I’m considering a move to Portugal but can’t find much information about healthcare. Has anyone here any experience please? If I can’t get biologics, it will change my plans completely.
🇵🇹 Moving to Portugal: I’m considering a move to... - NRAS
🇵🇹 Moving to Portugal
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HappykindaGal
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Hello Cwendyn, I am in the process of leaving Portugal after being here 13 years. I am under a rheumatologist and you can get biologics. However, if not under the health care system as a resident, you have to pay for them. If a resident you would get them. I have no idea what happens after brexit though.
That's what I thought. Wonder what the cost would be. May have to do something about coming back regularly.
I have been told they are very expensive, I was told anything from 200 euros upwards for each injection
Here in the UK they are 800 pounds per injection
Wow
Mine are £100 per injection. It's a biosimilar
Surely £800 a month?
In most EU countries if you want to stay longer than 90 days you have to Register....with different departments in different countries, but that doesn't entitle you to any benefits. On the NHS there is also a rule that you must be resident in the UK to receive NHS. Prescriptions, you can't just pop back & get meds when spending the majority of the year abroad. If you move abroad you can get three months meds to tide you over,
I usually go abroad often,& it's a real juggling game to coordinate meds so that you don't run out. I paid £27 for one month's supply of BP pills in South Africa....& only actually got them that cheaply because a doctor friend out there wrote me a scrip. as I had my UK scrip with me.
So do check out everything very carefully.
When you say resident, do you mean citizen? I have an American friend that's just moved to Vale de lobo and she's registered with health service as a resident. It's very confusing!
No I dont mean citizen. If you are living here full time you have to become a resident.
Ah, that puts it in a different light - thank you! I'm trying to make my mind up whether to upsticks and move permanently, or, to get an apartment in a condo and rent it out and go occasionally. Decisions, decisions 
Good luck xx
As I have understood it, even if you are a resident it will be expensive after Brexit if UK does not have an arrangement to cover medical costs with Portugal. If not you need a private assurance which would be quite expensive and I wonder if even possible with a chronic illness. I think you need to wait and see if there is a Brexit deal that will cover you.
No - Portuguese government have already said things won't change after Brexit. I'm not able to wait either - the house won't wait unfortunately
And remember after Brexit freedom of movement ends. So you can't just go and live in another country you have to immigrate to it, ie make an application to become resident.
I moved to france and am legally resident here, and the requirements are quite simple. But despite living here for years we are now going through the administrative procedure just in case....
Portugal has a free at point of service health system for residents, but the thing you need to explore is how the health system is funded. We are over UK state pension age, so the bulk of our costs for health care are covered - including the 1000 a month for my drugs! However in the event of no deal Brexit we will have to pay around 8% of our income each year.
Portugal is bound to have biologics, it's just who gets access to them....
Portugal have already said that after Brexit, people can go on a year residency visa and renew it annually to remain there, so same as now. They would be nuts doing anything else as there are lots of Brits living and investing there.
It seems a lot of EU countries are doing more for UK people living in mainland EU than the UK government is! We feel totally abandoned by the UK....
And yes like you & Portugal, I have no fear that France will reject us, but it's the way health care is funded that you need to work out. Hopefully someone will pop up who lives there.....
Hopefully. I've found a house I love in Tavira but would have to sell up here to fund it. I can run my biz from anywhere as it's virtual fortunately. Otherwise it will be a condo as a rental investment and I'll go every now and then. Who knows!
If I were you Cwendy I'd definitely wait until all the T's are crossed & the I's nare very firmly dotted post Brexit.
The rumours change daily as to whether there will be reciprocal Medical care in the EU...but one theme dLes seem central that you will need to have been living in the country concerned for 5 years prior to 29/3/19 to receive all benefits.
Caveat emptor!
It's such a conundrum. If I wait, I'll lose the house and I've been looking for 3 years. Such a pain!
Not nearly as much of a pain as ending up moving to another country & finding you can't carry on with successful medication..unless you pay highly for it.
Have you approached an insurance broker who undersrands the healthcare system in Portugal? Even in the UK private medical insurance will not pay for certain autoimmune conditions like RA and they certainly won't pay for the drugs for outpatients....certain Biologics can cost £10k+ pa.
in Europe you have to pay a certain % & then claim on your private insurance. In most EU countries residents pay a private personal top up insurance. As I understand it the average state medical provision does not cover certain things like the NHS does here. I know in Italy you have to pay separately for clinical, &. "hotel" care...personal care, food, laundry etc,Portugal may be the same?
