Red Eric

Absolutely nobody got upset because it isn't news to us that residents of any member state do not get stamps in their passports at the external Schengen borders.

That is precisely how it is supposed to be.

Lou71

We returned to Spain last night and my partner's passport was stamped at Malaga again. It would appear that from 1 October, Spanish border force are stamping ALL third country nationals unless they have an actual residency card which my partner does not have yet, just the paper proof of Portuguese residency.

We were bunged up to the crappy end of Malaga airport again which seems to be the section allocated for the British arrivals and departures. They have now put up a load of barriers to allow for very long queues. The good news is I noticed a separate booth for us lucky, privileged EU nationals and our partners.

Stingychips

but there’s people on this thread that clearly say that they are not a resident of a member state. And had no stamp.

Red Eric

Fred doesn't count.

Maybe the other one came in via another Schengen member state, in which case he wouldn't get a stamp on arrivial in PT.

Lou71

Passport stamping for third country nationals will end once the ETHIAS visa waiver scheme comes online in 2022. Beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement will be exempt from having to obtain an the ETHIAS waiver as will all EU/EEA nationals of course.

It's unwise for third country nationals to risk overstaying in the Schengen zone because you will be caught and the penalties are severe.

macliam

Tuppence ye don't fight......

Best do as Lou suggested, get yourself a different passport.................

chislenko

Think I'll go back to Canada for my next holiday!

Stingychips

probably a good move.

sportpix

I got stamped.

When I left Faro yesterday I asked the immigration guy if I needed to go through his gate and he said no, you will do it in Frankfurt. Just go to the gate. When I went through immigration in Frankfurt to get to my connecting flight the guy asked me for my PT ID card and I showed him my documents and said that this was being done but the process was slow. He wasn't sure about stamping or not and after asking his colleague he didn't do it. I then went to the gate to get my second flight but was denied boarding because I didn't have a certificate to say that my covid certificate was carried out by a company accredited by the Portuguese government. I spent an age trying to find the info for Unilabs but couldn't do it. At least six other people were denied boarding for the same reason.

The upshot of all of this was that I had to book into a hotel for two nights (next flight to HK on Sunday) and so back through immigration. The guy on the desk was full of testosterone and when I asked him not to stamp my passport he said that I didn't have a PT ID card and so my residency papers allowed me only movement in Portugal and not the whole Schengen area. And so he stamped it. By this time it was 10pm and I'd been travelling for about 10 hours and just wanted to get to a hotel. How could I stop him stamping it?

He told me to make sure that I inform his colleagues of the entry stamp when going through immigration again tomorrow night otherwise there will be big trouble. Not sure what "big trouble" means.

I can't really see what difference a stamp makes but at the same time I'm a resident of Portugal and so a resident of the EU. This also brings into focus that those of us who do not yet have a PT ID card need one ASAP.

I have now had to take another covid test, and together with the cost of the hotel this is starting to get expensive. I should have been in the quarantine hotel in HK (also expensive) and counting the days down to freedom.

What has the world come to...?

Rambling archer

And I was only thinking just now, well Sportpix will be in HK by now, and gosh the weather forecast for there is not good!
<denied boarding because I didn't have a certificate to say that my covid certificate was carried out by a company accredited by the Portuguese government. I spent an age trying to find the info for Unilabs but couldn't do it. At least six other people were denied boarding for the same reason.>
What a nightmare for you and for the other 6 - does your travel insurance by chance cover any of the extra costs??!!??

<He told me to make sure that I inform his colleagues of the entry stamp when going through immigration again tomorrow night otherwise there will be big trouble. Not sure what "big trouble" means.>
Perhaps that means you can get a stamp to show you are going OUT of the Schengen area, so you have only used 2 or so days of your 90 days, even though as a Resident of PT you do not need that allocation? As you will be away for some time, it might be good to get the EXIT stamp?

Hey, ho - hope all goes well when you eventually get to HK. In theatrical terms we could tell you to "go break a leg" but that hardly seems appropriate either! How is the leg doing and manoevering the walking stick?

sportpix

Thanks RA. The guy going out through immigration said that as I had and entry stamp he had to give me the exit stamp. Not much I could do to protest.
I had to leave the hotel at 12 noon so I am now in the luftwaffe lounge in Frankfurt supping their very good (free) white wine. Shame they don't sell it in PT. It goes down very well with the chicken curry with saffron. I'm on my third bowl, but as have another five hours to wait until boarding I need sustenance.
I do have travel insurance and so I hope to recoup the money I've had to spend with two days in Frankfurt. To kill time yesterday I got the train into town and had a slow walkabout. It was very nice with a blend of old and new. I'm using one crutch and going slowly but did too much yesterday as my phone told me I'd done 15,000 steps by bedtime.
Fingers crossed I can get through the covid security check tonight. I couldn't face all this agin...

J00ls

Sorry to hear you have also been a victim of the current nightmare that is covid travel, Sportpix. I think there is still hostility floating around in some EU countries since Brexit and covid is the perfect excuse to take it out on travellers. Do you not have the Portuguese SNS certificate? That should have been good enough, surely? I agree that the need for our Residency cards is fairly urgent now - yet I read on FB that SEF have been processing the cards for Americans who have moved here for months now, which is presumably why we are all still at the back of the queue. Does anyone know why this is so?

By the way, earlier this month the passport officer at Faro warned me to make sure I presented my Residency (with the stars) together with my passport to avoid getting a stamp. Its confusing because I thought it was the SEF application with the QR code they would want. Its hard to keep up.....especially when the rules seem to change every week.

sportpix

I did have the SNS document and also my residency document (with the stars), both of which I gave to the immigration officer in Frankfurt, together with my passport. He seemed totally uninterested in the SNS doc but inspected my residency doc with a fine toothed comb. When I return to PT in January I will make sure the SNS doc is studied. Not sure it will make any difference.

J00ls

Well this is very worrying for all of us, as Unilabs are a major provider over here - I had no idea that other eu countries were getting picky about the 'provider' if you have the proper SNS certificate, especially as vaccines are all done via the government anyway. If you can be bothered it might be worth mentioning to both AFPOP if you are a member and the Embassy in Lisbon. I think you had the others affected may have had the misfortune to be victims of the Brexit syndrome....I think its essential travel only for us until we get those Residency cards.

Red Eric

I think a bit of loose terminologey has confused matters here.

I'm pretty sure the boarding refusal was occasioned not by doubts about a vaccination certificate, but rather about a test certificate.