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Hi all I have just a few questions regarding moving to Cape Verde permanently.
Firstly my partner is from Cape Verde and I currently live in the UK what is the procedure I need to undertake in order to move to Cape Verde?

What documents would I need and how would I go about getting permanent residency?

Would it be difficult for an only English speaker to get a job?
Thanks in advance.
-@hopediamond2010

Hello there,

You did not sign your name so I'm not sure how to address you. I've answered your questions below, or at least given you some information which might be helpful.

Firstly my partner is from Cape Verde and I currently live in the UK what is the procedure I need to undertake in order to move to Cape Verde?

First, you simply fly to Cape Verde as a tourist. You will be issued a 30-day tourist visa. Once you are inside Cape Verde you will never be asked your visa status for any purpose. Therefore you can live as long as you wish and do anything you wish. However, if you attempt to leave Cape Verde without a current visa, you will be fined at the airport. So it is best to either renew your tourism visa or apply for a residency visa.

What documents would I need and how would I go about getting permanent residency?

There is a list of documents, all of which you obtain from Cape Verde's government agencies. There is only one document which you should bring with you from the UK - a police certificate. The list is way too long (18 documents) to list here and furthermore, some of the documents on the list require that you obtain other documents in order to apply for the needed document. So it's complicated. It is best to work with a visa agent who can explain everything and advise you where and how to get all the documents you'll need for your residency visa. Send me a private message for further details.

On which island does your partner plan to reside? If I could give you one piece of helpful advice it is that you MUST NOT apply for your residency visa on the island of Sal. They hate tourists who apply for residency and they will do everything possible to prevent you from getting a permanent residency visa. They are also extremely hostile and rude to foreigners who apply for residency there. They only like tourists who come for a few weeks and then leave for wherever they came from. Blatantly xenophobic in my opinion. If you are going to apply for a residency visa, apply in Praia, the capital. That is where the immigration head office is. They are efficient and bear no grudges against foreigners. So even if you plan to live in Sal then you should spend 2-3 months in Praia, collect all of your documents, make you application, then move to the island you decide to call home.

Would it be difficult for an only English speaker to get a job?

It is almost impossible to get a job in Cape Verde if you only speak English. The official language is Portuguese. English is rarely spoken. Only a few local professionals who were educated abroad, many expats, and foreigner companies (based in English-speaking countries) speak English. Ironically, the hotels in Sal and Boavista which host mostly English-speaking guests are sometimes looking for English-speakiing staff who can better serve the guests. So that's the only real possibility to get a job as an English-speaker in Cape Verde.

Feel free to send me a private mesagge in case you want to discuss further.

Cheers,

Angelo

Hi I am from Pakistan I want to come Cape Verde to sattel and marry to get permanent residency and citizenship it's possible to sattel and get job in Cape Verde

Hi I am from Pakistan I want to come Cape Verde to sattel and marry to get permanent residency and citizenship it's possible to sattel and get job in Cape Verde
-@Kashifanwar12345

Hi,

Yes it is possible to settle in Cape Verde. Just come here for a vacation, then stay and you can always apply for residency if you want residency. But you do not need residency to stay here.

Citizenship via marriage is extremely complicated. Why would you want to do than anyway? There is no need to marry to become a CV citizen. Anyone can become a citizen after they have lived in Cape Verde for 5 years with a residency visa!

As far as a job, it will be almost impossible to get a job here if you do not speak Portuguese. English is not spoken here, except in some of the hotels in Sal and Boavista. In Praia, the capital, there are several Pakistani owned businesses. You might be able to get a job with one of them, but that's probably only a plan B.

Cheers,

Angelo

  hi I want to visit Cape Verde and want to live and work in Cape Verde I am from Pakistan is their anyway I can get job and residence in Cape Verde and there any marriage club to find woman to marry in Cape Verde

      hi I want to visit Cape Verde and want to live and work in Cape Verde I am from Pakistan is their anyway I can get job and residence in Cape Verde and there any marriage club to find woman to marry in Cape Verde         -@Kashifanwar12345

Hi Kashifanwar,

Getting a job in Cape Verde requires that you speak Portuguese (or the local dialect derived from it), and frankly, their are very few jobs and unemployment is very high. So any available jobs are quickly taken by locals.

What most foreigners do is start their own business and learn the basics of the language so they can communicate with employees, and the employees are the ones that do most of the communication and service with customers.

For those who insist on speaking only English, you can find some jobs in the tourism sector working for one of the hotels. However, this requires you live on one of the tourist islands, either on Sal or Boavista, where 85% of tourist visit. The cost of living on those two tiny islands (local population 25 and 10 thousand respectively) is extremely high because of all the foreigners who live there, driving up the prices of everything especially housing.

There are no "marriage clubs" in Cape Verde. And whether or not such a thing existed, how would you meet a woman and communicate unless you spoke the local language?

Best of luck,

Angelo

Good morning , am Nicki from Ghana please I am planning on relocating to Cape Verde with my Son   Can you please tell me  what are the thing I need to do before moving over there , and how are the living conditions there can you pls give me some few tips on how the living conditions are there .