So please do check what arrangements you need to have in place.Rules for residents in countries now, will not necessarily apply to new arrivals. Check with some one other than the agent selling you the house!!
But until we leave or not on 29 March there doesn't appear to be anything in writing to rely on.
I have friends in Spain right now house hunting , & the advice they are being given is to rent, rather than put a high % of capital into a country when they won't know exactly the financial/health/inheritance commitment they are signing up to.
Very true! I know a little bit about it as friends have very recently moved there and have registered with the local doc. She takes lithium for bipolar and other stuff and they're funding all her meds.
I've spoken to a couple of private insurers - it would actually be cheaper to buy the flipping stuff than pay their premiums, which are huge!
I may end up buying an apartment to rent out - then use it as and when. I'm so damn cross that my dreams seem to have flown out the window. Why I've worked my backside off to grow this business I'll never know. That was what I was working for. That was the whole point of 8 years of 7 day weeks, 14 hour days. Aaaarrgggh!
I do understand how distressing this must be,& I can empathise. I was diagnosed just as I retired, having saved & planned for years.....only to be too physically incapacitated to go forward with any of my plans.
I now have the safety net of the NHS,a nice home in England and I rent places all over to visit the sunshine.
I know it's not the same as moving there and living there but knowing that you can get help with your health 24/7 in the Uk Is not something to throw away lightly.
And if it doesn't happen now, for all we know when the Brexit bubble bursts......things may even turn out in your favour.
I really hope you find a successful solution.
I'm finding it so hard to almost accept it. I think I've always been such a free spirit, that this is now driving me insane! I have no family whatsoever, so no one to keep me here and now I can't flipping go.
Perhaps I'd be better putting my energies into looking at renting too. Maybe someone clever will come up with a wonder drug that will provide a cure in the next couple of years - won't hold my breath though!
I know you're right and waiting until post Brexit is probably the best decision - as you say, it may even end up in my favour. Perhaps it's just not meant to be........yet
Of course, you could rent out your uk house........rent in Tavira, & make the big leap to buying when Brexit is done & dusted.
No great financial investment,& you'd still have property hopefully rising in value in UK.
Only real downside if you had to move back to UK would be you'd probably have to redecorate your house!
Nothing is impossible Wendy.
Haha - I can cope with redecorating! I think that's probably my best option. Best of both worlds!
Errr, no. We have exactly the same benefits and healthcare as a french national, and aquired these once we had been here 3 months. The 5 year rule is only for permanent residency and doesn't give us further rights apart from no longer needing to meet a financial threshold.
People moved countries long before the EU, and will do so after Brexit. It will just be more complicated and may mean you loose the possibility of reciprocal healthcare if you move after B-day, so it's a risk either way. If you look at the position of someone moving to Portugal from a non-EU country, and decide that it is manageable/affordable for you then you're good to go. When we moved we worked out that even if we lost recripocal healthcare we could afford the health tax so carried on regardless (at that time the fear was austerity cuts, not Brexit). But if financially you would struggle to pay the top up costs that would be required of a portuguese person/resident, then you need to think hard.
Thank you - that's positive! I really need to find out what the top up costs would be I think, as I don't have any idea right now. Time to make some calls!
As I read it,if you already live in another EU country, nothing will change But if I (UK Citizen) moved permanently to France in April I would be regarded the same as a person coming from outside the EU ...IF we do leave on 29/3, I would be regarded as 3rd Party Country Citizen,but as far as I can see the rules haven't been officially published cos nobody knows if/when we will leave.
There certainly don't appear to be any rules published for retired persons.
If it appears it will be the same as coming to the UK, there will be occupation lists of qualifying occupations, & I would need a job offer.....with a salary in excess of£30k.....it has been mooted that Nurses & other NHS Staff will be able to bypass that qualification.
But on the whole....it seems like the good old Wait & See!
From what I gather, in Spain, after we have left,if you buy a house & stay for longer than one year you will be required to take up Spanish Citizenship,& pay Spanish Taxes on your worldwide income.
So if the EU rules will apply to all countries presumably that will apply in all 27?
It has already been published that you must have at least 6 months validity left on a British .EU passport, & to visit Turkey you will need special A Type Electronic Visas.....without which they won't let you in.
I think Brighton & Blackpool will be very popular this summer!
