Leaving Portugal while your AIMA case is still pending — and getting back in
Your AIMA case has been hanging for months, but you need to travel: to see your parents, for work, on holiday. The main thing to understand before you buy a ticket: leaving and entering are two separate decisions, made under different rules. Almost everyone is let out of Portugal. Getting back in is decided under the entry conditions, and they say: a residence permit holder enters without a visa “quando válidos” — while the document is valid. Inside the country, the receipt for a submitted renewal works like the residence permit itself, but AIMA says plainly in its own answers: it is not a travel document and you cannot travel around Schengen with it. Everything else follows from this — a direct flight, to Portugal only, a conversation with the airline before you fly, a folder of papers with you. Below, in order: what you have in hand, what you will be asked on the way out and on the way in, what the airline does, what happens to your case while you are away, and what happens hour by hour if you are refused entry after all.
First, work out what you have in hand
There are three situations, and they are completely different.
Your card is valid. Then you are an ordinary resident: travel wherever you like, and come to the border with your passport and card. You do not need this guide.
Your card has expired and a renewal has been submitted. The law gives you a document: “the receipt for a submitted renewal has the same effect as a residence permit for 60 days, and this period can be extended” — Lei n.º 23/2007, article 78, paragraph 7. On the AIMA portal it arrives as a file with a QR code a few hours after the documents have been uploaded and the fee paid. Alongside it there is a second rule that fewer people know about: after 15 October 2025, residence permit documents are accepted on presentation of the renewal payment document issued by AIMA, and this document has its own validity — 180 days from issue (Decreto-Lei n.º 85-B/2025, article 2, paragraph 2). So people usually have two documents in hand, not one; keep both.
There is no application yet — only an appointment. This is the hardest situation. An invitation from AIMA, a letter about your slot, a receipt for the appointment fee — none of these is a document giving you the right to live in the country, and the law gives such papers none of the force of a residence permit. What to do in this case is set out below in a separate step.
How the appointment, the application and the renewal work is explained in the guide How to book an AIMA appointment and renew your residence permit — here we deal only with the trip.
“A couple of hours after uploading the documents (together with paying the fee it takes a couple of days) you’ll get a document with a qr code, which says that for 60 days this document, together with the expired residence permit card, is a full document confirming that your stay in Portugal is legal. There are two problems with it: 1. It’s legal stay in Portugal, not in Schengen. 2. The airline employee who decides whether to let you on the flight may not find this certificate interesting.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkHigherEducationPortugal31.01.2026
“Once again, many laws use the term not ‘legal stay’ but ‘legal residence’. These are different concepts. For some things it’s enough to have proof that you’re in the EU legally, and for others you need a residence permit/permanent residence/EU passport and some other documents specifically about residence. A D visa isn’t about residence.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal07.09.2026
You will most likely be let out
On the way out, the border officer checks whether you were here legally, and that is an internal Portuguese matter: for it, the receipt and the payment document work exactly as the law says. People who flew out with an expired card and a document from AIMA all describe the same thing: the officer asks for the document, looks at it and lets them through.
A separate point about the passport. The general rule is that it must be valid for longer than the trip, but there is a direct exception: it does not apply “in the case of re-entry of a foreign national resident in the country” (article 9, paragraph 2). That wording is about coming home, and you can cite it.
What leaving does not do: it does not freeze your case, does not cancel your place in the queue and does not give you any extra right to come back in. Leaving and returning are two different decisions by two different people in two different booths.
