Basic Info In Regard To Living in Lisbon

Hello,

welcome on TT!

You have written a very clear and informative post, but you don't say the most important thing. Since you hold a USA passport, how do you think to live and work legally in Portugal?

At least once a week (but usually more often) there is somebody not holding a EU passport asking for advice on how to live and work in some EU countries. I'm really sorry but I'm afraid everybody here will tell you what invariably was told to the other posters: it's going to be very hard if not impossible. Just spend some time searching previous posts. I know you is you, and you have a different background and want to live in Lisbon and work as an engineer (for the moment), and are not e.g. a cook wanting to live and work in Paris. But the situation is the same: black economic crisis, awful bureaucracy to go through if one wants to employ somebody who's not a EU citizen/resident... Unless you already have a long-stay visa or are married to a Portuguese (or intend to do so), you'll have other worries than knowing how to exchange your funds. Oh, even if you're rich and don't need to work, I see it very hard for you to stay more than 90 days in Portugal. Schengen rules. I'm sure you know them, but if you don't, you should! Sorry again if this sounds like very depressing, but it's not an opinion of mine unfortunately. I'm just describing facts.

Also, you don't say if you already speak Portuguese. And what is the work that you would pursue, if I can ask you?

Good luck anyway!

Thank you for the input, Sushi75, I realize that living and working – legally – in Portugal presents a problem. I’ve seen similar posts, which outline the issue. I’ve contacted a few universities and inquired about part-time positions. As I originally mentioned, I only care to find part-time work preferably teaching. I speak Portuguese.

Again, thanks, and by-the-way, I’ve been a member of the TT off-and-on for the last 13-years or so. It’s good to be back, because for the most part I’ve always found the TT to be a useful collaboration tool when coupled with other research.

Legal work in the EU requires an employer to sponsor you and fill out tons of paperwork and probably pay fees. Basically they have to swear that nobody in the EU can do the job they want to hire you to do. Few companies are willing to do this, but I've known of some large international companies that will. But for part time work? Not likely. Too much hassle.

By the way, it seems to me to be significantly more difficult to get legal work in the EU than the USA if you are not a citizen.

I don't want to join all the raining on your parade, but I think you're being a bit too optimistic, looking into accommodation and so on. As outlined by sushi and jman above, you first need the find an employer who is willing to go through all the paperwork - don't expect them to line up to do this for a part-timer unless you're really special and can do something that no-one in the EU can do. What kind of work are you looking for in Portugal?

I'd sort this out first before you start looking for accommodation.

My assumption is that I should exchange funds (USD to Euro) once in Lisbon: any recommendations on this matter?
If you manage to get a resident permit you can set up a local bank account. Otherwise you can use ATM's to access your American bank account as well (check how much your American bank charges for the privilege to avoid unpleasant surprises after you get back).

Welcome back to TT. I'm afraid that the news is bleak and you need to resolve the issues around working and living long-term in Portugal before you even start thinking about a place to live. Those issues have already been set out above and I can only agree with what has been said.

I also need to work - nothing major in terms of a job, perhaps some part-time teaching and volunteer work.
I assume this means that you'll need to earn money at some point. However, volunteer work doesn't pay so that means finding something that does pay.

Part-time teaching? That means either:
(a) getting that work visa; as others have said, almost impossible for that kind of work;
or
(b) working illegally; very insecure, vulnerable to abusive employers, pays badly.

Until you get that work visa issue sorted out, your stay is restricted to the 90-day tourist limit.

I recently read that Portugal’s government is considering loosening some of the work visa restrictions, so to curb illegal immigration. The article did not distinguish between highly skilled workers and non-skilled laborers. The official article went on to say, however, that individuals would need to register with a Portuguese job centre – online. Thus far, I haven’t found any such website. (If I can recall the link to the article, I’ll posted it within this thread: I would be interested in other individuals’ interpretation.)

Regardless of all, I’ll likely still go to Lisbon to finish some writing. And I’ll deal with extending my stay, behond the 90-day tourist- or business-visa, when necessary. Accordingly, I’d like to drive the focus, at this point, back to long-term stay rentals: enexpensive funished apartments near the city centre.

Again, thanks for all of the comments….

D

The article, which I referenced above, is published by EUbusiness Online. The direct link to the article is

http://www.eubusiness.com/Employment/060530182712.7elhazr0/.

The breadcrumb is

Home → Employment → Portugal proposes temporary visa for foreign job seekers.

Contrary to my original comments regarding the article, there are conditions other than “…registering with a Portuguese job centre….” Such conditions, however, in theory do not seem insurmountable. And I’m very interested in reading comments from those whom are knowledgeable in Portuguese politics, especially in regard to this specific topic.

In advance, thanks,

Don

I think you'll find that this 'new' policy (it dates back to 2007) is largely aimed at unskilled workers who are prepared to do work that many Portuguese would normally turn down. However, 2007 was before the global recession and I think you'll find that the economic and political climate has changed dramatically since then, as it has in most other Western European countries. Although I have no direct experience of Portugal, here in Spain people who would have normally spurned certain types of jobs are now willing to take anything just to pay the rent/mortgage.

I notice that the article says that the governement hope(s) the proposed law will be approved later this year and come into effect in 2007 but doesn't say if the law actually came into being.

Your first stop has to be your nearest Portuguese consulate-general where they'll be able to tell you just what you need to do to obtain a work visa and what your chances are of getting one. Currently, the Portuguese Embassy USA website is under construction but this webpage may help.

Sorry, but typing up information about long-term lets would be a waste of people's time if you can't live there.