The Portugal Directory

The Facebook group Americans moving to Portugal keep being pointed to. Join it for the Files section as much as the discussion: members maintain shared documents on visas, AIMA appointments and residency that are often more current than anything published.

Worth joining before you move, for the shared advice documents.

American curriculum school in Linhó, Sintra, teaching ages 3 to 18 in English and offering the IB Diploma alongside the US high-school track. The obvious choice if you want your children on an American path.

Toured it ourselves, and friends have children there who are happy.

Remote NIF and fiscal representation. You sign a power of attorney, send certified ID and proof of address, and they file with Finanças on your behalf.

Our own NIFs came through them in 2022, from abroad, before we had landed.

Cross-border tax firm for Americans in Portugal — the US and Portuguese returns handled together, rather than by two firms who never speak to each other.

They do our tax returns.

The property portal almost everyone in Portugal actually uses, for rentals and sales alike. Set a saved search and let the alerts do the work.

We rented and then bought through listings here, and the saved-search alerts are still running.

Directory of English-speaking service providers in Lisbon, across 150+ categories. Businesses are screened before listing and reviews are collected by phone, so placement is not for sale — the same principle this directory runs on.

Where we send people for the trades and services we have not used ourselves.

One of Portugal’s largest retail banks, with branches everywhere and an English-language app. A Portuguese IBAN at a Portuguese bank is what landlords, utilities and Finanças actually expect.

Our main Portuguese bank.

One of Portugal’s largest private health insurers, with a wide clinic and hospital network and cover that can be written for a whole family on one policy.

Our family policy since 2023, children included.

IB World School in the Oeiras valley running all three programmes for ages 6 to 18, on a five-hectare campus with woodland and a river. States plainly that it is not academically selective.

Our own three are here, or have graduated from it. This is the one we chose.

Liz Sharma’s online European Portuguese course, built around pronunciation and understanding real speech rather than vocabulary drills. There is a free lesson library on the Talk the Streets channel if you want to try before paying.

We are in the Pro community — weekly Q&As, pronunciation workshops, the lot.

European Portuguese only — the founders say so plainly: "Strictly European Portuguese, since 2012. We don't split our efforts across any other languages, or even Brazilian Portuguese." Built by Joel Rendall and Rui Coimbra in Lisbon. Membership covers the app, 950+ podcast and "shorties" episodes, interactive units, a verb trainer and pronunciation recording, with offline downloads.

The app we actually use day to day.

App-based account with cards and instant transfers, opened in minutes. That speed matters when a landlord wants a deposit this week and a Portuguese bank wants an appointment next month.

In daily use here.

Long-established British international school in Carcavelos, between Lisbon and Cascais, teaching the English National Curriculum and the IB.

Toured it ourselves, and friends have children there who are happy.

Sintra campus of the TASIS group, from pre-kindergarten to high school, taught in English with IGCSE and the IB Diploma. Around 65 nationalities on roll.

Toured it ourselves, and friends have children there who are happy.

Membership family-medicine clinic in Lisbon with deliberately small patient lists: a named doctor, unhurried appointments, direct phone and email access, and same or next-day sick visits.

We are members.

Multi-currency account and international transfers at the real exchange rate. Useful before you have a Portuguese bank account, and after.

We move money between countries with it.