Speaking for Hyperallergic, AI said that he is a permanent Portuguese resident and explained that the renewal process for his visa was delayed due to the backlog of applications that Portugal is dealing with.

Considering the long waiting times for the renewal and the problems that those affected could face when travelling to the other member states, the Portuguese government decided back in June 2024 to extend the validity of documents and visas for immigrants residing in the country for one year.

Despite this policy, Ai was not permitted entry to Switzerland as his passport showed that his visa had already expired.

As Hyperallergic explains, the lawyer of Ai contacted the Portuguese authorities regarding the matter and confirmed that this policy was in place. The lawyer said to Ai that Switzerland has stricter visa rules in place than the other Schengen member states.

However, according to Ai, this should not have happened as Switzerland should recognise the documents validated by another member state.

Ai further argued that he had been able to freely enter with his Portuguese residency in Germany, stressing that the same should apply to Switzerland too as the latter is a Schengen country.

Swiss Border Police Confiscated My Passport, Ai Said

Ai said in an Instagram post that the border patrol told him that “this is Switzerland, not Portugal”, and confiscated his passport holding the Portuguese visa when he was led into a room, Hyperallergic explains.

Ai further noted that he got his passport back only when he was about to board the plane taking him back to the UK.

On the other hand, the Swiss authorities have not made any comments on the matter yet.

According to Ai, the purpose of his visit to Switzerland was to meet with a friend, highlighting that he has been to the country over 20 times and that he did not expect such an incident to occur.