Author Topic: My retirement blog.  (Read 232895 times)

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #360 on: January 04, 2019, 11:07:40 am »
Yes. If it is only you and your spouse applying for Leave to Enter and you only have savings or liquid stocks then the formula would be £16 000 + (18 600 x 2,5) = £62 500.

The best and latest news can be found on this website. https://www.freemovement.org.uk/appendix-fm-financial-requirements/

I must add that Customs and Immigration have been briefed to no longer look for reasons to deny status but to look for reason to give status. By "status" I mean "Leave to Enter" and "Leave to Remain".

The new system is online and automated to work like our efiling system whereby pages will be generated according to what boxes you tick. This will ensure you get the correct electronic forms. The old paper system lets you pick the forms yourself without help and if you took the wrong one's then your request will be denied without explanation.
If you still happen to make a mistake then an official will now point the mistake to you and give you time to correct it. If it is denied then they must tell you the reason should you wish to appeal. You can also now appeal from within the UK. 

No English test is required if your home language is English or you live in an English speaking Commonwealth country.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 11:29:10 am by Orca »
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Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #361 on: January 05, 2019, 10:33:57 am »
Cheers for the site had not seen it, but wife had. SA is not on the english speaking countries list - we could jump through a few hoops to say, my wifes, B Tech diploma was taught in english, but might just be easier to do the test.

Anyway, will just take it easy and knock off the points one by one - try not to get stressed about it

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #362 on: January 05, 2019, 07:43:35 pm »
My wife will not be asked to do the language test as English is her first language and home language. SA will not be listed as there are too many native languages.
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rond

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #363 on: January 15, 2019, 12:03:56 pm »
Hi there and thanks for all the info .  I've been reading your earlier blog stuff but have not reviewed much lately . Suffice to say I see you're bidding Portugal goodbye for Tax & language reasons ... Sad, sorry to hear this .....   Ever thought about moving to Algarve where English is spoken>?

Sorry , .... getting off the reason for my correspondence.  We are currently resident in Spain ( one year now)but due to TAX and one or two other complications ( Drivers licence) we wish to move to Portugal and apply for the Non Habitual Tax  Resident so that we get the 10 year Tax window??>>> . We have not emigrated and hence have part of our investment in SA on JSE and in property.

I'm hoping you can offer some insight regarding the complications of applying for such etc. My wife is a UK passport holder but I am South African ( Green Mamba Passport) .. it bites.

Looking forward to chatting further , so until later, .  have a great day out there.

Rond

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #364 on: January 15, 2019, 08:59:20 pm »
Hi Rond. I will be pleased to help where I can. You need not officially emigrate if you do not have RA's and possible future inheritances coming your way.

You will however have problems later if you decide to sell your investments as capital gains taxes are residency based and in Portugal you will be regarded as a resident from the day you sign a rental lease or purchase primary property. This is a flat rate of 28% and is not added to your other income. Having Non Habitual Residency status does not cover the sale of movable property (shares) so you will not be tax exempt in Portugal.

The sale of your fixed property will only be taxed by SA. All other foreign income will be exempt from tax in Portugal whether you paid tax on it or not in the foreign state.

You may have read about my EXIT TAX problems. The SARS website and SAIT (SA Institute of Tax Professionals) both state that when you become a non resident in SA then all your movable assets will be deemed as sold and you must pay exit tax on the gains to reset your Base Cost to zero gains in your new country. You may have a good fight with that as I have had and still ongoing.

As to why I don't relocate to the Algarve. We love the seaside so I'm only mentioning coastal areas.

1. Too hot and arid for us. Inland can be greener and cooler.
2. Most of the Algarve beaches are below cliffs and one needs to repel down to them or use a boat to get to them. Some have trams or small busses to get you down.
3. A large part of the Algarve has a large lagoon running parallel to the beach and to reach the beach you would need a boat. Most people just use the lagoon as a beach without waves.

The beaches are great in photos you see in tourist websites but a shlep to get to.

Lagos is said to have the best beaches.



 
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Patrick

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #365 on: January 16, 2019, 07:58:44 am »
Lagos is said to have the best beaches.
I was there in October, they are ridiculously beautiful. Worth climbing those steps :)

Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #366 on: February 10, 2019, 07:03:58 am »
On 29 March 2019, 23h00 (WET), the United Kingdom (UK) will cease to be a European Union (EU) Member State. The Withdrawal Agreement1 will ensure the status and rights of EU citizens living in the UK and of UK nationals living in EU Member States. The Agreement also establishes a transition period from the withdrawal date until 31 December 2020.
Under the term of the Agreement, UK nationals and their family members who already are permanent residents in Portugal will be able to maintain that right. And all those who arrive before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020) will be able to acquire permanent residence status after completing a five-year residence period.
The Portuguese Government wants to reassure UK nationals and their family members living in Portugal that they are welcome to stay.

