A Union Regulation Decides This, and Portugal Applies the Lists as They Stand
Whether a short visit to Portugal needs a visa is not in any Portuguese instrument. Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 carries two annexes: nationals of the countries in Annex I need a visa to cross the external border, and nationals of the countries in Annex II are exempt for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The Regulation is directly applicable, so the answer is the same here as in every other Schengen state, and Portugal cannot add a country to either list.
At a glance
- Who decides
- A Union regulation, applied by Portugal as it stands
- Visa-free stay
- 90 days in any 180-day period
Article 4(1). The window rolls; it does not reset on each entry.
- Where your nationality sits
- Annex I needs a visa, Annex II does not
- What the Regulation does not govern
- The border check itself and the national rules after it
Requirements
- A visa, if your nationality is in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806
- No visa, for a stay of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, if your nationality is in Annex II
Exceptions by origin
No Visa, and Ninety Days Measured Backwards from Any Day
Your nationality is in Annex II, so no visa is required for a stay of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The measure is the part that catches people: on any given day the question is how many days you have spent in the area in the preceding 180, so leaving and coming back does not start a new count. Five states in this corpus carry a footnote making the exemption conditional on an agreement with the Union, and this record does not say whether that agreement is in force.
A Visa Is Required, and Nothing About You Changes That
Your nationality is in Annex I, so a visa is required to cross the external border. The Regulation states the requirement as a list and gives no test an individual can satisfy to fall outside it. Nine states of this corpus are on that list while their neighbours are not.
What the law says
«Nationals of third countries listed in Annex I shall be required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States.»The visa requirement, stated as a list rather than as a test about the traveller.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Nationals of third countries listed in Annex II shall be exempt from the requirement set out in Article 3(1) for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.»The exemption and its measure.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Being exempt from a visa is not a right of entry. The Schengen Borders Code sets the conditions an officer checks at the external border and this record does not reach it.
The same two annexes govern every Schengen state, so this record and the Spanish one rest on the same instrument and the same two origin groups.
- consolidatesRegulation (EU) 2018/1806, consolidated version
EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · consolidated to 2025-12-30
About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source