cfs

I am looking in crossing over the border into Spain. I am planning on going by bus from Porto to Santiago. I was wondering if anyone knew what the procedure is regarding stamping of passports after Brexit as I have a British passport. Do I have to get off the bus when it enters Spain to get my passport stamped or how does it work? Does the bus driver wait?

dingg

You get off the bus and stand in a queue by yourself, the bus driver mutters under his breath, shaking his head and buggers off without you....

Don't worry be happy

cfs

That's what I feared lol, oh well, I know what to expect now, thanks for replying

Fredbargate

Or check there is another bus at least 2 hours behind

Red Eric

I can't work out whether you understood dingg's joke or not, so I'm going to be pedantic.

There are no border controls between Portugal and Spain, it being an internal Schengen border, so you shouldn't even need to show your passport, let alone have it stamped. You do need to be able to id yourself when in Spain, though, so that most likely makes having your UK passport on you a must, given that other forms of id you're likely to hold probably won't suffice. Also, it's not completely beyond the bounds of possibility that you could be asked to show it at or near the border - I remember being a little surprised when on a train once crossing at Valença - Tui and the Spanish police boarded at Tui and demanded to see everybody's id before letting the train continue. They removed a Brazilian passenger who claimed to have left her passport at a hotel in Porto.

However, normal circumstances, no border checks no matter what passport you hold.

And as you're a resident of Portugal, you shouldn't have your passport stamped anyway, even when entering or leaving the Schengen Area. So, for example, if you left PT for a visit to the UK and returned via France and / or Spain, when showing your passport at the point of entry to Schengen you also show your proof of residence in PT and your passport doesn't get stamped.

Apologies if I misunderstood your response and am teaching grandma to suck eggs.

cfs

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't realise it was a joke. More the fool me. The answer given here mirrored previous experiences I've had when crossing international borders in South America so I wasn't surprised by it. Many times I have been dumped at the side of the road to go through immigration while locals just stay on the bus as it disappears into the distance.

I had the mistaken idea that British citizens had to get their passports stamped now whenever we enter the Schengen area from Portugal as we are only entitled to stay in Portugal for more than 90 days out of 180, and it was only when entering/leaving Portugal that it wasn't stamped.

Your response has made planning a lot easier for this trip now :-) so thanks again for clarifying everything

dingg

Sorry about my humour


Don't worry be happy

👍

cfs

No worries Dingg, I am always happy

Bomber Harris

Whilst the border between PT and SP is effectively uncontrolled it doesn't mean you don't have to do anything (failure to comply with the below can result in your presence being declared as an illegal entry to SP).Foreigners residing in a State that applies the Schengen Convention

• Valid travel document and residence authorization, being able to circulate for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period.
• Entry declaration, if applicable (see "Declaration requirements" below).

DECLARATION REQUIREMENTS

The residents and non - residents in foreign states applying the Schengen Convention , which come regularly in the territory of a State party from any of the remaining States will be obliged to report to the competent authorities of the State in which they come.

This declaration may be made at the time of entry or within three business days , from the same, depending on the appreciation of the State in whose territory they enter.

In Spain, this statement will be made at any Police Station or Foreigners' Offices within the aforementioned period, if it had not been made at the time of entry.

Source:- http://www.interior.gob.es/en/web/se...e-de-fronteras

cfs

That's good to know. I found a link to the form on the internet, I guess I can just fill it out in advance and then hand it in at a local police station:

https://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es...DE-ENTRADA.pdf

m2m2012

You cannot enter the Schengen area from Portugal, because Portugal is in Schengen area.

m2m2012

Can you explain the meaning of: "Which come regularly"
The way it reads above the requirement to report is based on "coming regularly" (whatever that means).

Red Eric

I haven't fully acquainted myself with all of this side of things yet but I was under the impression that in Portugal, that requirement is waived if you're staying in any official accommodation, as the administrators of those are required to view guests' id and submit relevant details to SEF.

I (probably naiively) assumed it might be the same in Spain but from that link it appears not. I know from visits to Spain and hotel stays there that they do require sight of id and fill out appropriate forms at check in - are those not submitted to their border agency, then? Not that it would have been a problem to me so far, what with not having travelled since the twin joys of Actual Brexit and Covid climaxed, but it appears I may have been labouring under a misapprehension to date.

Bomber Harris

I suspect it is used to mean a legal entry to SP, as an illegal entry is described elsewhere as an "irregular entry".

Bomber Harris

I've not looked at the exact wording of the relevant law in SP to see if there is a similar 'staying in a hotel exemption' as there is in Portugal and Italy.