Yes, that's the dilemma Cwendyn has! Move now before B-day and cross fingers or accept the risk that you may have to immigrate to a country as a third country national - and each country has procedures in place for them so you can see what the hurdles are - even for retired people.
Certainly in France there seems to be a flurry of people getting things organised right now. And so many that the wait for exchanging a driving licence is apparently about 12 months from when you sent the form in.. The French financial threshold is only £9k, but when they see what the UK is doing they may well increase it for Brits!
But the positive is that portuguese people have RA too, and not all of them can be rich enough to pay for biologics themselves/private insurance so there must be another way...
But what?
Not every country is as generous as the UK about treating non citizens.
The worst problem my friends are having for their move to Spain is there are just no answers from any reliable sources.
Yesterday I watched a TV programme where many Eastern European Citizens had moved to the UK. Their first stopping point was the Council Housing Department, where they were all housed, then the Benefits Office, & finally the GP Surgery, where they baldly stated "we will never return to our country because what we have to pay for there, the UK give us free".
I can't honestly see EU countries taking pity on UK citizens who fall sick & need expensive drugs....can you?
In a way I have RA to thank for not having to get involved with having to choose between having to return to the UK or take up another Ciitizenship.
I daren't even move to another Health Authority for fear they wouldn't fund my Biologics.
Over the years I have found rental properties for Wiinter Sun, & these days there are plenty of affordable rentals for Summer trips.
So I am not too unhappy....that will happen when I can't get manage to fly off for my Winter sun....only a few days to wait this year!
Well each to their own....I've had much better treatment here in France than I would have had in the UK. And I doubt whether I would have got biologics in UK as my inflammation markers are always low. But here rheumy could make her own decision about what I needed, and once she'd looked at my scans there was no question for her that I needed them.
I know nothing about Spain or Portugal, but in France the government has already made positive statements about looking after UK immigrants - as long as the UK does the same to their nationals of course. Although for us we are now fully in the system so we are treated like any other French person.
But you would have to drag me back to the UK now, so I get why Cwendyn is thinking hard about it.
I agree the French health system seems to be very good. I have a friend who lives in Yvoire, she has many health problems, her GP visits her every week to give her an injection & when she had a heart attack at 3am, the GP was at the hospital early the next morning.
I can't see the NHS ever getting back to being that personal.
When you think .....this forum is a health forum so doctors feature high on the list of people we see, but an awful lot of people never see their GP, so they pay 40+ years of NIC & never get anything back....except maybe when having Flu vaccines.
Right now upping sticks, disposing of your home,& moving to a country where you don't know how anything will work, from health care, to taxes, to property values is a terribly difficult decision to make.....because until it's all settled, signed & publicy announced ...anything goes.
Just this evening the Irish Back stop is in the news again, with a different story on every news Chanel.
And all that...... is before you start to learn Portuguese!
Possibly exciting times! However I'd recommend you do your homework before committing especially as you're needing to sell in the UK to fund your move. As well as Government websites, Embassy etc google Portuguese expat sites or English online newspapers/publications such as this algarvedailynews.com/lifest... are full of helpful info.There are plenty of others giving sound advice, there may even be forums discussing similar situations & how Brexit may/will affect them as residents.
If you do go the apartment or even house route & visit irregularly do really think about it as community charges can work out to be very expensive for a place when you're not using it. We decided to sell my father in law's place in Spain because we as a family wouldn't be visiting regularly enough to warrant the community charges on his bungalow. If you're not going to be there full time it can be a dear way of retaining property. Somewhat different if wherever you choose is a sought after area/community & you're guaranteed to or able to rent it out the majority of the time as then as you can apportion it as part the rental. Be sure to let through an approved agent as the Government have really clamped down on shall be call them iffy short term rentals. This might be helpful info if you do choose to rent out property realestate-algarve.info/def.... You'll realise but you'll always have to plan in advance when you'd like to use your own 'home', not always easy & unless you include those weeks in a yearly calendar it could be prohibitive working round rentals, especially in peak times or the dates when you may want to go is a trade off with how much your accommodation could earn you!
I make no apologies for saying it again & can't stress enough you do your homework. You've not only access to state healthcare to possibly consider after Brexit (private insurance can cost when you have existing conditions) but what you're going to live on, they'll want proof you can support yourself & family (partner etc who will be residing there). Not that I'm suggesting you can't just that you will have to if you or your partner are not intending to work, or even if you are, you'll need proof of accurate annual income, that you can support yourselves.
