Living in Portugal as an immigrant, you live in a bubble. You most likely don’t speak Portuguese, and your friends are most likely not native Portuguese. If Portuguese people hold a hatred against you as an immigrant from Canada, they generally will be polite to you face and talk about you behind your back, but …
Renewing Temporary Residencies is a horrendous burden. Because Portugal is granting only Temporary Residencies to Canadians, the Residency permits must be renewed every 2-3 years. This renewal process is completely broken. When you do all the work in Canada to submit your documents to get your D7 or D8 visa, they only give you a …
Portugal should treat Canadian immigrants as well as Canada treats Portuguese immigrants Portugal’s population has finally stabilized at around 10 million due to efforts to balance emigration and immigration. High immigration is needed to offset losses due to emigration of Portuguese talent to other countries. Canada has been a huge recipient of Portuguese immigration, and …
Here is a partial checklist of things to think about when you eventually leave Portugal
Portugal needs immigrants more than we need Portugal. Europe needs immigrants more than immigrants need Europe. In fact, globally speaking, everywhere except Africa will be in steep competition for immigrants in the upcoming decades, and look back on this decade of anti-immigrant sentiment with deep regret.
There is a constant churn of influencers posting a flood of content filled with exuberance about their fresh move to this place or that, and Portugal is no exception to this rule. I was heavily influenced by one influencer from Canada that had moved to Portugal named Yvonne. If she could do it, I said …
Portuguese obsess over Bacalhau, which is dried and salted cod. Oddly enough, the obsession started in the 1500’s when Portuguese and Basque sailors discovered massive amounts of cod on the Grand Banks and started drying them for transport on the shores of Newfoundland.
Why I am leaving Portugal after living here for many years. What changed?
Due to Portugal’s new Nationality Law, France will now be a more attractive destination for Canadians looking to relocate to Europe.
Most sites that provide information about relocating to Portugal are run by people who are looking to make money from providing relocation services, and therefore don’t give a balanced view of some of the difficulties one will inevitably experience in moving here.
This site has a mandate to provide unbiased information from a Canadian perspective to those considering making the move to Portugal. Other sites may sugar coat some difficulties you may encounter moving here. I do not take money from any source, I run this site as a free service to keep it unbiased and sugar free.