The 12-Month Runway: Financial Moves to Make Before You Relocate to Portugal
With Portugal's tax incentives and citizenship rules having changed significantly, the decisions you make before you become a tax resident can matter as much as the ones you make after you arrive.
John brings over 16 years of financial planning experience from his tenure at Merrill Lynch, TD Ameritrade, and independent planning firms in the Bay Area. He holds both CFP and GFP designations, and earned his BS in Psychology from the University of Iowa, with minors in Philosophy and French.
John is an intensely creative professional who is energetic in the application of modern financial planning principles in the service of his clientele. Currently, John is co-located in Lisbon, Portugal, and San Francisco, California. His family lives in Lisbon, and they enjoy exploring continental Europe, meeting new friends, and learning new languages.
Ryan brings over a decade of industry experience with both the big Wall Street firms, as well as hedge funds and private equity where he played a leading role. He studied Economics at San Francisco State University and the University of Washington. He holds designations from the American College of Financial Services, as well as the Digital Asset Council of Financial Professionals.
Ryan's guiding principle is Clients First: He is passionate about serving as financial advocate for his clients in both in the creation and protection of wealth. He currently resides in the North Bay with his partner, Nicole. When he is not working with clients, he enjoys bicycling and rock climbing, amateur carpentry & farming, and serving as a youth mentor within local organizations.
In this webinar, John McNertney, CFP® GFP Fellow, Managing Partner, and Ryan Ahrens, CBDA®, CIO/Partner of Green Ocean Global Advisors, LLC will walk through the financial planning steps Americans should take in the year or two before moving to Portugal. With Portugal's tax incentives and citizenship rules having changed significantly, the decisions you make before you become a tax resident can matter as much as the ones you make after you arrive.
Some of the relevant issues that will be addressed include:
- Why Timing Your Tax Residency Matters: How your arrival date can shape your first Portuguese tax year, and why some steps — like reviewing embedded capital gains or planned asset sales — are often easier to address before you become a Portuguese tax resident.
- NHR Is Gone — What IFICI Does (and Doesn't) Offer: What replaced the Non-Habitual Resident regime, who may qualify for the IFICI incentive, and how to plan if you'll be taxed under Portugal's standard progressive rates instead.
- Retirement Accounts, Social Security & Pensions Across Borders: How IRAs, Roth accounts, 401(k)s and Social Security interact with the U.S.–Portugal tax treaty, and which questions to settle before withdrawals begin abroad.
- Keeping Your U.S. Accounts Open and Investable: Why some U.S. custodians restrict or close accounts once you have a foreign address, and how to avoid PFIC traps when investing locally in Portugal.
- Currency and Cash Flow Planning for the Move: Funding your first years in euros, managing USD/EUR exchange risk, and setting up banking on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Residency vs. Citizenship Under Portugal's New Nationality Law: What the 2026 change from a five- to ten-year citizenship timeline means for your long-term plans, and why permanent residency after five years remains an important milestone.
- Your Pre-Move Checklist: A practical sequence of steps for the 12–24 months before relocation, so nothing is left until after you land.
We hope you can join us!
Absolutely! These sessions are for you. Bring your questions and participate during the Q&A.
Not at all. These webinars are designed for all planning to move to Portugal, not just clients of Green Ocean Global.
It’s all good. We will record the webinar and send the recording link.
Certainly. Just give them this website address and ask them to register.