“Might be useful to someone: Leaving Portugal without a residence permit. In the end we bought different tickets with a direct flight out of Portugal. At passport control I handed over the paper from aima, they said there wouldn’t be any problems and they’d expect me back with this same paper.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt02.07.2026
“today’s border crossing at the airport. The queue looked 2.5 times shorter than in yesterday’s video from Telegraph. We joined the queue at 9:08, came out at 9:38 (30 minutes). While we were standing there the queue behind us didn’t grow and stayed steady. The number of people was about half of the whole hall where everyone usually stands. About the same on arrival. All 8 booths for non-Schengen passports were working. The border officer asked for the certificate from Aima on departure with an expired residence permit.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa21.12.2025
You are let back in under a different rule
This is where most “but I have a document” reasoning falls apart. Entry is article 10, paragraph 3: holders of a residence permit, an extension of stay or a card under paragraph 2 of article 87 enter the country without a visa — followed by two words that the whole argument turns on: “quando válidos”, when they are valid. An expired card does not meet this condition, and the receipt is not named in this list at all.
AIMA says the same in its own answers to frequently asked questions. The first answer: the extended validity of expired documents is “limited to Portugal” and binds the Portuguese authorities, while entry into and movement around other Schengen countries are still governed by the Schengen Borders Code — Código das Fronteiras Schengen. This answer was written about the earlier arrangement, under which expired documents were valid until 30 June 2025, but what it says about Schengen does not depend on the arrangement. The second answer is even more direct: “Can I leave Portugal with only the receipt for a residence permit application? No. The receipt is not a travel document.”
Even so, people with such a document are let into Portugal — and this is not the border officer acting on a whim. The Schengen Borders Code has article 6, paragraph 5 c): a state may admit a person who does not meet one or more conditions on humanitarian grounds, in the national interest or because of international obligations. The decision is made on the spot, and no law gives you a guarantee.
Two groups cannot be refused entry at all, except in cases involving a criminal record or a security threat (article 36): people born in Portugal who normally live here, and people who have minor children in their care who are Portuguese or foreign nationals legally living in the country.
“They’ll let you into Portugal (waiting for a residence permit is a legal basis for that), but they might not let you on the plane. I personally flew into Portugal twice on a joint turkish/tap flight, but bear in mind the flight has to be direct to Portugal without a transfer through other Schengen countries, and plan time to explain your situation at the check-in desk, or better contact the airline in advance (with tap — at their desk at Lisbon airport) and get ok to board.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkHigherEducationPortugal02.09.2026
“In short, we don’t recommend it. Postpone the trip until you get the residence permit card. Leaving the Schengen area may still be OK. Portuguese border control: When you leave Portugal the border officer will see an expired D7 visa in your passport. You will have to show confirmation of your AIMA appointment to prove your stay in the country is legal. In most cases this is enough to leave without problems, but questions may come up.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal06.10.2025
Fly only directly to Portugal
The rule is simple: both departure and arrival without changes in other Schengen countries. The Portuguese document binds the Portuguese authorities, and only them; a border officer in Madrid, Frankfurt or Amsterdam sees it as somebody else's piece of paper and, under their own law, has no right to let you in.
The Schengen Borders Code has a right of transit: a person who does not meet all the conditions but holds a residence permit or a long-stay visa is let through other countries to reach the country that issued the document (article 6, paragraph 5 a). But again, this works for a valid document, not for a receipt.
So the route is built like this: a change outside Schengen (Istanbul, London, Casablanca, Dubai) and the last flight straight into Lisbon, Porto or Faro. Pay attention to the transit country too: it has its own transit requirements, and they will see the expired card there as well.
“You can leave if you agree your return entry with the airline in advance (write to their support, explain the situation, show the letter from aima, they should confirm ok to board). But you’ll only be able to enter through Portugal, not through other schengen countries. Formally you can’t travel to other EU countries at all before you get your residence permit, because the aima appointment only has legal force in Portugal.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa06.03.2026
“If you ask at the Ukrainian embassy in Portugal, they’ll tell you that this piece of paper gives you the right to be in Portugal, and not in any other countries((( So the Poles aren’t that wrong”
Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the linkukrporto06.08.2026
The airline decides before the border officer does
People with a document instead of a card are more often turned away not at the border but at the check-in desk. The reason is in the law, just not the one you would expect: a carrier that brought someone to Portugal who does not meet the entry conditions must fly them back at its own expense, and until it does, pay for their stay in the centre at the airport (article 41). So it is easier for the person at the desk to say no than to look into it.
