Fast track entry for Britons into Portugal

Portugal has become the first EU country since Brexit to allow Britons to be fast-tracked through electronic passport gates.

Experts believe the move to treat British arrivals the same as Europeans could trigger a ripple effect as it could reduce border waiting times at other holiday hotspots.

The president of Tourism of Portugal (Turismo de Portugal) Luis Araujo, told the British broadsheet daily The Telegraph that opening the e-gates would “provide increased accessibility for our valued British travellers, as we head into the busy summer period. We’re delighted to have made travel to Portugal even more seamless for those able to make the most of the new e-gates.”

It may be recalled that the United Kingdom became a ‘third country’ after Brexit, meaning British citizens lost access to the EU’s airport passport e-gates making it mandatory for British passports to be checked manually, increasing waiting times at all borders.

UK travellers made up Portugal’s biggest overseas visitor market in January and February, booking nearly 484,000 overnight hotel stays over the two months.

This move could trigger a ripple-effect as Italy, Spain, Greece and France could follow suit.

Portugal is the first country to ditch the EU policy of manual checks at airports and will instead welcome the three million UK visitors a year through special e-gate channels. This move is significant as it could prompt other EU holiday destinations such as Italy, Spain, Greece and France to follow suit.

Paul Charles, the CEO of a travel consultancy The PC Agency, commended Portugal for “clearly leading the way in recognising that they have to process vast numbers of British visitors as seamlessly as possible otherwise there would be long queues this summer.”

“I think you will see other EU countries follow this approach” Charles noted “otherwise British travellers will face long delays going into France, Spain, Greece, Italy and other countries.”

Meantime Virginia Messina, senior vice president of the WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council) has called for all countries to follow the UK government – which no longer requires incoming travellers to show proof of vaccination or even negative tests for SARS-CoV-2. “What the UK government is doing… is really going to help the recovery”, she told the council annual conference in Manila, Philippines.

Portugal, for the time being, has relaxed entry requirements, but visitors still have to show proof of a negative test.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are for informational purposes only based on industry reports and related news stories. SSIL does not guarantee the accuracy, legality, completeness, reliability of the information and or for that of subsequent links and shall not be held responsible for any action taken based on the published information.