Portuguese schengen visa for indian national

[manueld12]

Hi im an indian national living in the UK. My dad is an EU national(portuguese) and i wish to travel to portugal next month

i have booked my flight ticket. i need to know whether its possible to apply for a visa via post or do i have to go to the embassy to put the forms in. i live abt 5 hours away from london and it would be near impossible getting time off work

please help

[Wanderer]

Hi im an indian national living in the UK. My dad is an EU national(portuguese) and i wish to travel to portugal next month

i have booked my flight ticket. i need to know whether its possible to apply for a visa via post or do i have to go to the embassy to put the forms in. i live abt 5 hours away from london and it would be near impossible getting time off work

please help

Have you checked the embassy website? Most likely u ring a 0906 number to make an appointment and go down to London at some ungodly hour and wait.

Doubt you'll get one in a month but u might be lucky.

[manueld12]

i cant make out anything from their website because i cant read portuguese

[sakura]

Embassy websites are always written in the language(s) of the country in which it is located. So look for the website of the Portuguese Embassy in the UK.

[thirdwave]

Hi im an indian national living in the UK. My dad is an EU national(portuguese) and i wish to travel to portugal next month

i have booked my flight ticket. i need to know whether its possible to apply for a visa via post or do i have to go to the embassy to put the forms in. i live abt 5 hours away from london and it would be near impossible getting time off work

please help

Before you ring the £1 line, try emailing them,stating that you have rang the 0906 number but the appointments available do not suit you and as you need to travel quite urgently, an earlier appointment would be much appreciated. They might offer you an appointment by email, saving you atleast £ 15 in call charges..

If that doesn`t cut no ice, you might have to ring that wretched 090 number afterall..

PS: I am talking from experience..I have tried this trick in the past and it has worked

Here are the contact details for the Portugese Consulate in London

Portuguese Consulate General - London
3 Portland Place
London W1B 1HR
Tel 020 7291 3770, Fax 020 7291 3799
Email: mail@cglon.dgaccp.pt

Visa Section: 10.00am to 1.00pm
Visa Info Tel: 09065 508 948
Visa by Appointment only Tel: 09065 540 789

For Consular matters such as Visas, Portuguese Nationality queries, Formal document witnessing and stamping.
Opening hours: 9.00am to 1:30pm

[JAJ]

Hi im an indian national living in the UK. My dad is an EU national(portuguese) and i wish to travel to portugal next month

If your father is a Portuguese citizen then why are you not also a Portuguese citizen?

[manueld12]

thats what i am going to lisbon for . to collect my passport and ID card etc. Stupid visa hassles will be a thing of the past once i get hold of that

@thirdwave= thanks for ur advice. i will try it out right away

[manueld12]

i tried calling the 0906 number..

now they dont accept phone bookings ..they need a letter in writing.! this bureaucratic nonsense is annoying me! why do they have to make it soo damn hard to get an appointment.

what do you think abt using an agency like this to handle the application.they take a service charge but right now i need that visa!

http://www.ltpvisas.com/index.php?page=services
http://www.theschengenoffice.com/
http://www.princevisa.com/pvs/

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

thats what i am going to lisbon for . to collect my passport and ID card etc. Stupid visa hassles will be a thing of the past once i get hold of that :twisted:

Are you already a citizen, and you are just going to pick up the passport and ID card? If so do not bother with the visa.

[manueld12]

no im not a portuguese citizen yet. im still on an indian passport

[sakura]

no im not a portuguese citizen yet. im still on an indian passport

If you are simply going to Portugal to collect your passport, then you are already a Portuguese citizen. You only obtain a passport after becoming a citizen.

So which is it?

[Christophe]

If you are simply going to Portugal to collect your passport, then you are already a Portuguese citizen. You only obtain a passport after becoming a citizen.

So which is it?

That's probably technically correct. However, that isn't necessarily going to help when it comes to boarding the plane (the airline will want to see evidence that the passenger will be admitted to the destination country) or when it comes to dealing with the immigration officers in Portugal...

Is there any way that the Portuguese passport-issuing authority could arrange for the passport to be picked up from a Portuguese consulate or the embassy in the UK?

[manueld12]

i think that could be done. but the embassy employees are really rude and wont give any proper information. my aunt lives in portugal and her friend is a solicitor who will help me with all the documents. it would be easier for me to take help from someone who knws what they are doing

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Has the passport already been issued and is it waiting for you in Portugal? If so there are also other options you can use.

[Dawie]

If you are a Portuguese citizen then you cannot legally apply for a Portuguese Schengen visa.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

If you are a Portuguese citizen then you cannot legally apply for a Portuguese Schengen visa.