What people do about it in practice. A week or two before the flight, they write to the airline's support: booking number, flight, date, a short description of the situation — waiting for my card, renewal submitted — and attach a scan of the old card and the document from AIMA. They ask for an “ok to board” note to be added to the booking. They keep the reply and take a printout with them.
Online check-in for such a flight often does not open: the boarding pass is issued only at the desk, after the documents have been checked. Allow an extra hour for this and arrive early.
“reporting back on #flyingwithoutresidencepermit Flight Istanbul - Porto. About a week before I wrote to [email] with the pnr booking code, first name and surname, flight and date. I wrote briefly that I’m waiting for my card and asked for an ‘ok to board’ note on my booking. I attached a scan of my residence permit and the proof from aima. They replied the next day that they’d added the ok status. I went to the gate early, they asked for my residence permit, had a quick look and let me on board. At passport control they asked for the proof, and also checked I had permission from my dad to fly, which is strange, because when I flew out of Portugal they didn’t ask me for it.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkpequenos_PT02.02.2026
“No problems. It feels like they run some kind of training and every turkish employee knows about the QR code. Even at Tivat airport, Montenegro (and there’s hardly any traffic to PT there), last week at the desk they pointed out that our residence permit had expired, but the answer ‘we have a paper’ sorted everything out, they didn’t even ask for the paper.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa20.04.2026
What to take with you
Everything on paper, not just on your phone: the internet may not work in the queue for passport control, and phones run out of battery.
Essential: your passport; your old residence permit card, even if it has expired; the receipt for a submitted renewal with the QR code; the AIMA renewal payment document. To these it is worth adding things that show you live here rather than came to visit: a rental contract or a property register extract, an employment contract or your latest recibos, a certificate of your tax address from the Portal das Finanças, your número de utente, a school certificate if you have children with you.
A useful small thing: boarding passes and bookings from previous trips. Passports are no longer stamped, and sometimes these are what you have to use to prove when you entered and left.
And the letter from the airline with the “ok to board” note, if you managed to get one.
“Sharing my experience of coming back without a physical residence permit card, but with the paper with the QR code saying the renewal is in progress. I flew from Kazakhstan via Istanbul. In Kazakhstan they didn’t even notice the residence permit had expired, let me through without problems. In Istanbul they noticed straight away, asked to see the paper, saw the word AIMA on it and let me through straight away.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal13.07.2026
“A renewal is when your first residence permit has ended and you’ve applied for the second one. During this time you have the renewal paper in hand. Some airlines let you fly with this certificate. Besides Turkish, I know Emirates let people on.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt28.05.2026
If you have never had a card, the situation is worse
Someone came on a D visa, is waiting for their first AIMA appointment, and the visa has expired. Formally they are in the country legally: the appointment and the submitted application are grounds for being here. But they have nothing to enter on.
A D visa is valid for two entries and four months (article 58, paragraph 2) — if both entries have been used or four months have passed, it will not let you in a second time. Then the definition in the Schengen Borders Code comes in: a residence permit means cards in the uniform format and other documents the country has notified to the European Commission — but this list expressly excludes “temporary permits issued pending examination of a first application for a residence permit” (article 2, point 16, sub-point b(i)). So people waiting for their first card have no document for entry, by definition.
The practical conclusion is honest and not cheerful: until your first card has been issued, it is better to postpone the trip. If you really have to go, the only way back is a new visa at the Portuguese consulate in the country where you end up, with all its waiting times and queues; the second, rare and not for everyone, is a salvo-conduto, covered in the step about people stuck abroad.
