I just entered via Zuruch a few weeks ago with an expired card. The border guard immediately questioned it after the card didn’t scan right. In the case, I’d actually just forgotten to grab the new card, which was at home in the safe, but I had a picture of it; I showed that to the guard and explained, who after a moment of pondering and poking around decided that was ok and let me through, but there was definitely no “eh, whatever” involved.
On my way out via Frankfurt, the guard also questioned the expired card, and I had to show the new card picture, but was fine with it as well.
I arrived last night at Lisbon airport still waiting for my first card and to pay the final fee.
I decided to skip the biometrics at the airport because i’ve already done it at AIMA and i had proof with me.
The self service gates were initially not open / working, so i started to cue for the normal in person service. Then they opened the self service so moved to that, got straight through with no questions.
I just returned to Portugal from the U.S., flying via London on British Airways. The airline could careless about my immigration status, and only checked the biometrics page of my passport. Upon arrival to Lisbon, new EES kiosks were functioning, and most people who got off my flight rushed to them, creating somewhat of a queue (not too long one). I decided to use @tommigun’s strategy, by-passed the EES gates, marched straight through the EU line, and confidently handed over to the agent my unexpired residency card and my U.S. passport. The agent took them both, scanned my passport first and then the card, slapped a fresh stamp, and let me through without a blink.
My better half was not as brave and decided to go through the EES line first. The agent at the EES kiosks looked at hers (unexpired) residency card, and told her that she didn’t need to register through EES and could go through the regular U.S. electronic passport control line. Well, that just took much longer (extra 10 minutes), but the result was the same - she went through without a hitch.
The morale: use your card (if you have one), don’t ask questions, and march through the EU line!
Another data point fwiw, using my expired residency card to depart portugal/eu as a resident.
Departed Porto yesterday for Rabat. Placed my US passport, expired March 2025 residency card and proof of payment for renewal on the agents counter. She took the passport, scanned it, and spent some time looking through whatever was on her screen, never bothered to pick up or even glance at my residency card much less the proof of payment, and waived me through after handing me back my passport.
This was my exit after entering the eu a week earlier through Frankfurt as a resident with the expired card, passport and proof of payment, along with a letter in German explaining the expired card, and that agent ignored the letter and proof of payment.
New style US passport (plastic ID page) and non-expired ARI visa. Electronic passport line rejected me at several machines. Despite my protests (polite, hopefully) i was told to go to the ees machines. They sent a technician or something with me. I scanned my passport, scanned my visa, and it threw an error. They put me into the main passport line again despite my protests but it was reasonably quick, about ten minutes. At the counter, the border guard looked at my passport and permit, looked at his screen, and that was it. No stamp or questions
EDIT: for clarity, this was an afternoon flight, around 16:00 when I got to the airport
Would be good to see the experience from a holder of a passport that does not have free access to the EU and also their interaction at the gate during check-in.
I wonder how long the EU will let Greece carry on this “temporary” measure?
Greece goes its own way – and drops EU entry-exit biometrics for British travellers
…since 10 April, every Schengen area frontier is supposed to be applying the EU entry-exit system in all its biometric glory …These rules apply to all “third-country nationals”, including Australians, Canadian and Venezuelans. But British travellers to Europe outnumber all of them put together.
But late on Friday [17-Apr], Eleni Skarveli, the director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK, revealed that British passport holders are now exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossing points. She said the move is aimed at “ensuring a smoother and more efficient arrival experience in Greece”.
I hold two citizenships, one doesn’t have automatic visa.
I boarded my TAP flight to Lisbon on my UK passport (no checking for visa tho)
And used my non-uk / non-schengen visa passport to enter Lisbon, together with an expired GV card. No problem with PT immigration, didn’t look at my renewal QR code. No stamp in passport.
Just a data point leaving LIS yesterday morning to the UK and going through passport control about 4.30am.
My passport didn’t let me through the egates so I joined the non-EU queue as it was short. One officer was checking EU passports. Four officers were checking non-EU passports and the short queue still took 25 minutes to get through to the N gates.
Almost nobody was using the new biometrics machines which leads me to assume that most departing passengers had already done it upon arrival or were otherwise residents. The biometric machines were not the problem.
What is a problem entirely created by ANA is that about half the immigration booths are currently boarded off and undergoing construction works. Right at the start of the peak season. Bravo!
When I arrived all the egates were open and showing green. When I went through I noticed that most had now been turned to red and were inactive forcing more people into the manual queues.
The people who manage all this are their own worst enemies and are the villains in this story for everyone.
I’m reposting an image from the “Americans & FriendsPT” group on Facebook. One of the posters kindly took an image of the new sign at Lisbon airport for the EU queue. You’ll notice that in the bottom right, it mentions “Titulo de residencia portugues”. Hopefully, we will all avoid going to the dreaded long queues for EES / Non-Eu lines.
silly question- if you go through the “Titulo de residencia portugues” line will this impede/impact anything when you renew your “Titulo de residencia portugues” again? Do we need to suffer through the non-EU line to “prove” via US passport that we entered and exited Portugal in accordance with the stay requirements?
This time, my Port of Entry is Italy. They still stamped me. After staying in Portugal for 9 days, I left via Munich (Germany). I accidentally registered on the EES machine at the Munich Airport. But I presented my Residence Permit at the border control anyway. The officer scanned both my passport and my Residence Permit without stamping. I checked on the other forum that Germany doesn’t stamp Residence Permit holders any more… To prove you meet the requirements, boarding passes + receipts with NIF for every day should suffice.
A bit of a tangent, but I’ve noticed that printed boarding passes fade over the years, to say nothing of receipts. Are you all keeping originals? If so, how are you preserving them? …do they even ask for the originals?
I take a “belt and braces” approach… save the electronic boarding pass (forever) plus get the airline desk/kiosk to print one (that fades, yes). Could also scan the paper ones if you wanted.
Shops like Leroy Merlin and Worten also offer electronic receipts, which don’t look any different printed on their printers vs. your own years later.
