Passport requirement update issued for anyone travelling to Portugal this summer
Portugal has updated its passport requirements for British holidaymakers hoping to travel abroad during the summer holidays.
Earlier his month, UK travellers were informed that they will be fast-tracked through check-ins at a number of airports including Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Funchal - similar to EU citizens. It meant that Brits were able to use eGates to avoid long passport queues where non-EU citizen travellers have to have their passports checked and stamped.
The move quickly shot Portugal to one of the top holiday destinations for Brits this year. Portgual also benefits greatly from the initiative due to the fact that income generated by UK travellers represents the second-largest contribution to Portugal's tourism industry.
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However, the UK government has now updated its travel advice to holidaymakers to clarify the entry requirements to get through Portuguese border control. The advice related to passport stamping and hopes to clear up some confusion among British holidaymakers taking advantage of the eGates fast-track system, Chronicle Liv e reports.
It specifies that the eGates available to UK passport holders are in fact "separate to the e-gates for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens". It adds: "On arrival or departure, check you are eligible to use the e-gates and that you are in the right queue. When using an e-gate, your entry/exit is recorded on the computer system.
"A border officer may also stamp your passport after you have passed through the e-gate, this is for airport operational reasons." The government is asking Brits to make sure that their passports are stamped by border officers - even if they use the eGate system.
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