I do not thing this is correct. If you are travelling on another passport, then you will need any visa that the passport requires.

[manueld12]

@Dawie - i am applying for the visa on my indian passport, so i will need the visa

[Dawie]

Firstly, if you are indeed a Portuguese citizen then that means you are no longer an Indian citizen. This in turn means that your Indian passport is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. India does not allow dual citizenship and you would have lost your Indian citizenship the moment you became a Portuguese citizen.

Secondly, countries do not issue visas to their own citizens. By definition you cannot qualify for a visa for a country you are a citizen of irrespective of what travel documentation you hold.

[thirdwave]

Firstly, if you are indeed a Portuguese citizen then that means you are no longer an Indian citizen. This in turn means that your Indian passport is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. India does not allow dual citizenship and you would have lost your Indian citizenship the moment you became a Portuguese citizen.

Secondly, countries do not issue visas to their own citizens. By definition you cannot qualify for a visa for a country you are a citizen of irrespective of what travel documentation you hold.

Dawie, I`ve just done exactly that and am back safely on terra firma, without encountering any problems

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Firstly, if you are indeed a Portuguese citizen then that means you are no longer an Indian citizen. This in turn means that your Indian passport is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. India does not allow dual citizenship and you would have lost your Indian citizenship the moment you became a Portuguese citizen.

In a theoretical sense this may be true. But in reality India does not know about the exact dual citizenship status of each of their citizens at all times, and so functionally this is not correct.

Secondly, countries do not issue visas to their own citizens. By definition you cannot qualify for a visa for a country you are a citizen of irrespective of what travel documentation you hold.

Each country would make it’s own (and surely different) rules about how to handle somebody who claims to be a citizen and wants entry based on travel documents issued by another country. In most cases they will let you in if you provide documentation of your citizenship (other than a travel document), but you can well imagine they require you to get an entry clearance (the sneaky way of saying a visa) before flying.


I note that the original poster has still not answered whether he/she is already a Portuguese citizen. I suspect this is a more complex story than has been presented so far.

[Wanderer]

Maybe he or his dad is a Goan. Which reminds me; it's Goan Chicken tmrw in the canteen. Yummy!

[thirdwave]

Maybe he or his dad is a Goan. Which reminds me; it's Goan Chicken tmrw in the canteen. Yummy!

I understand that Goans are allowed to claim Portugese citizenship on the basis of their colonial heritage (a bit like the arrangement between Moldova and Romania). However applicant numbers, which include many bogus ones, have swelled to such an extent in recent years that the waiting list for naturalisation is reportedly around 7-8 years currently.

Residents of ex French colonies like Pondicherry have similar provisions which allow them to apply for French nationality but I was told during one of my trips there that many people who acquired French citizenship under the arrangement were stuck in limbo as they had been rendered illegal in India after becoming French citizens but could not leave because they were unable to afford the plane fare to Paris

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

I was told during one of my trips there that many people who acquired French citizenship under the arrangement were stuck in limbo as they had been rendered illegal in India after becoming French citizens but could not leave because they were unable to afford the plane fare to Paris :lol:

Maybe they need to report themselves to the authorities so that they get deported to France?

With remittances often so high, it might make sense for the Indian government to pay for their ticket to France in the hope of getting large amounts through the years sent back to remaining family.

[Christophe]

Firstly, if you are indeed a Portuguese citizen then that means you are no longer an Indian citizen. This in turn means that your Indian passport is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. India does not allow dual citizenship and you would have lost your Indian citizenship the moment you became a Portuguese citizen.

I think that in the case of India (perhaps rather unusually) it's the possession of another country's passport rather than the possession of another citizenship that causes loss of Indian citizenship. What view the Indian authorities, or Indian law, take of a situation like this I have no idea - where a passport has been issued but the holder has not taken possession of it...

[Dawie]

Firstly, if you are indeed a Portuguese citizen then that means you are no longer an Indian citizen. This in turn means that your Indian passport is no longer valid and cannot be used for travel. India does not allow dual citizenship and you would have lost your Indian citizenship the moment you became a Portuguese citizen.

I think that in the case of India (perhaps rather unusually) it's the possession of another country's passport rather than the possession of another citizenship that causes loss of Indian citizenship. What view the Indian authorities, or Indian law, take of a situation like this I have no idea - where a passport has been issued but the holder has not taken possession of it...

This is not the case. Section 9(1) of the Indian Citizenship act provides that any citizen of India who by naturalisation or registration acquires the citizenship of another country shall cease to be a citizen of India.