Comments on: visas for australians (and some other non-eu citizens) http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/ a blog about buying a ruin and building a house in Portugal plus food, architecture, design, travel and animals. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:30:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Emma http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-3004 Emma Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:43:53 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-3004 Did I say that my brother in law was treated like a criminal trying to get into australia - but he persisted and finally they welcomed him like a long lost son. It's all about persistence. Treat it like a game. xx Did I say that my brother in law was treated like a criminal trying to get into australia – but he persisted and finally they welcomed him like a long lost son. It’s all about persistence. Treat it like a game. xx

]]> By: Emma http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-3003 Emma Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:41:39 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-3003 god that sounds familiar... after portugal I was meant to go the balkans and buy a house in Bulgaria... but same story... those tiles spoke to me too ;) god that sounds familiar… after portugal I was meant to go the balkans and buy a house in Bulgaria… but same story… those tiles spoke to me too ;)

]]> By: Emma http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-3002 Emma Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:38:46 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-3002 Hey Alice! Thanks for the comment! I am having a visa renewal just now, and each time it gets easier. You are exactly right bout bringing everything you can get with you - even a shopping list on a coloured spreadsheet will knock their socks off. I try to present all bureaucratic stuff like a submission for a film grant: nice folder and buckets of paper with pretty labelled dividers - photos, coloured pages, dirty 3 fold glossy centrefolds, intricate pop-up pages of bavarian castles or 3D maps of the Himalayas. It all helps. No seriously I was in the SEF waiting room with my usual pile of paper and the brasillian chick beside me chucked a major wobbly and started screaming at the staff. My turn popped up and she pushed in front of me but I just sat there and said nâo faz mal... someone actually stopped what they were doing and served me straight away and during our preliminary chat she asked me if I'd married a portuguese (very random - I wasnt wearing a ring) I told her I had in fact married a Brit but let's just process the visa in the same way because I dont know what the other way is and wouldnt there be a waiting period like 2 years before you could claim "family reunion" or whatever? She said nup - go the other way - you need marriage cert updated and his residency card and €15 (not €146) book your appointment and see you next week. You beauty. On a final note: the most important key to success in portugal is to speak the language. My portuguese is still rubbish but I can be polite, communicate and charm a little and that's all that counts. Good luck!!! Hey Alice! Thanks for the comment! I am having a visa renewal just now, and each time it gets easier. You are exactly right bout bringing everything you can get with you – even a shopping list on a coloured spreadsheet will knock their socks off. I try to present all bureaucratic stuff like a submission for a film grant: nice folder and buckets of paper with pretty labelled dividers – photos, coloured pages, dirty 3 fold glossy centrefolds, intricate pop-up pages of bavarian castles or 3D maps of the Himalayas. It all helps. No seriously I was in the SEF waiting room with my usual pile of paper and the brasillian chick beside me chucked a major wobbly and started screaming at the staff. My turn popped up and she pushed in front of me but I just sat there and said nâo faz mal… someone actually stopped what they were doing and served me straight away and during our preliminary chat she asked me if I’d married a portuguese (very random – I wasnt wearing a ring) I told her I had in fact married a Brit but let’s just process the visa in the same way because I dont know what the other way is and wouldnt there be a waiting period like 2 years before you could claim “family reunion” or whatever? She said nup – go the other way – you need marriage cert updated and his residency card and €15 (not €146) book your appointment and see you next week. You beauty. On a final note: the most important key to success in portugal is to speak the language. My portuguese is still rubbish but I can be polite, communicate and charm a little and that’s all that counts. Good luck!!!

]]> By: alice ay http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-2999 alice ay Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:19:15 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-2999 emma! thank you so much for this post, it is invaluable to me. i think you are already on our facebook page for the project that my friend and i have here, but i just thought i would shout out and say hello and that you are an inspiration for us! i keep hearing wonderful stories of the intricate bureaucracy here and am feeling a bit intimidated to be quite honest! a friend even told me-- just show up with as MUCH paper work as you can, and try and make it look as official as possible, even for the simplest things-- and then you will have the best chance! anyhow, any and all the advice is appreciated ;) cheers! emma!

thank you so much for this post, it is invaluable to me. i think you are already on our facebook page for the project that my friend and i have here, but i just thought i would shout out and say hello and that you are an inspiration for us! i keep hearing wonderful stories of the intricate bureaucracy here and am feeling a bit intimidated to be quite honest! a friend even told me– just show up with as MUCH paper work as you can, and try and make it look as official as possible, even for the simplest things– and then you will have the best chance!

anyhow, any and all the advice is appreciated ;)

cheers!

]]> By: Lachlan http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-2825 Lachlan Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:00:18 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-2825 Hi Emma, Just stumbled on your great blog while researching Portuguese visas for New Zealanders. I was travelling through Europe for 4 months late last year, and the beginning of 2011. I almost randomly decided to visit Portugal while I was in the last few weeks of a trip that had already taken me through Greece, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Spain and the UK. I completely fell in love with the people, the food, the tiled buildings... I now really want to return to live for a while... ahhh peri peri... Hi Emma,
Just stumbled on your great blog while researching Portuguese visas for New Zealanders.
I was travelling through Europe for 4 months late last year, and the beginning of 2011. I almost randomly decided to visit Portugal while I was in the last few weeks of a trip that had already taken me through Greece, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Spain and the UK. I completely fell in love with the people, the food, the tiled buildings… I now really want to return to live for a while… ahhh peri peri…

