Entering Portugal during Covid with schengen visa [USA]

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa 🇵🇹
1

Hi,

I have an Indian passport and I am living in the US on an H1b work visa. I need a schengen visa to enter Portugal. The Portugal embassy here (via VFS office) only lets you grant a visa appointment for emergencies.

Question:

  • Has anybody managed to score a visa to Portugal for biometrics, with Covid around? I have heard that a letter from SEF should qualify for this, but a first-hand experience would be helpful.
  • Has anybody entered Portugal from US? I am guessing the only way to enter is by hopping via other countries. I am not sure what route I would follow (US ==> Turkey ==> ??) but it seems like a little bit of gamble.

Between the above two, I am afraid to initialize the GV process. It sounds like my money would get stuck but the clock would never start ticking. If anybody is in a similar boat or has experience with any of the above, I would appreciate any advise and pointers. TYIA!

2 Likes
2

I’ve seen many posts indicating that SEF provides an invitation letter for a biometrics appointment when the time is right, and that is amply sufficient justification to secure permission for entry.

3

Several points here…

The GV biometric process takes about 8-9 months so there is a good chance things will be normalized by then and this would be a moot question.

If not, yes it is possible to ask for an invitation letter but it is discretionary.

There are, of course, risks.