I’ve just received my first Portugal GV residency card. I’m confused about how this changes my ability to stay in Portugal as an American under the 90/180 day Schengen zone rule. (I see there is a thread from February on this topic, but it’s rather inconclusive!).
Could I stay in Portugal 7 days (for example), then go on to stay another 90 days in France/Italy?
Or intersperse time in France with days in Portugal and have only the time in France count against the limit?
Yes, time in other Schengen countries is counted as before, but time in Portugal counts like “outside Schengen” because it’s now your home country.
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Hi Elizabeth.chrstal,
my understanding is that it still counts as EU, but as your “place of residence”. im also an America, but waiting for my card. generally I spend 90 days in The Netherlands at a time, being the legal limit I can. But once I get my card I can go the NL for 90 days, then to PT for 90 days, and it has reset, and I could then go back to NL for 90 more, and so on and so on. Confirm with your immigration lawyer, but this has been confirmed on my end.
Good luck!
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If your US passport is stamped in Portugal (you enter and exit the Schengen Zone via Portugal), and you are a legal resident of Portugal, then you should be able to spend as much time as you like in other EU countries that you travel to from Portugal, as there is no passport control or passport stamps for that “domestic” travel. If you travelled to France from Portugal there would be no record of the days spent there. When you eventually leave the Schengen Zone at Lisbon Airport and show your Portuguese Residency card, it will not matter how many days you spent in Portugal, as you are a legal resident.
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There’s more intra-Schengen border checks being enacted every month, unfortunately:
October 25, 2024 - Current Status
- The following countries have extended internal checks at their borders into December 2024: Italy and Slovenia.
- The following countries have extended internal checks at their borders into March-May 2025: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
Impact
Border guards may request identification documents and perform detailed checks of travelers crossing borders in affected Schengen countries. Travelers should carry their identification documents, and visa-exempt nationals should be mindful of their Schengen allowance days, as the limit for visa-exempt nationals to remain in Schengen countries is 90 days in a six-month period.
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These internal border checks will not impact your right to spend 90 out of every 180 days in Schengen (outside Portugal).
In my experience they also only check when entering a country, not when leaving. Also, depending on your mode of transportation and the specifics of how the internal border check is implemented you may not even be checked at all.
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and even if you are subjected to a internal border check, they still dont stamp when you enter a new Schengen country, correct? So still no record of which internal Schengen country you’ve been in, correct?
Yes, that’s correct in my experience
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Technically it would still be illegal to go over 90/180 in those other countries. I wouldn’t risk it. Wait until you have the PT passport, then you have no time limits in rest of EU.
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