Expats Portugal Forum - How to import car into Portugal

How to import car into Portugal.

http://www.portugal-life.co.uk/index.html
Hello and good morning to all you expats living in Portugal.
I have created a site to offer help and advice for expats in Portugal and one of the most common questions we get asked to give information about is how to import a car or vehicle into Portugal. Because this is one of the most common items people are searching for we have added an article covering all the legal and technical things you need to know to get your car or vehicle imported and made legal for you to drive in Portugal. Full details are below and also on the site.


I have added a forum for you all to join and meet other like minded people. The forum is free and you can ask as many questions as you like. I have also allowed people to buy and sell good as many of the other forums don't seem to allow this, I don't know why. On the forum you can meet others just on line and create a good online community. You many want to find out about a particular event happening in your town or village or you can even advertise your event or business.

The site has not been running long so we need all the new members on the forum as we can get to make it a vibrant and good place to get help and advice from others who can share their knowledge.

The website has been made to offer help and free advice on matters that may concern you if you live in Portugal. There are articles on the health care system and what it means to you as an Expat.
We have articles on how to import a car into Portugal.
There are a couple of articles on how to buy property in Portugal with a helpful property buying guide.
We have articles on property tax in Portugal. Answers to what are the tax laws in Portugal.
We even have a section on how to learn Portuguese, all the lessons are free and online. later we will be putting all the lessons together and giving it away free as a PDF download so you can print it out or just use the free lessons on your computer.

If you have a question you need help with you can contact us and we will try to help.

Importing & Registering a Car in Portugal

How to register and import a car in Portugal from the UK or any EU country.

With so many British Expats now in Portugal it’s no wonder it is one of the top Expats destinations to import a UK car and as ever their are plenty of complications and rules to the import process.

Visiting Portugal with your Car

You do not have to register your car if you are only visiting Portugal. You can drive your car on a foreign registration plate for 　6 months of a year.

 

 

You do not need to register your car if you do not intend to move to Portugal full time and take up residency there full time.

The car can stay on foreign number plates if the car is driven onto Portugal by the registered keeper of the car and only driven by them when the car is in Portugal. They cannot be a registered Portuguese resident. The car can only be used for private use not business.

 

Registering a car in Portugal

To register a car you have to be a Portuguese resident so this means having a　Cartao de Residencia which is a residency card.

The car has to be road legal in Portugal. You can obtain more Information on this matter from the Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes Terrestres or IMTT. But basically most European cars with certificate of conformities will be road legal.

If you buy a tax free new left hand drive car you will need to pay VAT around 23% this is payable at the local customs office who will calculate this on your tax free invoice price. If you have paid tax in another EU country then the customs office will issue a Fiscal Certificate accordingly. No import duty is chargeable for an EU import.

 

Documentation you will need

When you want to register your car you will need the following documentation:

– The fiscal certificate or tax clearance form issued by customs.
– A Certificate of Compliance (Form Model 9) issued by the IMTT confirming that the vehicle is "Road Legal"

– Certificate of conformity, COC (Certificado de Conformidade CEE)
– A certificate of roadworthiness (IPO) The technical inspection (Inspeccao Periodica Obrigatoria, IPO) is made at an IMTT approved garage. It confirms vehicle identification, brakes, tyres, emissions, noise levels, lights, steering, windscreen and wipers, and chassis condition much like a UK MOT.

– Driver’s licence

– Proof of identity (passport, identity card (Bilhete de Identidade))
– Proof of residency (Cartao de Residencia)

Once all of these documents are in place and presented you should be in a position to receive PT plates! The costs vary from car to car.

 

 

Importing a car into Portugal: More info

 

If you plan on moving to Portugal and make it your permanent residence, you can import your vehicle. If you are 18 and have been owner of the car for over 12 months, you can apply for a tax exemption request at the Portuguese Customs Office within six months of the transfer of residence.

For those staying in Portugal on a temporary basis, there is a way to avoid paying the vehicle import tax for up to 90 days or for 183 each year if:

? The vehicle is registered in another EU member state.

? The registered owner is not resident or employed in Portugal.

? The owner is the one importing the car themselves.　

This is ideal for expats who only spend part of the year in Portugal and want to bring their car with them.

For more detailed information about importing your car into Portugal, please check with the Portuguese Embassy in your country.

http://www.portugal-life.co.uk/article-import-car-portugal.html

 

 

 

List of towns and their market days Portugal

Portugal List of Market Days 

I have compiled a list of the days when most of the towns and villages in Portugal have a market day.

Daily & Monthly Markets Portugal

Just as in most towns and villages throughout the world some of the Portuguese towns have a daily market where others only have them on certain days or even only once a month.
Generally most of the vendors in these local markets here in Portugal are people from the surrounding towns and villages. Most of whom will have a small holding or even just a large garden and they will come to the town markets to sell their goods to make an extra few euro to make ends meet. If  the market is a monthly one then some of the vendors will travel from far and wide to sell their goods at your local market.

Meeting your local market  stall owners

Again just like in the UK you will likely come across the same vendors at the weekly markets over and over again. This is a good thing as you can build up a relationship with the seller and possibly start getting a bargain as you become more and more of a regular to the local markets here in Portugal. Market places are a great place to learn your Portuguese as a lot of the vendors especially in the rural towns and vilages dont speak a great deal of English. Dont let this put you off as they are all very willing to help even if you dont speak any Portuguese yet. See below for full list of towns and the days they have their local markets

 

 

The best fresh fruit and vergetables in Portugal.