Good morning , am Nicki from Ghana please I am planning on relocating to Cape Verde with my Son Can you please tell me what are the thing I need to do before moving over there , and how are the living conditions there can you pls give me some few tips on how the living conditions are there . - @Nickibrown952

Hi Nicki,

I hope you are aware that English is not spoken in Cape Verde. Portuguese is the official language. So, the very first thing I would advise you to do is to start learning Portuguese and let your son learn too. How old is he? You did not say. But if you cannot speak/read/write Portuguese almost fluently, it would be almost impossible to succeed here as it is the language used for official acts, education, and most public services. A local dialect called kriolu, which is derived from Portuguese, is spoken by everyone (with variations by island). It takes some time to learn kriolu, but if you cannot communicate in either kriolu or Portuguese, then it will be extremely difficult to live and work here.

You did not say which island you would like to come to. The island of Santiago, which is where the capital is located, has the cheapest prices for everything. Half the population of Cape Verde lives on this island. The rest of the population is spread among the remaining 8 inhabited islands so they are very small in population.

The cost of living for you and your son would be around $600 per month to cover rent, food, utilities, transport, internet and school. But this would be for a reasonable lifestyle in a safe neighborhood but with very limited options for more than the bare essentials. Some locals live on a minimum of $250 per month, but this would be in a very poor neighborhood with less safety and a bare minimum of subsistence. In other words, at this level of income, you would be living in deep poverty. To live in more comfortable conditions with better housing, food and entertainment options, you will need to have disposable income of around $1,000/month for you and your son.

The other islands are slightly more expensive with smaller populations, fewer businesses, fewer jobs, lower incomes and thus greater poverty.

The islands of Sal and Boavista are the exceptions. They are the touristic islands but the cost of living there is about 50% higher than Santiago.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Angelo

@CVAngelo

Thank you so much for your replies across different threads on this forum. They have been super helpful.

I want to move to Praia and possibly apply for a Digital Nomad Visa. I've checked one of the websites you shared in another thread for finding apartments and I was wondering if I need to get to CV to pay for an apartment or if it's something I can do before I get there.

I was also wondering if the internet cost is still at around $30 for 15GB of data.

Thank you!

Hi there,

You would have to apply for a nomad visa BEFORE you come to CV. You can apply after you are already here. If you can get to Praia even as a tourist (without a nomad visa) then don't even bother to apply for a nomad visa as it is completely unnecessary and a complete mess of bureaucratic bungling. You will only waste your time, energy and money.

Best bet if you can get here as a tourist is to open a tax-free small business and employ yourself. With that you can do whatever you planned to do, pay no taxes, join the natonal health plan, and later use your business to obtain a residency visa.

It is difficult to pay for a long-term apartment before you get to Praia. But you can always book a short-term AirBNB rental in advance. The best way to find a longer-term rental is to find it when you are already here. There is you can review to get an idea of what is available and the prices. Be aware that rents in good neighborhoods are not cheap. Also, there are many rentals that you can only find by walking around because they are not posted online. You will need a long-term rental contract in order to apply for a residency visa.

Yes, the cost of internet is $30 per month for 15GB of cellular data. I myself only spend $10/month for 7GB data because at home I have a wired internet service that costs $70/month for unlimited data.

Be well,

Angelo

Hi Angelo,

I'm getting close to moving to Cape Verde and finalizing everything. However, I would like to understand more about business regulations there. A colleague told me that a few years ago, he openeda a business and paid around 100 euros per month for it. He mentioned that being self-employed might be more profitable, but I'm not entirely sure. He advised me to speak with an accountant for clarification.

Additionally, regarding accommodation, do you know if Cidadela a safe neighborhood?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hi Angelo,
I'm getting close to moving to Cape Verde and finalizing everything. However, I would like to understand more about business regulations there. A colleague told me that a few years ago, he openeda a business and paid around 100 euros per month for it. He mentioned that being self-employed might be more profitable, but I'm not entirely sure. He advised me to speak with an accountant for clarification.

Additionally, regarding accommodation, do you know if Cidadela a safe neighborhood?

Thank you in advance for your help! - @Oscense

Hi Oscense,

Clearly your friend opened his business without knowing what he was doing, or was duped by the accountant he hired because $100 per month is what a very large business would pay it's accountant! You have to open a special tax-free business to avoid all those ongoing fees. When you get here, let me know and I will set it all up for you.

Cidadela is the wealthiest suburb of Praia. It is obviously safe there.

Best regards,

Angelo

@CVAngelo

Thank you so much Angelo.

Yeah, he told me it was a mistake since he didn’t know. Right now, he's still paying €100 a month because, somehow, it's easy to set up a business but hard to close one… and this was 8 years ago! He lives on a small island tho.

I’ll be there in a couple of months, and will for sure let you know.  But I don't want to bother you much. Just explaining the steps to follow will be enough

@CVAngelo

Thanks a lot again for your gracious reply.

I'm a West African and should be able to come in with my Nigerian passport as part of the ECOWAS free movement policy without applying for a tourist visa. I didn't think of the business registration because I'm not sure I want to apply for permanent residency. I'm looking at staying for about 6 months to 1 year.

I see that some houses for rent come furnished while others do not. I wanted to know if the monthly rent includes electricity and water bills or if they have to be paid separately. If they do, what is the average monthly cost for these utilities?

I also saw in a YouTube video that CV immigration requires West African nationals to have a return visa, which is unusual for ECOWAS countries. I know this isn't up your alley but I was wondering if you've heard of it.

Thanks again for your help. It really is invaluable!