Entry Exit System (EES) rollout in Portugal

Residencies & citizenships Portugal Golden Visa
81

I would say all Schengen airports. Just spot the shortest queue and go there instead of waiting in the EES line for no reason.

82

I’ve done it with an ‘expired’ card, as still waiting for my new one being printed by AIMA/Casa de Moeda/CTT..

1 Like
83

I went through the EU passport line in Amsterdam with a US passport and my PT residency card. No issues. The was small print underneath “EU Passports” that read something like “and residents.”

2 Likes
84

Yes, many times in Lisbon.

85

Did you get stopped and asked questions?

86

Sure, I was asked why I showed them an expired card lol :joy:
And I explained.. :enraged_face: :face_with_steam_from_nose:

2 Likes
87

Was that recently?

Were they okay with your explanation?

88

Hi - I know you’re trying to get some certainty, but unfortunately these things are kind of a lotto.

I fly to Portugal at least once a month (UK, still waiting on PT GV approval >3 years), and lately often enter via the e-gates - which I prefer as they don’t ask you questions. But in the past 6 months I’ve also had (a) Agents who did the minimum and waived us through with zero questions, (b) One guy who wanted our life story: we were the first into Immigration and the last to leave the hall.

So… it’s random. Be prepared with your AIMA screenshots, Biometrics receipt, etc., etc. and maybe you’ll need them, maybe you won’t.

89

Are you an auditor by trade? :grin:
Yes, and yes.
I’ve done it again literally 5 min ago (Schengen border entry, not Lisbon).

5 Likes
90

Excuse my ignorance plz do you mean you entered a Schengen airport with expired card ? Which airport and did you come from Portugal or outside Schengen ,

91

It was Hungary this time, but it does not matter which Schengen country, the principle is the same, you don’t join the EES queue if you are an EU resident.
Obviously I came in from outside Schengen as otherwise how could you enter Schengen if you were already in it? :face_with_monocle:

Expired card, but with a renewal receipt from AIMA.

92

Thanks. I know i can’t get certainty. I’m just trying to get an understanding how the Portuguese deal with people that don’t have their card yet and are waiting, especially now they have this new system in place.

Thanks for the info.

93

I am wondering why it didn’t work for Ai WeiWei in Zurich. Any ideas?

94

I don’t know the guy, but looks like he’s a PEP.
So different rules for them (or no rules..)

95

I tried to use my residence card today in Lisbon and the guy monitoring the line said I couldn’t use the EU passport line (to exit), that I had to use my passport line. I showed him my residency card and he looked at it and still said no. This is the second time that I tried in as many years and was refused. Tell me the secret.

5 Likes
96

In PT I only have a recent experience of Madeira and Azores, where they have no separate queues and generally people including border guards tend to be relaxed :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:
So they let me in and out without fingerprinting/photoing for EES.

1 Like
98

This is 100% my experience in Lisbon too. However I do know that the e-gates in the two queues do not discriminate when returning home to Lisbon. I have frequently hopped over to one of the new white e-gates from the dirty foreigners queue when the old e-gates they foist on us filthy immigrants has repeatedly failed to read my passport. The new white machines are a lot more reliable.

1 Like
99

If you need to keep track of your 90/180, make sure that you do :wink:

2 Likes
100

And we know this part too… “Non-EU citizens holding long-stay visas or residence permits do not register under EES but may still encounter longer queues at Schengen borders during the system’s ramp-up.”

3 Likes
101

Is anyone travelling out or into Lisbon in the next week?