“I have this case: applied for a residence permit 2.5 years ago, a year ago paid the 400 euro fee. Still waiting for the invitation to AIMA, is there any way I can fly to Serbia for 5 days and come back. If anyone knows, please give advice.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal21.01.2026
“Sorry if I’m not explaining clearly - we were going to apply for family reunification, waited a year for an appointment hoping that sooner or later it would all somehow sort itself out - it didn’t happen. Meanwhile his permitted stay in Portugal ran out, meaning he’s been here longer than allowed. Flying out of Portugal of course, and outside the EU. My worry is based on the experience of an acquaintance who came here as a tourist a few years ago but stayed longer, and then at the border they realised and banned him from entering Europe for the next 10 years for the violation.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt16.02.2026
While you are away, your case carries on
Leaving does not stop your case, and that is more bad than good: letters arrive, deadlines run, and you are not there.
These are the deadlines for a decision. AIMA must decide an application for a residence permit within 90 days, and in exceptional, specifically justified cases the deadline is extended by another 30 — the applicant is notified. A renewal is decided within 60 days. The main change: from 11 September 2026, silence from AIMA no longer means approval — Lei n.º 62/2026 repealed paragraph 7 of article 82, under which a decision not made on time was considered positive. The law has no transitional provision for residence permit cases: it is written only for asylum applications. So the “certificate of tacit approval” that people talk about in chats is now good for little more than proving that an application has been submitted.
What to do before you leave. Check your address and email on the portal: letters about the biometrics slot and about the card being ready go there, and missing an appointment costs you a new wait. The card is sent by post, and if there is nobody to collect it, it goes back to AIMA — so people leave a power of attorney with a lawyer or solicitador to collect documents and post.
“my residence permit is on renewal, already 7 months, I have a certificate of tacit approval, I showed it, they said this paper means nothing to them, when I asked whether they’d open an account when the new card comes, the answer was no.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkbanksdeportugal17.08.2026
“Here’s the situation. A notice came to my letterbox saying to collect the card at the post office, but when I went it turned out the card had already been sent back. It’s been 2 months since then. I went to Aima, they said wait for an email. Obviously it’s the usual Portuguese lottery, but still.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkleft4portugal25.08.2025
If you are refused entry after all
Refusal of entry is a procedure, not the mood of the person in the booth, and it has time limits and rights.
First you are heard: under the law, this is your statement in the case (article 38, paragraph 1). The decision is not made by the border officer but by the national director of the PSP or the commander of the GNR (article 37). The decision is handed to you in writing, in a language you are presumed to understand, with the grounds, your right of appeal and the deadline (paragraph 2). Your country's consulate is told about it immediately (paragraph 1), and so is the airline (paragraph 3). If they cannot put you on a return flight within 48 hours, the case goes to a judge, who decides whether you stay in the temporary accommodation centre (paragraph 4).
Your rights while you are in the international zone or in the centre (article 40): to contact your country's consulate or anyone of your choice, an interpreter, medical help and a doctor if needed, and everything required for everyday needs. A separate point covers access to a lawyer at your own expense or, on request, to free legal aid, under the procedure used for urgent cases.
The new law on foreigners did not change these articles. The triagem procedure, which has been written about a lot, does not apply to you: it concerns people stopped while crossing the border illegally and applications for international protection. What happens next if the case reaches removal is covered in the guide Removal from Portugal.
“Under the rules of recent times, if a person isn’t let into the country, the airline that brought them takes that citizen back.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkPortugal 🇵🇹 TravelAsk chat08.09.2026
“Most often it’s the airport’s/airline’s problem, any expired document has to be checked to avoid INAD passengers.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkru_Portugal_pt02.12.2025
How to challenge it
A decision to refuse entry can be appealed to an administrative court — and here is the main thing to know straight away: the appeal has “a purely devolutive effect”, meaning it does not by itself suspend the decision (article 39). While the court is looking into it, the person has already flown out. A suspension has to be requested separately, and it is the lawyer who requests it.
Not everyone has money for a lawyer, and the law provides for this: free legal aid is available on request, under the same procedure as appointing a defence lawyer for urgent acts (article 40, paragraph 2). Ask for it right there, before you are flown out, not later.
