Planning to move to Lisbon- thoughts?

[Youmustwakeup]

I would be looking at a digital nomad visa as I can do my job abroad with occasional meetings in the UK.

Moving with 17yo, 16yo and 14 yo. Divorce is being finalised and this plan pretty much hangs on STBXH consenting to boys leaving the country (think it very likely he will move as well with work).

Thinking of moving to Lisbon initially and putting the younger two in an international school and renting for a few months before hopefully buying outside Lisbon.

DS17 wants to come and would like to do some firm of education, not sure what yet. I know he will need to have his own visa.

I would appreciate any thoughts or advice.

Do you speak any Portuguese? It is possible to live an expat life without it but you’ll have a much better time if you take intensive classes and learn.

if your kids live outside the uk, they will have to pay international fees for uk universities. Which is v expensive. And Portuguese universities are not the same.

Those are very odd ages to disrupt your children’s educations at. That would do them a massive disservice.

We wouldn't leave until DS16 has finished his GCSEs. DS17 does not want to go to uni so I agree, we need to have a clear plan for him. DS14 would just be starting GCSEs and the local school isn't brilliant and we have no other options (very rural area).

Yes, we are doing Portuguese classes and duolingo to to up. I'm not planning on being an expat who doesn't make the effort.

Planning to move July 2027.

If either of the younger DC are wanting to go to uni in the UK home status is not a given but still possible depending on course & uni, student finance is much, much more challenging.

Would learning Spanish, so living in Spain, not be much better for future options for everyone. More chance of English speaking pals too for your teenagers- that's a hard age to move.

Tbh, that would be my first choice as I speak some Spanish. Looking at visa requirements it did seem harder though.

Would your 17 year old qualify for a visa when they turn 18?

Spain will give much more education options your teens could probably do a levels. I would go back and investigate the visa again. I think for home university fees you are okay if you return within 3 years but worth knowing this too.

The one thing I would say (going on Spain) is there’s hardly any work out there. I know this as a friend’s ex from Spain moved to UK to find work as only the local prison employed people. So unless you have a job in mind it could be nigh on impossible to get one, especially if your Portuguese isn’t good.

Spain would be better.

Thanks @Lemonjuicegums , that is really helpful.

Thankfully I can work in my current role.

An 18 year old is considered an independent adult if not in full time education so they would need their own visa. Is this viable?

Have you considered Malta? We’re thinking of this in part because English is an official language there.

Yes, thank goodness!

That's interesting, no, I hadn't thought of it. I would actually quite like the boys to immerse properly and learn a different language but I will certainly look into that, thank you.

We live in the Lisbon area and have been through the international school process here.
For teenagers, I would be very careful with timing and curriculum continuity. Some schools follow the IB route, others are closer to the British system, and moving around GCSE / A-level age can be complicated.
If you are looking around Lisbon / Oeiras / Cascais, I would strongly recommend asking each school for:

• recent exam / IB results;
• full annual cost,
• class sizes and teacher-to-student ratio;
• teacher turnover
• learning support resources;

We were former parents at one of the international schools in the Oeiras area, and these are the questions I wish we had pushed harder before enrolling, there is a detailled article about one of the school of the region : International Sharing School Tagus Park that one of the parents did : https://medium.com/@vlad2740/international-sharing-school-iss-tagus-park-5a3fee3204da

so be careful with your choice of school

But what about your DC? I have family friends in Malaga well just outside Gibraltar, boys went to boarding school in UK. There is literally no work there unless it’s tourist based or you are fluent in Spanish. The local factory employs people but do you really want that for your DC? All boys are either back in UK now (there are 3) and I think one in forces. Parents didn’t need to work as dad was retirement age and also as they rented out a huge house with apartments and had money.

Also, Portuguese language is different to Spanish. You can understand and maybe speak it if you’re Spanish or know Spanish, but ime (had Brazilian boyfriend) it’s harder to learn. Spanish is easier for kids to pick up.