Joining the EES queue may cause issues.
Portuguese border authorities officially activated the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) a few months ago, in October, ushering in one of the biggest shake-ups to Schengen border control in decades. The digital scheme replaces passport stamps with centralised electronic records, capturing biometric data from most non-EU travellers, thus including British nationals.
However, authorities have made it clear that the EES only applies to non-EU nationals entering for short stays, up to 90 days in any 180-day period, whether or not they need a visa.
Who shouldn’t be processed through the EES then? Despite its broad scope, several categories of travellers are exempt:
-Holders of residence permits or long-stay visas;
-Non-EU nationals on long-term stays, such as researchers, students, trainees, volunteers, intra-corporate transferees, and au pairs;
-EU citizens, including nationals of Cyprus and Ireland;
-Non-EU family members of EU citizens who hold a residence card;
-Non-EU family members of non-EU nationals who enjoy EU-wide free-movement rights;
-Nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, plus those holding a Vatican/Holy passport;
-Travellers exempt from border checks, including heads of state, accredited diplomats, and certain cross-border workers. Diplomats on short stays may also be exempt under specific conditions.
For reference, under the EES first-time entrants will have their fingerprints and facial image recorded. Each arrival and departure is logged automatically, and the system flags any overstays. It also connects to major EU security databases, including SIS II and VIS4EES, allowing rapid identity checks across the bloc.
Portugal’s Internal Security System (SSI) is coordinating the national rollout with the PSP, GNR, ANA Airports, the civil aviation authority ANAC and port authorities. How smooth this rollout has been going in reality is still being called into question across many of Portugal’s airports. Just days after the EES began operating, non-EU passengers at Lisbon airport faced queues exceeding 90 minutes for both arrivals and departures at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport.
“The border situation is an embarrassment for the Government. There’s no other word for it. We have to have an attitude of humility regarding what we do, and, at this moment, it is an embarrassment, and the only thing we could do was apologise,” said Secretary of State for Infrastructure Hugo Espírito Santo, in Macau, at the 50th congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT).
The official said that the causes have been identified, and that solutions are being evaluated: “We are currently closely monitoring this issue with the Government. We have five ministers directly involved, and we are looking at the data daily to see how long it takes to cross the border in Lisbon” added the official.
Hugo Espírito Santo recalled that “the root” of the problem “is clear” and has to do with “the lack of PSP (Public Security Police) officers,” as well as “a difficulty and instability from a technological point of view, especially at the gates,” and, lastly, “a greater slowness of the system.”
The challenge, the government official acknowledges, is to resolve the situation by next year’s peak tourist season, “before the summer”.
The tourism sector, namely the Portuguese Tourism Confederation (CTP) and APAVT, have been requesting urgent solutions to this constraint, which is causing reputational damage to Portugal as a destination.