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my card will also expire next month and till now I have no idea what to do.because I am waiting for nationality application and has been waiting for almost 2 years now, and my residency card will expire next month as I said. I read that residency cards will still be valid unto June 2025 but not sure if they will be renewed or left as they are expired.

@Gentleman_H

We are totally in limbo and the only information that we have is that IRN is now responsible for the process once we get an appointment which is the big unanswered question.  Unfortunately my partner and I have to travel to Germany in February and as Canadian`s we will not be able to travel without the new residency cards.  This will be our 4th renewal.  We will lose money on our flights, etc. 

If you hear anything more about appointments we would really appreciate knowing about that.

Thank you,

Jonathan

If you really HAVE TO be in Germany, you could simply drive. It is very unlikely that anybody will check any paper when traveling by car (or by train for that matter). But certainly it would be better if you received your new residence card.

If you really HAVE TO be in Germany, you could simply drive. It is very unlikely that anybody will check any paper when traveling by car (or by train for that matter). But certainly it would be better if you received your new residence card. - @TGCampo

They are checking passports/papers on the trains.

If you really HAVE TO be in Germany, you could simply drive. It is very unlikely that anybody will check any paper when traveling by car (or by train for that matter). But certainly it would be better if you received your new residence card. - @TGCampo
They are checking passports/papers on the trains. - @SimCityAT

And land borders...

@JohnnyPT

I knew some land border checks are in place and have been for for a while, just wasn't sure how much they went.

But anyway even without any checks, it's NEVER wise to travel without a passport or any paperwork. Even driving a short distance across to Hungary from Austria, we always take our passports and for me my Austrian Residentency card because I am now a 3CN as they do spot checks.

@SimCityAT

I didn't say travel without a passport or identity card. I said travel by car or train. I cannot remember when it was the last time that my papers where checked when crossing intra-EU borders by car or train.

@SimCityAT
I didn't say travel without a passport or identity card. I said travel by car or train. I cannot remember when it was the last time that my papers where checked when crossing intra-EU borders by car or train. - @TGCampo

But they are being checked. Due to the immigration problem with trafficking.

@Skyecam22

No worries.  My wife had her residency card expire in July 2023 and we have not been able to get an appointment.  If you travel within the Schengen area, you should not have to go through immigration to get back home.  If you travel outside, you need to re-enter through Portugal. Show them your passport and expired residency card.  (A good idea is to have copies of all your rejected attempts to get an appointment for proof.)  When we did that, our agent simply shrugged his shoulders, rolled his eyes and stamped her passport.  Immigration agents at airports outside of Portugal will think you are illegal because they are not aware of how screwed up things are in Portugal nor are they aware of things like extensions to 2025..  That's why you need to re-enter in Portugal. This is not official, but that is how it has worked for us.

@Skyecam22

My wife's residency card expired in July 2023.  While not official, this is how it has worked for us.  If you travel within the Schengen area, you should not need to go through immigration at the airport.  If you travel outside, you will likely  have problems if you try to re-enter in a country other than Portugal.  When we returned from within the Schengen area, our connecting flight was through London.  We showed the residency card and passport when we got to Faro and the agent just shrugged his shoulders, rolled his eyes and stamped her passport.  We had with us all kinds of proof of our many rejected attempts get an appointment with AIMA, but that was not needed in our case. If you re-enter through a country other than Portugal, the agents may not know how screwed up things are in Portugal (and they have no authorization to make an exception) and they do not know about the 2025 extension.

Fortunately, I was able to renew online.  Despite the fact that we had the same SEF agent in Lisboa for our first Residência, a Portuguese speaking "helper" from our attorney's office and identical copies of things like marriage license, etc., I am listed in the records as married and my wife is listed as single. She wonders who I am married to.

This will not be your only frustrating encounter with the bureaucracy.  It is about the only thing we can find to dislike about this country.