0

My 2-entry D visa is valid for 4 month

I have a SEF appt for residence permit 2 months after the visa starts.

After the SEF appointment, I plan to leave Schengen area and come back to Portugal on the week my D visa expires.

Time spent in Schengen area in last 180 days as of last week of the visa: Less than 2 months.

  1. Can I enter Portugal on the last week of my D visa?

  2. Can I transit through other Schengen states on my way to Portugal? e.g -> CH -> PT

  3. Can I enter other Schengen states on my way to Portugal? e.g -> CH (two separate tickets) -> PT

My passport isn't liked by EU and doesn't have visa free access to Schengen area. So I'm a bit worried.

While entering, I will have a Portuguese paper document about my PT residency given by SEF, but I won't have a residence card. I'm not sure if other Schengen states can read/accept this paper

user134309
  • 89
  • 1
  • 3
  • Questions 2 and 3 are basically the same given that you MUST clear immigration at the first point of entry. According to your example, if you arrive in CH to transit (whether or not you intend to leave the airport) you must clear passport control. – Ozzy Mar 06 '23 at 11:05
  • Oh ok, in this case, should I fly directly to Portugal? Internet says national visas grant access to 1 country only and they are not Schengen visas. – user134309 Mar 06 '23 at 11:34
  • What you read is plainly wrong. National D visas also serve as schengen C visas. If you have a national visa you can transit/visit any schengen member state. Travel as you like, but you won't have any problems transiting with a valid D visa, they may scrutinize you a little more if it's close to expiring but you've applied for a residence permit and have proof. – Ozzy Mar 06 '23 at 11:42
  • Ok sounds great. Would they accept the proof? It's not a residence card. It's a A4 document written in Portuguese. My citizenship isn't popular. In last few years, western countries are rejecting majority of visa applications who hold my passport. There's politics involved, also economic crisis – user134309 Mar 06 '23 at 11:54
  • I can't answer that as I have never tried. It was given to you for a reason, so it must hold some weight in the eyes of border guards. On top of that, every application for a residence permit is recorded in the SIS (Schengen Information System), to which border guards have access, so they can just look it up after scanning your passport. – Ozzy Mar 06 '23 at 11:56
  • Thanks, can I fully trust you on this two pieces of information? :) "National D visas also serve as schengen C visas" and "every application for a residence permit is recorded in the SIS (Schengen Information System), to which border guards have access" Google is a mess so I can't find a decent source – user134309 Mar 06 '23 at 17:36

1 Answers1

1

You should be fine. You are entering within the validity of your visa, and can do so anywhere in the Schengen area:

Can I visit other Schengen countries on a long-term Schengen visa or residency permit?

As far as your residence permit application, just show the paper to the border guard at your port of entry into the Schengen area. They will likely not need it but have it with you. They will also be able to see in their system (SIS or VIS) that you have a pending residence permit application. Out of sheer curiosity I requested the information in those systems from my current country of residence and found both the issued residence permit info and the residence permit application. See below, "aufenthaltstitel anfrage" = residence permit application.

p

Ozzy
  • 4,559
  • 14
  • 32
  • Thank you Ozzy. – user134309 Mar 06 '23 at 18:21
  • @user134309 No worries. If you feel your question was adequately answered please accept my answer :) – Ozzy Mar 06 '23 at 19:51
  • 2
    The German text states that in the SIS II system no information was found where an obligation to provide information exists. Based on the screenshot, it is not clear where the 2 records about the residence permit comes from. From SIS it is not. It could also be from a national database for residence permits. – Mark Johnson Mar 16 '23 at 18:12