Learn Portuguese AND Creole

You can't cut it. The sooner you practice, the better!

Without either, you'll be seen as a complete outsider. Malleable in every sense of the word.

With only Portuguese, you will be considered an immigrant (which you are, I agree) with a bit of a dismissive note at times. The population speaks Creole! Speaking Portuguese outside the spheres of administration can help you open professional doors, but you will "connect" much less with the population.

If during an exchange, someone starts calling you “Doutor” beware! Depending on the tone, either he's gently making fun of your cultural differences, or it means he finds you pretentious.

On the contrary, with only Creole, you will have difficulties in the formal world which writes… in Portuguese!

My advice is therefore to speak Creole in all circumstances to show your integration (it's a super effective icebreaker), then wait for the reaction of your interlocutor and adapt accordingly.

But don't stress, benevolence will be in order when they know "where you come from".

Your first step should be to take Portuguese lessons. Throughout Western world there are cultural and linguistic centers Camões managed by the Portuguese State which deliver courses and recognized diplomas of PFL (Portuguese as a Foreign Language). You will also easily find courses from private institutes, or even simple smartphone apps which, intuitively, can give you the basics. Even if it is not prohibitive, prefer to learn Portuguese from Portugal, rather than Brazilian Portuguese which has its own vocabulary and many nuances that can be confusing.

I really insist on the importance of diligently following these courses! It's not optional or ancillary, you NEED IT to survive in GB!

For Creole, to my knowledge, there is only one book in French teaching Creole which is a bit dated and no face-to-face or online course.

Only one solution is available to you from Europe, to get closer to the Bissau-Guinean community and create conversation/meeting groups like MeetUp .

EDIT: March 2023, I decided to launch Kriol video lessons myself in French and English.

So, as long as you are in the thinking phase of your project, learn Portuguese to train your ear and develop your vocabulary to be able to better receive Creole on the spot.

Please let me know if you know other places to learn Portuguese and GB Creole in comments.