About

We moved to Porto with our children. Not as a lifestyle experiment — as a real, permanent decision that took months of research, several spreadsheets, more than a few stressful evenings, and a lot of questions that were surprisingly hard to find clear answers to.

Portugal Family Guide exists because of that gap.

The information is out there, but it’s scattered, often outdated, and almost always written by people who visited Portugal for two weeks on holiday — not by families navigating school runs, SNS appointments, creche waiting lists, NIF applications, and winter electricity bills.

Who we are

We’re a family based in Porto. Our children are in the Portuguese school system. We’ve been through the D7 visa process, the AIMA appointments, the housing search (including the fiador problem that catches most expat families off guard), the SNS registration, and the moment you discover that older Portuguese buildings are significantly colder in January than you expected.

We are not immigration lawyers, tax advisers, or financial professionals. We’re parents who moved here, figured it out, and documented what we learned. Where professional advice is needed — on visas, tax, healthcare decisions — we say so clearly.

What this site covers

Portugal Family Guide focuses specifically on the things families actually need to know before and after relocating:

  • Visas and residency — D7, Digital Nomad, and what NHR becoming IFICI means for your tax position
  • Schools — international schools vs Portuguese public schools, the real costs, application timelines, and what to ask before enrolling
  • Healthcare — SNS registration, finding a paediatrician in Porto, and how private insurance fits in
  • Renting — the fiador problem, what to budget upfront, and what to check when viewing properties
  • Neighbourhoods — honest comparisons of Foz do Douro, Boavista, Matosinhos, and Gaia for families
  • Practical life — the NIF, language learning, making friends, moving with pets, babies and toddlers in Porto
  • The honest picture — the disadvantages alongside the advantages, because families making a move this significant deserve accurate information

What makes this different

There are excellent travel blogs about Portugal. This isn’t one of them. The audience here is families who are seriously considering a permanent or long-term move — not tourists planning a holiday.

That distinction changes everything about what’s useful to write. Whether a restaurant in Ribeira is worth visiting is irrelevant if you’re trying to decide which Porto neighbourhood to rent in, whether to put your 9-year-old in a Portuguese public school or pay international school fees, or how to navigate the NIF process before your D7 visa application.

We cover those questions — from the perspective of people who have been through them, in Porto, with children.

A note on accuracy

Portugal’s immigration rules, tax regimes, school policies, and rental market change regularly. We update articles when we become aware of significant changes, and we flag time-sensitive information with verification warnings. All cost figures are planning benchmarks — treat them as starting points, not guarantees.

For decisions with significant financial or legal consequences — visa applications, tax planning, school contracts, rental agreements — please consult a licensed professional. We recommend this throughout the site, and we mean it.

Start here

If you’re new to the site, the best place to start depends on where you are in the process: