diff --git a/src/ffi/abstract_.rs b/src/ffi/abstract_.rs
index 651e6fac1d3..e4ee4eadfe9 100644
--- a/src/ffi/abstract_.rs
+++ b/src/ffi/abstract_.rs
@@ -3,12 +3,6 @@ use crate::ffi::pyport::Py_ssize_t;
 use std::os::raw::{c_char, c_int};
 use std::ptr;
 
-#[cfg_attr(windows, link(name = "pythonXY"))]
-extern "C" {
-    #[cfg_attr(PyPy, link_name = "PyPySequence_Type")]
-    pub static mut PySequence_Type: PyTypeObject;
-}
-
 extern "C" {
     #[cfg(PyPy)]
     #[link_name = "PyPyObject_DelAttrString"]
diff --git a/src/instance.rs b/src/instance.rs
index acc3f0ef153..84e186098ed 100644
--- a/src/instance.rs
+++ b/src/instance.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use crate::conversion::{PyTryFrom, ToBorrowedObject};
 use crate::err::{PyDowncastError, PyErr, PyResult};
 use crate::gil;
 use crate::pycell::{PyBorrowError, PyBorrowMutError, PyCell};
-use crate::types::{PyDict, PyTuple};
+use crate::types::{PyDict, PyTuple, PySequence};
 use crate::{
     ffi, AsPyPointer, FromPyObject, IntoPy, IntoPyPointer, PyAny, PyClass, PyClassInitializer,
     PyRef, PyRefMut, PyTypeInfo, Python, ToPyObject,
@@ -128,6 +128,32 @@ where
     }
 }
 
+impl Py<PySequence> {
+    /// Borrows a GIL-bound reference to the PySequence. By binding to the GIL lifetime, this
+    /// allows the GIL-bound reference to not require `Python` for any of its methods.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use pyo3::prelude::*;
+    /// # use pyo3::types::PyList;
+    /// # Python::with_gil(|py| {
+    /// let list: Py<PyList> = PyList::empty(py).cast_as::<PySequence>().unwrap().into();
+    /// let seq: &PySequence = list.as_ref(py);
+    /// assert_eq!(seq.len().unwrap(), 0);
+    /// # });
+    /// ```
+    pub fn as_ref<'py>(&'py self, _py: Python<'py>) -> &'py PySequence {
+        let any = self.as_ptr() as *const PyAny;
+        unsafe { PyNativeType::unchecked_downcast(&*any) }
+    }
+
+    /// Similar to [`as_ref`](#method.as_ref), and also consumes this `Py` and registers the
+    /// Python object reference in PyO3's object storage. The reference count for the Python
+    /// object will not be decreased until the GIL lifetime ends.
+    pub fn into_ref(self, py: Python) -> &PySequence {
+        unsafe { py.from_owned_ptr(self.into_ptr()) }
+    }
+}
+
 impl<T> Py<T>
 where
     T: PyClass,
diff --git a/src/types/sequence.rs b/src/types/sequence.rs
index 4ef37c5c825..6fa2ff8bdee 100644
--- a/src/types/sequence.rs
+++ b/src/types/sequence.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright (c) 2017-present PyO3 Project and Contributors
 
-use crate::err::{self, PyErr, PyResult};
+use crate::err::{self, PyDowncastError, PyErr, PyResult};
 use crate::ffi::{self, Py_ssize_t};
 use crate::instance::PyNativeType;
 use crate::types::{PyAny, PyList, PyTuple};
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ use crate::{FromPyObject, PyTryFrom, ToBorrowedObject};
 #[repr(transparent)]
 pub struct PySequence(PyAny);
 pyobject_native_type_named!(PySequence);
-pyobject_native_type_info!(PySequence, ffi::PySequence_Type, Some("builtins"), #checkfunction=ffi::PySequence_Check);
 pyobject_native_type_extract!(PySequence);
 
 impl PySequence {
@@ -294,6 +293,29 @@ where
     }
 }
 
+impl<'v> PyTryFrom<'v> for PySequence {
+    fn try_from<V: Into<&'v PyAny>>(value: V) -> Result<&'v PySequence, PyDowncastError<'v>> {
+        let value = value.into();
+        unsafe {
+            if ffi::PySequence_Check(value.as_ptr()) != 0 {
+                Ok(<PySequence as PyTryFrom>::try_from_unchecked(value))
+            } else {
+                Err(PyDowncastError::new(value, "Sequence"))
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn try_from_exact<V: Into<&'v PyAny>>(value: V) -> Result<&'v PySequence, PyDowncastError<'v>> {
+        <PySequence as PyTryFrom>::try_from(value)
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    unsafe fn try_from_unchecked<V: Into<&'v PyAny>>(value: V) -> &'v PySequence {
+        let ptr = value.into() as *const _ as *const PySequence;
+        &*ptr
+    }
+}
+
 fn extract_sequence<'s, T>(obj: &'s PyAny) -> PyResult<Vec<T>>
 where
     T: FromPyObject<'s>,
@@ -312,6 +334,7 @@ mod test {
     use crate::AsPyPointer;
     use crate::Python;
     use crate::{Py, PyObject, PyTryFrom, ToPyObject};
+    use crate::types::PyList;
 
     fn get_object() -> PyObject {
         // Convenience function for getting a single unique object
@@ -641,7 +664,7 @@ mod test {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn test_as_empty() {
+    fn test_is_empty() {
         let gil = Python::acquire_gil();
         let py = gil.python();
         let list = vec![1].to_object(py);
@@ -654,11 +677,11 @@ mod test {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn test_is_ref() {
+    fn test_as_ref() {
         let gil = Python::acquire_gil();
         let py = gil.python();
-        let list = vec!["foo"].to_object(py);
-        let seq: Py<PySequence> = list.cast_as::<PySequence>(py).unwrap().into();
-        assert!(seq.as_ref(py).extract::<Vec<&str>>().unwrap() == ["foo"]);
+        let seq: Py<PySequence> = PyList::empty(py).cast_as::<PySequence>().unwrap().into();
+        let seq_ref: &PySequence = seq.as_ref(py);
+        assert_eq!(seq_ref.len().unwrap(), 0);
     }
 }