Will be interested to see if a deal is made as ::

IN CASE OF A NO-DEAL SCENARIO
As there would be no agreed implementation period, the guarantee to acquire the right of permanent residence would only apply to UK nationals who are resident in Portugal by 29 March 2019; all those UK nationals and their family members who are already in Portugal by that date would have until 31 December 2020 to apply for a registration certificate.

Obviously works the other way round as well - application in yet Orca?

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #367 on: February 10, 2019, 11:50:16 am »
You are almost correct Mr Div. It is highly unlikely that the deal will be accepted so there will be no free movement after 29 March 2019 for EU nationals in the UK and UK nationals in the EU.

All immigrants in the EU must apply for residency after 3 months. Your last paragraph should be what happens to EU nationals in the UK in a No Deal scenario and not what Portugal has stated will happen to UK nationals. The 3 month rule is binding in EU countries but the UK has extended it to a cutoff date at 31 Dec 2020 only due to the sheer numbers of EU nationals in the UK. It would take 18 months to process over 3 million applications. The whole of the mainland EU has less than 1 million Brit expats.

UK nationals already resident in the EU have been given the right to remain in the EU countries but they as non EU nationals will have no protection under EU laws. They will fall under the domestic laws of the specific country and this is a difficult situation as the immigration laws only allow non EU country nationals residency under circumstances such as wealth and scarce skills. No country has yet compiled new immigration laws specifically aimed at UK nationals.

We aim to fly over on 21 March and have been advised to keep proof of the date of entry and not to register too soon as the new online application system that comes into operation on 30 March will be under strain as many of the 3 million EU nationals rush to apply for status.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2019, 12:17:12 pm by Orca »
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Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #368 on: February 10, 2019, 12:28:33 pm »
Here is the latest news from the Home Office in an email I subscribe to.
QUOTE:
This is the latest information on the EU Settlement Scheme for EU citizens in the UK. You are receiving this because you have requested email updates from the UK government.

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union today set out information for EU citizens and their family members in the UK in the event of a no deal exit from the EU.

The UK Government:

Confirms that if there is no deal, the EU Settlement Scheme will continue to be implemented, enabling EU citizens and their family members living in the UK by 29 March 2019 to secure their status and continue to be able to work, study, and access benefits and services in the UK on the same basis after we exit the EU as they do now. The scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019 as planned.
 
Confirms that the Home Office will continue to look to grant status rather than refuse and in line with the UK commitment to be more generous in certain respects than the draft Withdrawal Agreement, a person will not be refused status under the EU Settlement Scheme because, for example, they are not economically active or they do not hold comprehensive sickness insurance.
There would be some changes to the EU Settlement Scheme if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and further details are set out in the policy document.  In particular, as there will be no agreed implementation period, the application deadline will be brought forward to 31 December 2020.

You do not need to do anything for now. The EU Settlement Scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019.

Further information about the scheme can be found on GOV.UK - END QUOTE.
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yozzi

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #369 on: February 11, 2019, 03:27:51 pm »
Hi there and thanks for all the info .  I've been reading your earlier blog stuff but have not reviewed much lately . Suffice to say I see you're bidding Portugal goodbye for Tax & language reasons ... Sad, sorry to hear this .....   Ever thought about moving to Algarve where English is spoken>?

Sorry , .... getting off the reason for my correspondence.  We are currently resident in Spain ( one year now)but due to TAX and one or two other complications ( Drivers licence) we wish to move to Portugal and apply for the Non Habitual Tax  Resident so that we get the 10 year Tax window??>>> . We have not emigrated and hence have part of our investment in SA on JSE and in property.

I'm hoping you can offer some insight regarding the complications of applying for such etc. My wife is a UK passport holder but I am South African ( Green Mamba Passport) .. it bites.

Looking forward to chatting further , so until later, .  have a great day out there.

Rond

Hi Rond,

Read your post above re your intended move to Portugal and I'm currently looking at a move to Spain in the next year or so as I know the country very well from my many holiday trips there when I lived in the UK. I am a UK passport holder and currently resident in SA.

Where in Spain do you live? I'm looking at options with a good all year round climate with mild winters not bothered with the summer heat as I will probably go to the UK during July/Aug when it's very hot. It looks like the eastern areas of Spain are best climate wise from Almeria up to Alicante so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Have you had problems with tax in Spain and is it unsolvable? I'm retired here in SA and same as you I still own property here which I'm trying to sell at the moment but with the market being down at present it's taking longer than expected. 

