We’ve flown with an expired residency card and our receipt for renewal payment (which we received at our biometrics), no qr code, and entered via Frankfurt as residents with no issues, departed Madrid as residents with no issues, departed Porto as residents multiple times with no issues, and just a very clueless immigration agent entering as residents in Lisbon, who took a couple of minutes to even realize the card was expired, then noticed for how long (March 2025),then looked at the renewal receipt, I said “it’s Aima” then shrugged like what do you expect, then he let me through. But he clearly had zero idea of what was going on with the expired cards or what proof to expect.
I have a us passport, so just trying to limit the days taken from my 90/180 tourist allowance.
My husband got declined trying to enter in Athens as a resident so they took his biometrics and he had to enter as a tourist. The immigration agent understood and had heard of the delays, but wouldn’t budge.
Our renewals have now been tacitly approved, so we’re going to carry that approval with us as a back up. We’re thinking it may have more weight entering/exiting not directly to/from Portugal than the proof of payment for the renewal.
Our residency is valid, it’s just the card is expired, is the story we tell if asked.