I hope if you do make the move you'll be very happy in your new home. Don't allow your heart to rule over your head, it's very easy to if you've found the property you really like. We decided we'd give it 6 months, live in the area because it's quite different to holidaying & if we settled we'd look for property. We didn't sell up, we rented out our UK property which paid for the monthly mortgage repayments.
Thank you! I do know the area pretty well and rentals are quite high, particularly around Olhao/Tavira - I've worked out that to fund it, I'd have to rent it out for 8-10 weeks to fund a buy to let mortgage on it. I have quite a lot of equity in my home here I can release to fund it. Very true about community charges - they vary so much too! My parents had a house in Vale Do Lobo - lordy, they charge a fortune - I won't be going there unless I win the lottery!
I wouldn't have an issue funding myself (it is just me!). I run a business that turns over a decent profit and it's not one I physically need to be in any longer. I set it up deliberately so that I could run it from anywhere in the world and I have a great team, so that's not a worry (one less thing to worry about!!). The income threshold is pretty low that Portugal demands at 580 euros a month.
How I long for the days that the only concern I would have had is how to pay for it. I am so upset that the goal I worked my backside off for is now not so easy to reach. What was the point? But I'm not easily defeated - I would have got a job years ago if I was a quitter.
I WILL find a way. I'll do almost anything to not have to endure our long grey miserable winters any longer! Why is everything so b****y difficult!
I admire your determination, it will get you where you want to be.
Good luck Cwendyn!
Xx
Thank you! I’m not easily defeated, haha. I’m a persistent and somewhat stubborn so and so xxx
Me too 😉. xxx
Look on a site BLEVINSFRANKS.COM
Seems to have a lot of info you might find helpful
Thank you!
They are specialise in people with a lot of money, so their fees are eye watering. Read their info, but don't ask them to do anything without checking the cost!
I did presume as CWendy runs her own business she would enquire about fees before offering up her credit card.
There are many sites on living in Spain/France/Italy that offer up a lot of free non professional advice, so maybe it would be worth CWendy simply searching on something like Living in Portugal Post Brexit?
You have a lot to think about. We are planning to spend our winters somewhere a little less dank ie Jan Feb / Feb March away to escape the winters here and that is a challenge in itself. We decided not buy to let (we have a letting property here we could sell) and just rent abroad due to all this uncertainty. However thiins are different for you as we never wanted to relocate. I wish you all the best in your hard earned adventure. Dont give up your dream even if it needs a bit of tweaking. 🙂
Thank you. I was switching between raging and tears this afternoon. I think I'll cross my fingers this house doesn't sell and wait until April. Otherwise, I'll be renting January and February too, and again September October time. Who want 46 degrees in August anyway!
So true, not me. Give me a nice English spring day in Jan & Feb and that suits me.
I wish you all the best in your venture. 🙂
My home in Portugal is up for sale and my rheumatologist who I see here tells me I can still carry on seeing her. I have to pay for it though. It’s 60 euros each time then my prescriptions and blood tests on top. She told me if I was a resident she would prescribe me biological drugs. The Brexit thing is one of the reasons we are selling because if there’s no deal we can’t travel with our dogs as freely as we do now. Portugal have stated things won’t change but what if the EU tell them otherwise? It’s screwed up plans for a lot of people. I do hope you can work something out so your dreams are realised.
Thank you. That's actually really reassuring. Obviously not the bit about your dogs. I have a moggie that already has a pet passport. She's quite feral so would only move her once!
Where do you live?
Our home is near Sao Bras de Alportel. I know Tavira as we play golf near there. My home in England is in South Yorkshire. We will be sad to leave but after all these years we are ready for a change and to travel to lots of other places, health willing lol.
Ooh, lovely. Lovely place
You might find signing up to the government emails useful - here
gov.uk/guidance/living-in-p...
But really don't give up your dream. Could you rent your Uk house and move over before B-day and rent for a while to see if things work out for you? And then you can return if it doesn't work. It would possibly mean loosimg your dream house, but who knows it might still be on the market in 6 months?
And as a PS.....last night OH and I were working out where to go for a week at end of March (we have a gîte so can't get away between April & September as that's our money earning season).
Anyway, we've booked a flight to Portugal! Haven't been there for 20 years and all this discussion of Portugal has whetted my appetite.
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