The End of Portugal's Non-Habitual Residence (NHR) Program Announced

I can assure you that Azoreans have no problem with e-balcão.
And supposing that an in-person work would cost more in legal fees… :smirk:

I also bought my house in Madeira. So I’m gonna fly in next week to go to finances myself. Anyway we can represent our family members at finances without them being there?

If you are flying to Madeira just for the reason of changing your tax address, then check my post above.

Which post? The one saying it could be done online? My accountant already tried online. She said it had to be in person or with a power of attorney. It is ok. I need to supervise some renovations in Funchal anyways. But in case it does work online, I just submitted a request online with a utility bill, a d7 visa and my deed. Currently pending.

I have a call scheduled with my lawyers for Monday on this topic and they have already confirmed that there is a potential proposal to create a transition period for cases delayed by the SEF.

I will find out more from them on Monday and if there’s anything useful then I’ll post it here.

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Thank you for sharing.

Yes, IF the govt listens to the businesses that are indicating that an abrupt end to the NHR regime 3 months before year end could precipitate an exit. It already causing a massive rush to register as a tax resident and gumming up the works.

Tried the other route of changing my address online - i.e. getting a confirmation code by post at the new address. Perhaps not news, but that doesn’t work if you’re ā€œabroadā€

Highlighted paragraph says:
ā€œFor taxpayers resident abroad, it is only possible to change the address to foreign countries. If they want to change their address to Portugal, they will have to go to a tax office.ā€

Given e-balcĆ£o seems to ignore ā€œautonomousā€ Madeira, it’s off to the Tax Office we go!

It would only be fair for them to exempt people who are just waiting for SEF. Why should people be denied the NHR through no fault of their own?

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I’m not sure that the concept of fairness the way you see it, is the same in their mind.

In 2021, the scramble for biometric appointments was a free for all. I know personally someone that received pre-approval the same day I did in Aug 2021 and biometrics in Oct 2021 and card in Nov 2021. My biometrics was a year later in 2022 :grimacing: and I am still waiting for the final approval. :roll_eyes:

One could make the same argument of fairness about the sudden rise in fees starting the end of this month. Does it seem fair? No, it isn’t fair that someone that applied in after you, received their card before you, paid less than you are going to pay. Can you do anything about it? No

With all the turmoil going on politically and within the agency, I think all bets are off on any semblance of order or what we might perceive as unfairness of the process.
We just have to make a decision on the action or inaction we are going to take based on the very fluid situation.

For every one in this limbo state the question is , do we gamble some more trying to establish tax residency before year end (which can have big immediate financial ramifications) to apply for NHR in 2024? Or, as some are speculating, they will allow a grace period for those who were held up by SEF delays, or, do we just forget the NHR entirely and re-evaluate the decisions in the new non-NHR context.

Their track record says that tomorrow they could change something else, or 2 years from now.

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Maybe Costa will have second thoughts?

In addition to stirring up concerns in Portugal, the news crossed the border and quickly reached Spain, with the country preparing to create a new tax relief regime for former residents.

ā€œSpain immediately took advantage of this episode to publicise its program, which is similar to the Portuguese one, because it recognises that it has lost a very competitive competitorā€, warns Jorge Bota, president of the Association of Real Estate Consulting and Valuation Companies (ACAI), in statements to idealista/news.

ā€œPortugal is clearly losing a factor in attracting staff, especially at a time when the economy needs them, whether due to the low unemployment rate, the inability to retain our talents or the added value of the sectors in which they operate economicallyā€, he adds.

https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2023-10-24/spain-takes-advantage-of-end-of-nhr/82543

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Some good news!

Hi guys, quick question as I am in the process of going down the NHR route as an EU citizen (Irish) - would I now require a 1 year rental contract to satisfy the requirements for NHR? I hear people saying they managed it with a 6 month contract but I was of the understanding that an offical contract under Portuguese law would need to be for 1 year. Would appreciate it if someone could clarify this for me. Many thanks!

Any more information about the Spanish alternative to the Portuguese NHR?

Has anyone seen any updates yet on what the new qualifying rules for NHR for teachers / researchers / etc will look like? The initial language around that was so vague and I’m wondering how they will define ā€œR&Dā€ or things like that, to figure out whether I might be eligible for this in the future.

Article I posted earlier had some reference to that. Of course things could change in the next month.
"In order to benefit from the scheme, these people will have to earn income from ā€œresearch and development jobs, for staff with a minimum qualification of level 8 of the National Qualifications Framework [doctorate]ā€¦ā€

Thanks @PTbound yeah I saw that as well, but the earlier language from the government included a few more categories - in particular I don’t think the ā€œresearch and developmentā€ bit was implied to be limited to needing a doctorate. I do advanced technology R&D but do not have a doctorate, so was trying to figure out if there’s been any more clarification about what scenarios will and won’t qualify.

Basically if it looks like I’d qualify independently for NHR later, I would hold off on applying now (don’t currently live in Portugal, but may in the future). But if not, I’d scramble to see if residency + NHR are possible now. Tricky!

Hi all, I have my biometrics scheduled for Oct 31st 2023 in Coimbra. We applied for GV end of Dec 2021. Per my attorney I can still possibly benefit from NHR, making the case that I should not be penalized for delays from SEF. Anyone else being advised similarly?

I would like to meet someone who is an expert on NHR and knows the rules and tax benefits as it applies to a current resident of the US. Would love a recommendation from anyone you have worked with either in Lisbon or Coimbra.

Thanks

@mlb should not confuse ā€œapplying for NHRā€ with ā€œqualified income under NHRā€.
On the former, you can happily register and receive your NHR status regardless of your income type or your doctorate degree or whatever else.
Then as you file you tax declaration, and include an income that you feel should be taxed under NHR - that’s when you need to be ready to share supporting docs, such as your degree, work contract, job description etc.

@chandrm Yes! We spoke to our Lisbon-based lawyer on Monday, and he also indicated that he was fairly certain that some provision for people whose cases are tied up with SEF will be made for the NHR. He said otherwise, his firm had planned on taking action on behalf of us and other clients… but they have that on hold until the government comes up with further guidance. He expects next month we should have more info. Fingers crossed!!!

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