[IL Moderator]

Hi @PATRICKGREGORYFILMS, thanks for your message, great to have you here.

Please feel free to browse the categories on our homepage. You can click into any of them and create a post/ask a question. We’ll make sure we get your questions answered from one of our experts or expats.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @MEAGANDOUG Welcome, and thanks for your question!

We’ve checked in with Ted Baumann, our Global Diversification Expert, to get an answer to your question. This was his response,

Once you have lived in Portugal for more than 183 days out of a year, you become tax resident. You are therefore liable for Portuguese income tax. Portuguese tax brackets are much higher than in the United States. But there are several offsets that you need to keep in mind.

First, any taxes you pay to the IRS are deducted from your Portuguese tax obligations. In other words, you won’t pay tax twice on the same dollar of income. You will, however, pay the difference between us and Portuguese tax rates.

Second, if you are self-employed, as in freelancing or consultancy work, you can deduct legitimate business expenses just as you would in the United States. That means you will only pay tax on your net income, not gross.

Third, Portugal has many tax deductions, particularly related to children. You may well be able to qualify for those and reduce your tax burden.

Finally, and by far most important, most people who move to Portugal find that even though they pay higher taxes, public services (especially health care) along with the significantly lower cost of living balances things out. Remember that your taxes help to pay for the low cost public health system and all the other benefits of living in the EU.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @CBHARTWELL143 Thanks for your question!

Here is a link to one of our articles which includes recommendations for dental treatments:
International Living – Medical Tourism: How Insiders Afford New Hips, Hair Plugs, and Facelifts

Thanks again,
Millie, IL Community Moderator

[IL Moderator]

Hi @REALPETE Thanks for getting in touch.

My recommendation would be to check out Warren and Julie’s YouTube page. They’re colleagues of ours and have spoken at our online events. They have expertise in the area and should be able to offer the information you need.

Here’s a link to their YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMbJWT2e-3CRhy8LJOa7_g

Thanks again,
Millie, IL Community Moderator

[IL Moderator]

Hi @DJFAHRNBRUCH Thanks for your question!

Alicante is lively, sunny, and inexpensive, but it’s also charming and fairly sophisticated. Its ambience is as Spanish as Madrid’s. The Costa Blanca’s climate is arguably the best in Europe, with 325 sunny days a year and low humidity.

Expats from the U.K., northern Europe, and Latin America make up about 15% of the permanent population, so English is widely spoken. Alicante’s airport, the gateway to sprawling Benidorm and other Costa Blanca resorts, hosts flights from across Europe.

To permanently move to Alicante and enjoy all it has to offer, you will need:

• A visa that grants you the right to live in Spain. For this you will need the contact information of an immigration attorney who can help you.
• Somewhere to live – either a long-term rental or a property to purchase. For this you will need the contact information of a real estate agent in Alicante.
• Health insurance – provided by a Spanish insurer or an international insurer with a Spanish arm.
• (Optional) A moving or relocation company to transport your belongings to Spain.

You can find all of these contacts, plus tons more information about moving to Spain, in our Escape to Spain guidebook.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @ROBBINSNEST24 Thanks for your question!

Dozens of insurance companies offer private health insurance for Spain. You can choose national plans that cover only Spain, choose Europe-wide plans, or even opt for full international health coverage. It all depends on your personal needs and situation.

As with private insurance anywhere, plans may exclude pre-existing conditions, have a wait time (normally 12 or 24 months) for certain wellnesscare visits, or have an age limit for accepting new policy-holders, among other things.

To give you an idea of price, a plan that would qualify for residency, with Sanitas, a subsidiary of BUPA International and one of Spain’s larger private insurers, for a healthy 64-year old, would be €131.90 ($155.64) per month, with a 4% discount for annual payment. This plan has no co-pays and includes basic dental plus €12,000 ($14,160) available for emergency medical attention outside of Spain. This plan also includes repatriation (which covers the cost of returning your body to your home country if you die in Spain), which is required for residency. Sanitas does not accept new clients older than 74, but if you are covered by Sanitas when you turn 75, they will continue to cover you as long as you pay the premiums.

Spanish insurers include:
• Asisa, website
• Asssa, website
• Mapfre, website The largest insurer in Spain.
• Sanitas, website Note that Sanitas is a Spanish subsidiary of Bupa International.

Many international insurance companies actually have Spanish affiliates. Three of these are:
• Allianz Insurance
• DKV Seguros
• Generali

[IL Moderator]

Hi @BKING91354 Thanks for your question!

You can bring domestic pets such as dogs and cats to Spain relatively easily. However, there is some upfront paperwork that is time-consuming, especially for the first trip. Be sure to check with your local veterinarian for any changes in the process, and to clarify how much time you should allot.
The first time you bring your dog or cat to Spain, you’ll need to get a bilingual health certificate valid for the European Union. (See link for the form here: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals/downloads/sp_no_com_pe.pdf.)
This form will need to be filled out and signed/stamped by your state’s APHIS-VS area office. (This is the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.) The form must be completed within 10 days of your travel to Spain.

If you’re coming from Canada, you’ll need the certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian and then validated by a veterinary official of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The certificate must show that your pet has been examined and is free of disease and that the pet has been vaccinated against rabies, and it must provide a description and the origin of your pet.

