About Liesbeth

In 2022, I packed up our lives in the Netherlands and moved our family to Ericeira. My husband, our kids, and a mountain of paperwork. We had no contacts, no Portuguese, and no idea how complicated the system would be.

I quickly found out that nothing is straightforward here. Queuing at Finanças for our NIF. Chasing the CRUE. Registering at the local SNS health centre. Setting up as a freelancer with Green Receipts. Enrolling the kids in school. Opening a bank account that took three attempts. I did every single step myself, often in a language I was still learning.

Along the way, I started learning Portuguese properly — not just to get by, but to really understand. I am now pursuing official university certification so I can also teach and certify Portuguese for other expats.

With my background in law, I naturally started documenting everything: which forms, which offices, which order. Friends asked for help. Then friends of friends. Then strangers in Facebook groups. I kept hearing the same thing: "I feel so lost. I do not know where to start. I have been relying on half-correct WhatsApp advice and it is stressing me out."

One moment stayed with me. Friends here in Ericeira had just had a baby and asked if I could help them register the newborn at the municipality. They were stressed — they did not speak Portuguese, did not know the process, and were navigating one of the most emotional moments of their lives at the same time. I was able to help them through it. Watching the relief on their faces reminded me that this is not just about paperwork. It is about being there for people at moments that matter, in a country and language they are still finding their feet in.

That was the turning point. I realised I could do for others what I wished someone had done for me — guide them through the bureaucracy step by step, in their own language, with real experience behind every answer. Not as a legal adviser — I do not practise law in Portugal — but as someone who has lived it, who speaks the language, and who knows exactly which steps to take and in which order. A practical guide, not a lawyer. That is why I founded Ponte Portugal.