Following her widely read article, 'Become a Portuguese citizen AND keep your British passport,' Sue Fletcher offers help and advice to those deciding to follow the rules in Portugal and apply for residency, thus avoiding a fine of between €400 and €1,500.

Sue Fletcher writes: "Many of us arrive in Portugal and never bother to take out any form of residency in the firm belief that we aren’t required to do so under the EU freedom of movement rules.

“Various British residents in the Algarve” are considering applying for dual nationality to weather Brexit, British ambassador Kirsty Hayes admitted to Lusa news agency.

It is not a tactic that the embassy deals with, as it is the “responsibility of the Portuguese government”, but it is clearly being seen as a sensible way forwards considering the aftermath of Britain’s exit remains a grey area.

With the triggering of article 50 and the start of the formal process of leaving the European Union just weeks away, feelings of insecurity are mounting across the EU, including among the 50,000 or more British expatriates in Portugal and four times that number of Portuguese nationals in the UK.

At the time of the in / out referendum last June, the complexities of leaving the EU were far from clear. Since then, the confusion has reached new heights.

The coming weeks are very important for our future, not least  today (Monday 20th Feb, 2017) and Tuesday, when the Article 50 Bill is to be debated in the House of Lords.

In this newsletter edition, we describe how you can help us influence their Lordship's debate by making them aware of the Draft Amendment to the Bill and the Alternative White Paper which both set out the path we hope our Government will take.

Please help by emailing the Lords in support!

The newsletter is available for download HERE.

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For many expatriates, their pension income is the key to living the retirement lifestyle of their choice. Now that Brexit is imminent, should you have concerns about your pension security? Here we take a look at the key implications for the State Pension, defined contribution schemes and defined benefit or ‘final salary’ schemes.

Portugal intends to do everything possible to ensure that the rights of the Portuguese citizens in the UK and of British nationals who live, visit or invest in Portugal are all guaranteed in the wake of Britain’s sensational decision to leave the European Union, writes Len Port.

This reassurance came from Prime Minister António Costa following the shock result of Thursday’s referendum in the UK. While helping to steady individual fears, Prime Minister Costa also declared that “we have the oldest alliance in the world with the United Kingdom and it will carry on long after what will be the departure of the UK from the European Union.”

An InterNations survey among more than 1,800 British expats shows that 72 percent are in favor of remaining in the EU.