Travel while waiting for new residence card

Good luck with 90 days! My appointment was over 5 months ago and no card. Supposed to be better than SEF but...

You may not have your passport checked travelling to/from Spain, especially by road...however...I wouldn't chance travelling to Spain without a valid Schengen Visa.

My partner's Schengen Visa expires mid April, and although we have an interview in a couple of weeks, and that I understand she can remain in Portugal until end of June independent of the outcome, we are making no plans to travel outside the country until she has any visa or an extension issued.

@bobinportugal22 thanks but that doesn’t answer my question

@slugsurmamates thanks. Does she already have her first residency card? i already had my residency for two years so I am just talking about a renewal, which AIMA already confirmed is being processed.  Theoretically since i have been a resident and just waiting for my new resident card I should not need a Schengen visa to go to other EU countries. i am looking for someone at the renewal stage of residency and what their experience has been travelling in the EU whilst waiting for a new card

@bobinportugal22 have you received your card yet am 135 days in and no card ?

@nimrod_1976 no I have not. Note no one has actually answered my original question suggesting no one has tried travelling?

@Paglaom well I should be able to update in about 12 days as i have had to travel back to UK for family reasons and will be returning to Portugal soon with my AIMA receipt and Attestado de Residencia lets see if i get back in ok.

@nimrod_1976 great thanks. I think the bigger worry is whether the authorities in the UK will let you on the plane. From what I have read some airlines are not allowing passengers to board. The problem is not so much the getting back into Portugal. Anyway good luck and I look forward to hearing your experiences

@Paglaom I have never had any checks when leaving UK airports unless something new has been implemented I only ever show my passport at security when going through bag check, so will see.

@nimrod_1976 yes maybe not from UK but there are lots of other places people want to travel. I was told by TAP at the airport to categorically not try to do this when I wanted to go to Brazil. They said there is a real risk of Brazilian authorities not letting me on the plane. I think that is the problem. There are so many anecdotal stories and conflicting information and no one knows what the answer is. Nor will AIMA put out any official statement. I even wrote to the mayor of Lisbon asking him how can Lisbon be the capital of innovation for 2024 when people cannot even travel for business because of this issue. He replied that he is aware of the problem but can do nothing as it is a federal not municipal problem. Incidentally if you have a UK passport it may be less of a problem but for people with non EU/UK passports it is really a nightmare

@Paglaom well I hope you can successfully travel back to Brazil and keep me posted my fingers are crossed for you.

No we gave up on the Brazil trip. The risk was too great of getting stranded in Brazil. We have a June trip coming up first to Turkey and then to the Philippines so same dilemma. We are probably just going to go for it mainly because we are just so sick of all the BS with the residence cards. Will indeed keep you posted.

@Paglaom I hope you are well ? I can confirm I travelled back from the UK this wknd with my D8 digital nomad visa receipt and my attestado de residencia with my UK passport, I did not have any problems going through immigration at Faro airport might just be useful for other people who are worried about travelling who also have not yet received there Residencia Card.

@nimrod_1976 great many thanks for the update. Much appreciated

@nimrod_1976hi nimrod

i wanna ask something i renewed my trc card here in portugal but unfortunately my card didnt arrived yet how can i travel in Uk can i show to them that i already renewed my card? any suggestion pls thank you

We did this from Heathrow to Lisbon using BA. We showed the AIMA letter/receipt showing we had applied as well as our old card. It would have helped if we had an English translation of the AIMA letter. They only let us on the plane after some consultation with superiors

@Paglaom how we leave portugal using expired card inalready submitted my renewal 2 months ago but card didnt come out yet, what documents shld i show to the immigration in portugal pls answer my queation

My experience is there is no problem leaving Portugal as long as you have the required papers for your destination. For example they may check if you have a visa for the UK if you require one. The issue some people have had is that they have been denied boarding when trying to return to Portugal. It is the airlines responsibility to ensure that all passengers have the correct documentation for the destination because a) they don't want to have the responsibility of taking the passengers back to the starting airport if Portugal denies entry and/or b) they can face heavy fines for allowing passengers without the right documents to travel. Arriving at Portuguese customs, the customs are well aware of the issues being faced by people with AIMA and I have not heard of anyone being refused entry into Portugal with an expired card supported by the letter from AIMA to say they are waiting. In our case we just showed the expired card and the Portuguese office just waved us through with a shrug without even looking at the AIMA papers.

what documents shld i take in portugies office ??pls answer me because i need to go bavk in Uk

Sorry I don't know what you mean by the Portuguese office? Do you mean what documents do you need to show to the immigration officials when leaving and arriving back in Portugal? We showed our valid passport, expired card, letter/receipt from AIMA saying we had applied for the renewal but not yet received the card and our valid visa for the UK. Just as back up we also had copies of our work contracts and accommodation here in Portugal to prove we were living and working here. No one asked for this information though

@sheryll1922 - Hi and apologies for the delay in responding to you, I showed them the receipt from AIMA and explained I was still awaiting  my resident card, i would take your old card with you as well.

