He went further, saying that if I terminated the contract, he would “report me to AIMA.”
At this stage, I don’t care about GV/AIMA — this has become a matter of principle. I’ve instructed my law firm to find another contractor, and I’ve decided to sue. My plan is to demand:
- Return of the €50k with interest, and
- An additional €50k in damages.
If only they had been honest with me from the beginning — warning me that starting works without approval was risky — I could have factored that into my decision. Instead, they kept me in the dark and robbed me of that choice.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading.
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Sorry to hear this story. Your plan to sue and claim damages will come as a surprise to the contractor who calculates otherwise.
Is it not possible for you to get involved in finding another contractor, or vetting those that are proposed? You know the work that must be done. Various contractors can send you/your lawyer a quote (orçamento) for the work as per the Municipality approval/requirements. There will be outrageous quotes, and others from contractors where you see and like the work which they have done in Evora.
Many problems in renovations are linked to the fact that somebody naively things that human nature and human enterprise is different in Portugal, or X or Y, than elsewhere. The detail is delegated. Whether renovating a building a house in France or the US, or UK or anywhere – having a good personal relationship with the project manager and contractor is likely to be key to renovating something that to your taste and ideas of quality and also will meet architectural and Municipality norms.
Perhaps less blind faith again – unless you have very strong relationships with your lawyer, and the lawyers are familiar with lots of renovation project managers and contractors – good and bad – in Evora?
Thanks for your valuable feedback. I did think about getting involved personally. I even thought about renting a place in Évora during the renovation (I have the flexibility of working remotely) if and when I find a new company. However, I’m still not sure how things will play out with the nationality law debate in September. If things stay the same, I would be eligible to apply for citizenship next November, but if they end up doubling the wait time to 10 years, I’ll cash out. If that happens, I need to decide which is better: sell the units as-is without renovating (with the approved project), or go out and find a new contractor, finish the renovation, and then sell. At this point it’s very difficult for me to decide because nobody really knows how the new nationality law will shape up.
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Gosh, what a saga. You might want to connect with @jimhock3 about his experience pursuing dodgy contractors through the legal system and how to manage AIMA in the process.
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Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I read about that horror story not too long ago and I hope he manages to sort it out soon. I really don’t care about AIMA at this stage. If that greedy SOB rates me out, so be it. What I’m still not fully clear on is whether the business entity that sold me the units is complicit in this shakedown. I bought the units from a wholesale property entity and also paid the renovation fee directly to them. The subcontractor was the one tasked with carrying out the actual renovation. Under the old GV real estate rules the renovation fee had to be prepaid since it was already included in the minimum €280k. From what I’ve been told, the seller and subcontractor have worked with other clients as well, so this is not the first time they’ve done business together. Unfortunately, I’m not getting the level of support I expect from my lawyers. They’re nice people, but probably a bit too nice for this situation. What I need now is someone who’s a fighter, not just a mitigator.
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Often it is said that “living well is the best revenge”. This is false.
Enticing your enemy to apply for Portugal Golden Visa, then watching them tortured by Portuguese bank KYC, blocking out holidays and weekends in case of AIMA appointments, slowly wasting away, month after month, year after year, finances uncertain, children aging out of the program, family relationships withering from the disappointment and blame, health declining, every future plan a question mark and every idea a regret trap, is indeed the best revenge.
“I should proceed with xyz. If Portugal Golden Visa doesn’t come through, then I will really need to have started xyz as early as possible. But if Portugal does come through, then doing xyz will have been a waste of time and money…” 
Portugal Golden Visa: How else could you make losing three years’ salary last forever?
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