At these local town & village markets you will see the best in fresh fruit and veg, in the rural towns and vilages a lot of the market seller are just homestead or small holding owners who add to their income by selling the friut and veg that they have grown themselves on thier land. Buying from these will give you peace of mind that the produce is as fresh as it comes because it has quite possibly just been harvested from the garden this morning.

Meats and Poultry in your local markets.

fresh cuts of meat and poultry even live animals to either keep for the egg laying potential or to slaghter yourself when you get home will also be available in most of the village and town markets.

 

I have split the lists of towns and their market days into two groups. one group is for towns and villages in the Algarve in southern Portugal and the other list covers most of the towns in central Portugal.
The list is quite extensive but I may have missed out some town and when they have their market day. If your town or village is not on the list then please contact me through my website and I will gladly add your town to the list.
http://localhost:12323/WebPe5c90.tmpdir/Preview/expats-portugal-forum-markets-list.html

 

Brexit and Expats in Portugal

Brexit and the Expats in Portugal.

www.portugal-life.co.uk
So the big question What is going to happen to British Expats in Portugal after Brexit.
At this moment in time the answer appears to be that if you are already in Portugal before the Brexit deadline then nothing will change.
on our forum you can find and chat with other expats about Brexit. give your views and read what others think about the situation

This is the message coming from the British government. as of 20.3.18

Brexit: what you need to know
There will be no change to the rights and status of UK nationals living in Portugal while the UK remains in the EU.
While the government continues to negotiate Brexit, you should:

• make sure you’re correctly registered as resident in Portugal
• read UK nationals in the EU: what you need to know

What does Brexit mean for British Expats in Portugal?

With all that is going on with the Brixit talks and deals I don’t think anyone on either side of the channel has a real picture of what will happen after the UK finally exits the EU let alone what will happen to individual countries such as Portugal. The task of sorting out everything in just two years must be enormous and this will surely impact on some of the negotiations and time tables. The UK government has stated that any person from the E.U. living in Britain before the final exit date has the right to stay in the UK then we can only assume that the EU will have to reciprocate and allow any British person living in Portugal and Europe the same rights. to have your say and get views from other expats living in Portugal join our forum


EU playing hard ball

This all seems very straight forward but as we know with all politicians nothing is ever what it seems so stay tuned. It appears to me that the ball is really in the EUs court and they are playing hard ball. Most of what I see on the news is spoilt, over paid, none elected, bully boy would be tyrants trying to scupper anything the UK does at every turn. I believe in the long run the EU needs the UK as much as the UK needs the EU so they will have to come to terms in the end as the UK takes more in goods from the EU than is going the other way. Having said that can you really expect the French farmers to sit by and do nothing as the EU decision makers destroy their livelihoods to prove a point. These are the same people who block motorway and ferry ports because they don’t like the colour of the presidents jacket.　


Massive loss of funds.

This is probably because once we leave the EU they lose one of the biggest contributors to their holiday fund.
Along with France and Germany Britain pays in 12% of the total EU budget with this gone France and Germany will have to pick up the tab as most of the other countries only contribute around 2% each and I very much doubt there is any chance of getting any more from them as most of them are bankrupt and have been bailed out by the banks on several occasions. 　


Win win for Portugal

I believe Portugal will continue to attract expats, one because on a financial reasoning it would be stupid to refuse what are essentially cash cows arriving on their shores in the form of OAPs who will be self-funded and will not be taking anything from the Portuguese economy only add to it. Then there will be the rich people who once again will be taking nothing from the pot just adding to the economy in the form of buying goods and services. So a win win for Portugal. 　

　

　

Article form www.theweek.co.uk 　19th october 2017
Theresa May has warned that EU migrants arriving in Britain following Brexit next year must be treated "differently" - putting the UK on a collision course with Brussels over citizens’ rights during the transition period.



Speaking to reporters during her trade mission to China, May said: "When we agreed the citizens’ rights deal in December, we did so on the basis that people who had come to the UK when we were a member of the EU had made a life choice... and it was right that we have made an agreement that ensured they could continue their life in the way they wanted to.

"Now, for those who come after March 2019, that will be different because they will be coming to a UK that they know will be outside the EU."

Reiterating her point, May added: "I’m clear there’s a difference between those people who came prior to us leaving and those who will come when they know the UK is no longer a member of the EU."

The PM’s stance puts the UK "sharply at odds with Brussels before the start of transition negotiations", says The Times’s Matt Chorley.

MEP Mairead McGuinness, vice-president of the European Parliament, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was a "total illogicality" to May’s position. The EU "will insist that the rights of UK citizens in that transition period will remain exactly as they are today", with a new agreement on rights to come into force at the end of the transition period, McGuinness said.　

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg says that May was "showing she was willing to push back against the EU amid discontent on the Conservative benches".　

The PM said last summer that EU citizens would be granted "settled status" in the UK post-Brexit, but their exact rights promise to be a major hurdle during Brexit negotiations with the EU.

Under the government's 15-page proposal, European migrants who have lived in the country for five years will have the opportunity to achieve the same residency, employment, health, welfare and pensions rights as British nationals.

In addition, a new "light touch" online system to process applications will give them the same "indefinite leave to remain" status as many non-European nationals who have been in the country for five years or more.

The "settled status" residence document "will essentially be an identity card backed up by an entry on a Home Office central database or register", reports The Guardian.

May has already said she expects reciprocal treatment for UK citizens living in the EU. However, there is no agreement on who will oversee those rights or which court will mediate in cases where there is a dispute.

"Britain is ready to 'fight' the European Union's demand that judges on the continent will continue to hold sway in the UK after Brexit," reports Bloomberg.