Given the long processing times associated with the GV visa
issuance, I am trying to determine how to plan a stay of 4 months duration without violating the 90 in 180 ?day rule.
Is it best to apply for a temporary stay visa? Application made June 21,23 awaiting preapproval, 90 day visit from
July 12 till Oct 9 in 23 , and wanting to return for visit in.
24 for 4 or 5 months. Any advise would be warmly welcome.
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We have been living in Portugal since June of 2021. Application submitted November of 2021 and biometrics in January of 2023. We are still waiting on approval. We had to go back to the USA to visit aging family. We just entered back into Portugal today via Faro airport with no questions asked. Passport stamped again, an “welcome to Portugal”. We were gone for 28 days.
This is an apples and oranges comparison as applications before December 31 2021 were entitled to special recognition as it relates to social services offered by Portugal.
Did they ask for anything besides your passports?
This piece of legislation is not relevant to the point of discussion as far as I can tell.
It refers to prolongation of validity of previously issued residence permits.
The original poster does not have any permit issued as yet.
I actually doubt that anybody in Portugal, besides us the members of this forum are aware of that special Despacho granting that specific exemption.
I feel the SEF border guards just cannot be bothered to calculate the days of stay when they see a US passport (or a UK one for that matter).
First time I showed them my passport together with a card, it created a long pause in examining the content, but no questions asked, just like any other time.
That said, I am not exactly aware of what happens at border posts in other Schengen countries, ie. if/how they check for overstay of visa-waived passports like US/UK. Imagine I went to France with an ‘overstay’ of 90±days in PT, but it being legal on the basis of that obscure Portugues despacho… How would they even begin to understand the situation, I have no clue…
Well, I don’t think it is possible to expect any border agents outside of Portugal to understand the despacho so I wouldn’t even attempt it elsewhere.
Usually when I go through border control in Portugal I will show my card and ask “é necessário?” or “precisa disto?” , partly because I feel stupid having a residence card and speaking no Portuguese and partly to be friendly. They usually nod and grab my card and type in some notes and send me on my way.
My lawyer told me that its not necessary to carry or show the residence card, but in my experience the agents always take it when offered.
Passport only
Having seen some very welcome responses to my earlier posting, I feel I should more precisely explain the issue I was attempting to address.
The issue centers on the status of only GV applicants who have not yet received their residence cards. As there is no TPS status (temporarily protected status) granted after making the application It would seem that any stay exceeding 90 days could trigger a violation of the Schengen visa waiver rule regarding length of stay. Of specific concern, is the upcoming implementation of the EU EES system (entry and exit system) which, while it has been delayed, is scheduled for implementation throughout the Schengen area in 2024. This system will capture all entry and exit dates of persons entering and leaving the Schengen countries in a single collective database. In the past persons who may have overstayed might have encountered a situation when leaving the Schengen countries if a passport control officer, who carefully searched for an entry stamp date, discovered a longer than allowed stay. While overstay penalties can include a monetary fine, of real concern is the loss of visa waivered entry for future visits to the Schengen area. This would require a visa for anyone who has been barred to reenter any of the Schengen countries. I would venture that in the past many people who have technically overstayed, even unintentionally, have not encountered reentry problems most likely due to bureaucratic malaise. With the implementation of the new EMS system however, any overstay will be automatically detected, flagged and upon reentry persons may very well be subject to being inadmissible.
It is because of this impending change that I am concerned with regard to a future visit with a stay that exceeds 90 days while my GV application is still in process.
In the absence of any further enlightened information, I would think it best to apply for a temporary stay visa to avoid any complications.
I very much appreciate the thoughts and insights of the experienced members of our group.
The Decreto-Lei n 90/2022, de 30 de dezembro extends the validity of tourist visas until December 2023 for citizens of certain countries.