A simple way to describe Portuguese bureaucracy is with Hala Systems who I worked for from 2019-2022. They were moving the company headquarters to Lisbon and at time the company was ~30 people and ~10 were moving. They were advised to hire a full-time 'Portuguese fixer' to help get through the process. I became quite close with (our 'Portuguese fixer') and decided to start work on New Locals with him and another partner.

The vision for New Locals was to try and help make the immigration process easier. To start, help with a user getting a NIF (Portuguese tax number) and help store all the important documents for their Portuguese journey. Next, have a Portuguese local on call (via whatsapp) in your first few months to help with all the random questions and problems that come up. Mine included
- having electricity turned off because they couldn't get a reading
- putting diesel instead of gasoline in my car on a Sunday during the pandemic
- getting utilities setup over the phone while I was still a D- at Portuguese
Finally, incorporate a newsletter (history and culture focused) and calendar on things going on.

This project hit its major road block when no lawyer was willing to verify passports without taking physical ownership. Competitors like Bordr have been able to find lawyers willing to sign off on this without taking ownership of passports. It is a project I am interested in picking back up with the right lawyer contact.