]]> By: Donna http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-2819 Donna Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:37:37 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-2819 Hi Emma, Thank you for posting this story. I wonder if you could make a couple of realtor and legal recommendations. Currently I am researching a stone ruin property for restoration & retirement (R&R) and I live in the Great White North (aka Canada) where we can have snow on the ground in every month if the conditions are right. Some growing years I've seen 2.5 months from the last frost in the spring to the first frost in the fall. I really want to live in a place where things actually have enough of a growing season to actually grow.... My first trip to Europe was almost 10 years ago and I spent 4 months there. When I got back I decided that one day I would move there - anywhere in Europe but prices were nuts. Then I recently saw your episode of house hunters and then within the week my cousin asked me if I wanted to go to Portugal. After a millisecond of thought I said yes and will be there Sep/Oct 2011 for some touristy stuff and I want to look at a couple of properties to get some ideas for future purchase. During my searching I have found a mountain of information for Brits and other EU countries but very little for countries outside the EU. Thanks again for posting your pain in an absolutely hilarious fashion so that others can learn through your experiences and avoid some of the same frustrations. db Hi Emma,

Thank you for posting this story. I wonder if you could make a couple of realtor and legal recommendations.

Currently I am researching a stone ruin property for restoration & retirement (R&R) and I live in the Great White North (aka Canada) where we can have snow on the ground in every month if the conditions are right. Some growing years I’ve seen 2.5 months from the last frost in the spring to the first frost in the fall. I really want to live in a place where things actually have enough of a growing season to actually grow….

My first trip to Europe was almost 10 years ago and I spent 4 months there. When I got back I decided that one day I would move there – anywhere in Europe but prices were nuts. Then I recently saw your episode of house hunters and then within the week my cousin asked me if I wanted to go to Portugal. After a millisecond of thought I said yes and will be there Sep/Oct 2011 for some touristy stuff and I want to look at a couple of properties to get some ideas for future purchase.

During my searching I have found a mountain of information for Brits and other EU countries but very little for countries outside the EU. Thanks again for posting your pain in an absolutely hilarious fashion so that others can learn through your experiences and avoid some of the same frustrations.

db

]]> By: Catarina http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-2571 Catarina Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:18:06 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-2571 Hi Emma I found your blog through my friend's blog and i'm loving every post. This one kept my attention due to the fact that I'm from Portugal and I'm having the same problem as you had, but in your country. I'm trying to stay here for a while but the bureaucracies to get my visa aren't helping. But I haven't gave up yet and I hope that at the end everything turns ok. I'm glad you're enjoying Portugal as much as I'm enjoying Australia. Cheers Catarina Hi Emma

I found your blog through my friend’s blog and i’m loving every post.
This one kept my attention due to the fact that I’m from Portugal and I’m having the same problem as you had, but in your country. I’m trying to stay here for a while but the bureaucracies to get my visa aren’t helping.
But I haven’t gave up yet and I hope that at the end everything turns ok.

I’m glad you’re enjoying Portugal as much as I’m enjoying Australia.

Cheers
Catarina

]]> By: Portugal visa http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-1523 Portugal visa Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:22:08 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-1523 Hello Emma, You are such a great writer. I know this post will be helpful to many people. I am impressed with the detail and effort you put into this post! Great job! Hello Emma,

You are such a great writer. I know this post will be helpful to many people. I am impressed with the detail and effort you put into this post! Great job!

]]> By: astrid http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-1101 astrid Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:34:56 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-1101 Thank you for this very honest and funny post! I'm an Indonesian who has been living in Germany for the past five years, and every year I dreaded the trip to the immigration office in Berlin. They seemed to always have a new surprise requirement in store :-/. I fret and I'm nervous every time, but somehow in the end I got the visa stamped. We thought it might be because I'm from non-EU non-wanted non-equal blacklisted country... but actually, your experience sounded exactly like mine. Maybe 'smile' and 'be nice' just wasn't in their job requirement. Unpleasant experience? Yes. Worth it? I keep asking myself every year just before going to Auslanderbehoerde, but I know the answer is yes. So we'll just laugh it off ;). Thanks again, and wish you a wonderful life in Portugal! Astrid Thank you for this very honest and funny post!
I’m an Indonesian who has been living in Germany for the past five years, and every year I dreaded the trip to the immigration office in Berlin. They seemed to always have a new surprise requirement in store :-/. I fret and I’m nervous every time, but somehow in the end I got the visa stamped.

We thought it might be because I’m from non-EU non-wanted non-equal blacklisted country… but actually, your experience sounded exactly like mine. Maybe ‘smile’ and ‘be nice’ just wasn’t in their job requirement.

Unpleasant experience? Yes. Worth it? I keep asking myself every year just before going to Auslanderbehoerde, but I know the answer is yes. So we’ll just laugh it off ;) .

Thanks again, and wish you a wonderful life in Portugal!
Astrid

]]> By: nikki http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/travel-in-portugal/visas-for-australians-and-some-other-non-eu-citizens/comment-page-1/#comment-1075 nikki Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:10:54 +0000 http://www.emmashouseinportugal.com/?p=1475#comment-1075 I remember reading this some time back in April this year (sorry I suffer a memory loss so I am not sure) But I couldn't leave a comment as the networking at my end did not work...I still struggle with it when it rains...but I truly associate with all these visa/moving/set-up dramas....wish could read again the post as well as the comments but gotta go..my 'time' limits me to read...have not been much of a reader...but want to be one, I think. Wish u happiness and enjoyment of making home and having fun. Love N. I remember reading this some time back in April this year (sorry I suffer a memory loss so I am not sure) But I couldn’t leave a comment as the networking at my end did not work…I still struggle with it when it rains…but I truly associate with all these visa/moving/set-up dramas….wish could read again the post as well as the comments but gotta go..my ‘time’ limits me to read…have not been much of a reader…but want to be one, I think. Wish u happiness and enjoyment of making home and having fun.
Love
N.

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