Is it possible to travel within EU. I have my card expired and applied for auto renewal. And I'm waiting for it

@harish0489pt I think the short answer is yes but make sure you carry with you your old card and the receipt from AIMA saying that you have applied for the new card. Preferably translate the receipt into English. I think it is also helpful to have with you things like your work contract, proof of accommodation etc. to really prove ypu are a resident in Portugal. I have read some EU countries are more difficult than others but I have not read of anyone being unable to travel in the EU under these circumstances. We never had any problems coming into Portugal on an expired card, even from non EU countries

@Paglaom  two questions. My 2-year temporary residency expires 14 October 2024. When I log onto the SEF link I get a notice in red that automatic renewal isn't available. When does the automatic renewal open up?   I also plan to travel outside of Portugal for December and January but the flights I am looking at connect via Paris or Amsterdam, I hope I'll be allowed in via these places, my return Schengen stamp will be from either France or The Netherlands, I doubt I'll get my card before December. Do you think I'll be fine getting back into Europe? Pity I don't land directly back in Portugal.

Our experience is the automatic renewal only opens up after the expiry date. Different people have had different experiences. Some have reported it opening up in advance of the expiry but never more tahn 30 days before. You just need to keep checking and hopefully it will come up. We returned from Turkey via UK. The UK immigration queried the expired card but we showed them the AIMA appointment we had already done which confirmed we were waiting for the new card. If you only have an expired card by the time you leave and no proof you have applied for a new one, I believe you could have problems unless your Schengen visa is valid for multiple entries over a number of years.

@Paglaom hi, did you try to travelling with aima receipt?

@Paglaom Thank you.

@Uhuy11 yes we travelled to Turkey and back via London Heathrow. Immigration in Turkey was not interested. They only cared we had visas to enter UK. The immigration in UK asked to see the AIMA documentation and then after some internal discussion let us continue the journey. It would have been very helpful if we had the AIMA receipt translated into English as a certified copy

@Paglaom

Hello I read all previous conversation.

I am more or less in same situation.

First question. Did you receive your residence card or not yet?

I also applied for renewal of my residence card 40days ago but not received anything yet. I also went to SEF but they are so rude and not saying anything. AIMA is not responding on email and phone numbers.

I am so stressed for the moment.

I want to travel to India (My home country) but I don't know if i can go and come back without any trouble.

I just have receipt given by AIMA saying I am waiting for my new residence card. I emailed to Portugal immigration border control. They said that the proof (receipt by AIMA) will accept while entering the Portugal border.

I am also worrying because my flight will stop at Istanbul. Do you think I get any trouble there?

Do you have any suggestion for me? Please let me know.

Thanks,

Regards,

Aditi

@Aditi Patkar

@Aditi Patkar

Yes I received the card about 100 days after the interview. You mention 40 days which is way too little. Most people wait 90 days or longer. We flew to Turkey via London with an expired residence card. The authorities in Turkey were not interested because we had a stop in London. In London they asked to see the AIMA letter and expired card and let us on the plane after some debate. It would have been very helpful to have a copy of the AIMA letter translated to English. There was no issue at customs in Lisbon airport. It is impossible to say if you will have problems or not. One lady I know flew with an expired card to to Australia via Istanbul and back with no issues. The main problem I have read about is the airline no allowing people on the flight. If you are going to have a problem, it would almost certainly be in India with the airline not allowing you on. What airline are you flying with? Apparently airlines know of this problem. My suggestion is you call that airline and get something in writing from them that they say there will not be an issue. Sorry I cannot be of more help. I totally get your frustration as there are thousands of people in the same situation

@Paglaom

Thank you so much for your quick answer...

I am goanna fly with Indigo airline ...yes i will ask them....

And i also have one small doubt. While returning to Lisboa I have layover at Istanbul...Do you know whether its a European entry or I just need to pass from security (without Immigration) ....

Also, yes its good idea to translate AIMA receipt in English...Thanks for suggestion....Did you just translate it or you took any official stamp from aima over it??

Thanks,

Aditi