In addition, your pet must be microchipped with a Euro-compatible microchip that can be read by EU scanners—that is, a microchip compatible with ISO standard 11784 or 11785.

Two very important points:
• The microchip must be implanted before your pet’s rabies vaccination. Any rabies vaccination before the microchip is implanted doesn’t count, even if it’s still valid.
• The rabies vaccination must have been administered at least 21 days before travel.

You’ll need to accompany your pet yourself when you travel or send an authorized representative.
The costs of this process will vary depending on what your vet charges and the cost of airline tickets you purchase.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @BSMONTY We’ve checked in with John McGee, who owns Expat Global Medical. John is a long-time exhibitor at our IL events and can help direct you to the best resources. This was his response,

I’ll address this particular couple staying part time in Dominican Republic who are of Medicare age .

1)If this couple has a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplemental, they can follow one of two strategies.

a) Depending on how long they stay per trip or if they return to DR several times, they can secure a Multi-Trip Travel policy called Trekker CHOICE with a company named GEO Blue Cross… This allows up to 70 days per trip, if needed thay can extend 1x per year up to an additional 20 days.
Link and EXPLINATION of Benefits and costs. Covers Preexisting if they have Medicare Advantage or Supplemental.
https://go.geobluetravelinsurance.com/4Qs?product=trekker&AffinityPartner=&AffinityPlanID=&link_id=158131

b) If they stay longer than 70 days, they may want to Piggyback a Single Trip Plan called VOYAGER….this plan they can take out a second policy with an effective date of day 71 until they return ,(Covers upbto an additional 6 months).
Link and benefits and costs , Click here:
https://go.geobluetravelinsurance.com/4Qs?AffinityPartner=&AffinityPlanID=&link_id=158131

c) The least expensive approach is to Self Insure and take out a Air Evacuation ONLY plan with Medjet Assist. The strategy is to LIMIT Financial out of pocket in case of an emergency. Covering the Catastrophic Illness or Accident will limit out of pocket costs which they are responsible for, however; once they are stabilized in a hospital ,(48 – 72 hours), they can be airlifted to their home state and city.
Link to see costs and benefits. Look at the Horizon plan…they will front up to $ 60k for the hospital and you can file a claim with your medicare supplemental…which some will pay up to 90 days outside the USA.
https://medjetassist.com/?utm_source=expatglobal&utm_medium=partners&utm_campaign=partner pages

If you have any questions, you can feel free to contact me at 336-705-9080 or Email me jwmcgee69@gmail.com and john@expatglobalmedical.com.

Kindest Regards, John McGee

[IL Moderator]

Hi @DIANNEKMX,

We’ve checked in with Jeff our Editor of Global Intelligence, to get an answer to your question. This was his response,

Thanks for the question. No – the exclusionary amount is only relative to earned income, not passive income like Social Security and pensions, or dividends and interest or capital gains. Has to be income you earned from working.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @SSOSINSKI Thank you for your question!

Here are some of our resources to give you more information on Ireland as a destination:

Ireland. The Irish: The Warmest People in the World – International Living
The Secrets of Spending a Summer in Ireland: Part One
The Secrets of Spending a Summer in Ireland: Part Two

Best of luck!

[IL Moderator]

Hi @ROBERTSROBERTR We’ve checked in with Ted Baumann, our Global Diversification Expert, to get an answer to your question. This was his response,

For all countries that are part of the European Union,you must apply for a Schengen tourist visa. This is a standard visa that allows you to visit the EU for a maximum of 90 days out of every 180. This would allow you to spend three months out of every 6 in Spain looking for a property to buy.Note that the total time you are allowed to be in the EU on a tourist visa is 6 months out of every one year – but a maximum of three months in the first half of the year and the second half of the year.

The only way that you can get a longer stay visa in Spain is to apply either for a non lucrative visa or a digital nomad visa.The former requires that you have sufficient income to support yourself and is generally valid for one year and is renewable.The digital nomad visa requires that you have sufficient income from a non Spanish job to be able to support yourself, and is also one year, renewable.

I’m not sure whether you would be able to hold a property in Spain with a deposit; my gut tells me probably not.The Spanish property market is very tight,and and it’s unlikely that you would get a seller to hold a property for very long.You would need to sign a purchase agreement, which would give you a deadline to finalise the deal. A more feasible approach would be to sell your home in the US, bank the money, and then spend some time in Spain until you find a property you’d like to buy.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @IRENE-DINUBLIA We’ve checked in with Ted Baumann, our Global Diversification Expert, to get an answer to your question. This was his response,

The current minimum monthly passive income for a non lucrative visa, i.e. a retirement permit, is 2400 euros per month. This is the minimum, however, and each Spanish embassy or consulate has the discretion to evaluate each applicant to decide whether to require a larger amount.

[IL Moderator]

Hi @SBREID4 Yes, If you miss the live workshop, you can watch it later. The video will remain here and also be available to re-watch on our YouTube channel.

[IL Moderator]

A comment just came in via email: How does Venao compare to more famous beach destinations like Hawaii in terms of cost and popularity?

[IL Moderator]

Hi @H-MEYER If you miss the live workshop, you can watch it later. The video will remain here and also be available to re-watch on our YouTube channel.

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