Where else it makes sense to write: to your country's consulate — it is notified of the decision by law, but it is better to call yourself — and to the Portuguese ombudsman, the Provedor de Justiça: it deals with complaints about the actions of public bodies, and from 11 September 2026 it has also been tasked with monitoring respect for fundamental rights during border checks.
A sober view of your chances: a court case from abroad takes a long time, and the other route is usually quicker — wait for AIMA's decision and come back with a card or a new visa.
“Not quite. But thanks. In real life it’s different. The residence permit document is plastic, an internal passport for the EU. It has the dates and the address and everything down to the biometrics. It gets checked in 10 seconds. The thing is, at the airport when they stop a person with a Ukrainian passport and a protection paper that clearly says it was issued in 22 until 23, the border officers understand you’ve overstayed. And Portugal doesn’t give new papers. I’ve run into this so many times already. The questioning lasted up to an hour. They called somewhere, it ended fine, of course.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatleiria31.01.2026
If you are already stuck abroad
The situation is unpleasant, but not hopeless.
First, a letter to AIMA saying you are abroad and cannot return: write through the enquiry form on its website and to the general address, and attach the papers on your submitted application. Replies take a long time, so write straight away, not after your third attempt to get back.
Second, a salvo-conduto. This is a one-off document, and it works both ways: for leaving the country it is issued by the AIMA board, for entering the country by Portuguese embassies and consulates on a favourable opinion from AIMA (article 26, paragraphs 3 and 4). But the conditions are narrow: paragraph 1 refers to foreign nationals “not resident in the country” who have proved it is impossible or difficult for them to leave, and paragraph 2 to exceptional cases where a person cannot obtain another travel document. You cannot count on it as the normal route, but it is worth asking at the consulate.
Third, the card. If it has been issued in the meantime, someone with a power of attorney can collect it without you, and then you fly home with a proper document.
What we have not found, we say plainly: in two years of conversations there is not a single account from someone who got a salvo-conduto to enter Portugal. People talk about letters to AIMA and powers of attorney, but not about this document.
“Or for some reason I basically can’t collect the card myself. Let’s look at the options for a common situation: you can’t wait for the card in Portugal, you need to leave, but the card has to be collected and sent to you for entry., or you just need someone to collect the card. What I did before leaving: 1️⃣ The most reliable is to go to a lawyer and make a power of attorney to represent your interests at Aima, at the post office and other organisations with the right to collect the residence card and any other documents and post.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkdigitalnomadportugal04.03.2026
How to avoid this situation altogether
The main thing is not to delay the renewal: the law asks you to submit it no later than 30 days before your card expires (article 78, paragraph 1). An application submitted on time gets you that very receipt, and on your trip you will have a document rather than empty hands.
Beyond that, small things, but they all help. Check your address and email on the AIMA portal before you leave. Print out the receipt and the payment document rather than relying on your phone. Plan a direct flight to Portugal. Write to the airline in advance. Keep your boarding passes — sometimes they are what you have to use to prove your entry and exit dates.
And one more thing, about the Entry/Exit System. It does not apply to residence permit holders, but it has a rule for when there is no record of a person in it: then the person is presumed to have overstayed the permitted period (article 40.º-A). The presumption can be rebutted — you are the one who presents the evidence (article 40.º-B), and that is one more reason to carry the whole folder. How border control itself works is explained in the guide Passport control in Portugal and the EES.