Like wise, any guidance or helpful tips on moving to Spain would be brilliant as although it seems easy to do sometimes others who've been there before know all the shortcuts and ways to avoid potential pitfalls.

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #370 on: February 11, 2019, 07:35:39 pm »
Yo yo Yozzi. Your UK passport will be as good as a SA one after 29 March 2019 for immigration purposes. In the EU it will be classed as a third country passport and you will have no free movement.

Most EU countries will place reciprocal regulations in line with the UK for immigration. In a no deal situation you may have to be in Spain before that date to be resident. So start packing. We have.
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yozzi

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #371 on: February 13, 2019, 10:47:27 am »
Yo yo Yozzi. Your UK passport will be as good as a SA one after 29 March 2019 for immigration purposes. In the EU it will be classed as a third country passport and you will have no free movement.

Most EU countries will place reciprocal regulations in line with the UK for immigration. In a no deal situation you may have to be in Spain before that date to be resident. So start packing. We have.

Hi Orca, yes that's the way it looks at the moment and there's no way I'm going to be over there before March 29th but I still think there will be a delay or some sort of amnesty for UK passport holders to move to Spain and there is no way at all that the Spanish economy can do without a dramatic decrease of British tourists pumping millions into their coffers year on year and the moves that the Portugese government has made in light of the same scenario bears this out and Spain would be downright stupid to not follow suit.

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #372 on: February 16, 2019, 11:31:37 pm »
You may have read about my EXIT TAX problems. The SARS website and SAIT (SA Institute of Tax Professionals) both state that when you become a non resident in SA then all your movable assets will be deemed as sold and you must pay exit tax on the gains to reset your Base Cost to zero gains in your new country. You may have a good fight with that as I have had and still ongoing.



Correct in respect of change of tax residence (which for completeness, is a different concept to financial immigration), triggering a deemed capital gain in South Africa.
Not necessarily correct that change of tax residency resets you base cost in your new country......

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #373 on: February 17, 2019, 08:44:39 pm »
@XXXXX. I assume by the cryptic nature of your post that you are a tax adviser as they tend to not explain anything without payment and will not share information for free.

The paid for telephonic advice I received from a tax lawyer in Portugal was this:

I was ordinarily resident in the RSA for the previous 6 years without a break so that makes me domiciled in SA when the deemed sale of the securities took place. This reset the base cost on the day before exit.

When I left SA the deemed repurchase of the same securities took place at the same price. This new base cost will apply in my new country due to the fact that the deemed sale was done while I was ordinarily resident in SA. The DTA did not apply at the time.

The DTA rules came to effect when I arrived here and it clearly states that CGT on the sale of securities are only payable to the country of which the seller is resident. I was not ordinarily resident in Portugal when it took place so the tax is only payable to SARS and not Portugal.

Should the deemed sale not be accepted by Portugal then it will be an infringement of the DTA rules as I will be taxed twice when an actual sale takes place.

The opposite is also true according to SARS website. When an immigrant to SA takes up residency in SA then his securities will be reset to the value on the date of entry. It however does not state that this will happen if the exit tax was paid or not in his country.

 

 

« Last Edit: February 17, 2019, 09:24:18 pm by Orca »
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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #374 on: February 18, 2019, 09:32:16 am »
 :D

South African income tax legislation (as modified by a DTA), dictates on how capital gains are taxed in South Africa.  Unfortunately the legislation is not necessarily reciprocal and you would have to refer to local (in your case) Portuguese legislation (as modified by any DTA) in order to assess the tax implications on your side.....

For example, and not relevant to your case, but para 12(4) of the 8th Schedule of the South African Income tax act dictates how a incoming immigrant Base cost is reset on becoming a South African resident.  There is no modification in the DTA necessary.  For completeness, the relevant income tax legislation reads as follows.
4) A person who commences to be a resident must, subject to paragraph 24, be treated as having
disposed of each of that person's assets, other than assets in the Republic listed in paragraph 2 (1) (b) (i) and (ii), and as having acquired each of those assets at a cost equal to the market value of each of those assets, which cost must be treated as an amount of expenditure actually incurred and paid for the purposes of paragraph 20 (1) (a).


Incidently, you'll note that there is no mention of "exit tax" (which is a misnomer anyway).  So irrespective if "exit tax" was paid, South Africa regards the base cost as being "reset".

In your case, the key to unlocking the puzzle is to understand what Portuguese legislation say's, and if you're in luck, it may have a similar provision to the above....... 

Tax legislation, and in particular international tax implications are not alway's logical and I strongly advise you once again to seek appropriate expert tax advice (not from myself).  Don't just assume because "South Africa do it this way, Portugal must treat you the same"