“From a legal point of view this isn’t recommended and involves risks, even though there are often no checks at internal Schengen borders. Travelling abroad while your application is being processed could in theory be seen as a breach of the process, although in practice the biggest risk comes precisely with a possible check inside Schengen. Until your residence permit is approved and you have the physical card, the safest advice is - refrain from travelling to other Schengen countries. It’s an unnecessary risk that could complicate your immigration process.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal19.06.2026
“My residence permit card expired a month ago, and more than 60 days have passed since the date on the RECIBO COMPROVATIVO DE PEDIDO. My case status has been Avaliacao since mid-February. I now need to fly out of Portugal (thank god, to a non-schengen country with direct TAP flights). I’m trying to understand how good an idea this is and whether they’ll let me back. 1. In this chat I was told earlier that when my current COMPROVATIVO DE PEDIDO runs out, I’ll be able to issue a new one with a new date on the renewal portal. But I don’t have that option. 2.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkchatlisboa30.03.2026
What to bring
- Passport
- Your old residence permit card — even if expired, they still look at it
- The receipt for a submitted renewal (recibo comprovativo do pedido) with the QR code, printed
- The AIMA renewal payment document — it has its own 180 days
- A letter from the airline with an “ok to board” note, if you managed to get one
- A rental contract or a property register extract
- An employment contract, your latest recibos or proof of income
- A certificate of your tax address from the Portal das Finanças
- Tickets: a return ticket and a direct flight to Portugal, with no changes in Schengen
- Boarding passes from previous trips — passports are no longer stamped, and sometimes you have to prove dates
- A school certificate and the children's documents, if you are travelling with your family
Where people most often trip up
- Leaving and entering are two separate decisions: being let out does not mean being let in
- Article 10 speaks of residence permits “quando válidos” — an expired card does not meet this condition
- AIMA says plainly: the application receipt is not a travel document and you cannot travel around Schengen with it
- The extended validity of expired documents applies only in Portugal and binds only the Portuguese authorities
- A change in another Schengen country is the most common way to ruin everything: fly directly to Portugal
- People are turned away at the check-in desk more often than at the border: the carrier flies the passenger back at its own expense
- An AIMA appointment and the fee paid for it are not a document giving you the right to live in the country
- The receipt has 60 days, the payment document 180 — the periods differ, check both before buying a ticket
- From 11 September 2026, silence from AIMA does not count as approval
- An appeal against refusal of entry does not suspend the decision — a suspension is requested separately
- Ask for free legal aid right away at the airport, not later
- If a card arrives while you are away and nobody can collect it, the post office will send it back to AIMA
How it went for people
The post office lost the daughter's card, so they flew with just an extract from AIMA
All they had was an AIMA extract confirming the biometrics had been taken: the card itself had gone missing in the post. They booked Moscow — Izmir — Lisbon. At the desk at Vnukovo they were first told to check their luggage straight through to Lisbon, then an airline representative came over and started phoning Turkey: there, a request was sent to the border service, and the answer was promised once they were in Izmir. Technically it was impossible to check in only as far as Izmir, and the family waited in Moscow until the last minute — the positive answer came about five minutes before check-in closed. In Izmir the visa was checked again, there were more phone calls, and they were let out of the transit zone into the city. August 2026.
The airline did not want to look into it, and a letter citing the law did not help
A person whose document had been extended under Portuguese law but looked expired wrote to Air Serbia's support: they explained that the validity had been extended by government decree, that airline staff and border officers might not know this, and asked either to confirm boarding after a check with the immigration service at the arrival airport, or to be put on a pre-approved list. In the chat, the reply was summed up briefly: it was a polite refusal, and they would not want to let them board — nobody wants to fly a passenger back at their own expense. The advice was the same as everyone's: change the ticket to a Turkish or Portuguese airline, which know about these papers. January 2025.
Came back twice on a document while waiting more than a year for a decision
The application for a residence permit as a digital nomad was submitted at the end of August 2023, the 90 working days ran out in mid-January 2024, and still there was no decision. During that time, the person went to Moscow for two months and came back on the application receipt; it helped that their passport still had a valid Spanish Schengen visa. Later they came back the same way from a holiday in the USA. By July it was no laughing matter: their October holiday was in doubt precisely because they still had no document for coming back that everyone would understand. August 2024.
Retold in our own words from messages in open chats. The link leads to the full original message.