As Brits flood into Spain’s Balearic Islands and mainland this summer causing mass delays at the non-EU passport queues, Spain’s Interior Ministry has eased passport control rules to help avoid bottlenecks. UK citizens will now be permitted to use the EU e-gates at some airports.
In a move that resembles pre-Brexit times, UK citizens can now use the automated border control e-gates to scan their passports in selected Spanish airports like citizens of EU and Schengen nations. The measure is being brought in to ease the strain on airports ahead of peak holiday season, The Local reports.
The Spanish airports to be implementing these new passport rules include, Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Girona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Mallorca, Menorca, Valencia, Fuerteventura, Sevilla, and Tenerife Sur. There will also be an additional 500 border officials deployed across these airports, as they are the busiest in Spain.
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Spain has already seen 6.5 million UK tourists visit this year so far, The Local reports. It is currently seeing around 85% of the pre-Covid tourists, and expects to see a yearly total close to that of 2019, 83.7m UK tourists.
However, Brits are warned that they will still be required to have their passport stamped at the border at some of the Spanish airports listed above, even if they are able to use the e-gates. There may be separate queues for UK citizens to get their passports stamped at a manned booth.
Since Brexit came into effect in January of last year British tourists have had to join the non-EU passport queue to have their passports checked by a police officer and stamped. Earlier this month Spain’s Iberia airline estimated that 15,000 travellers had missed a flight connection since March 1 due to passport control delays at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Irish Mirror reports.
UK citizens are required to have their passport stamped on entering and leaving Schengen countries, such as Spain, without a visa. This is to show that their stay hasn’t exceeded their 90-day visa-free limit, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advice states.
The FCDO’s latest advice on travelling to Spain states: “Check your passport is stamped if you enter or exit the Schengen area through Spain as a visitor. Border guards will use passport stamps to check you’re complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.
“You can show evidence of when and where you entered or exited the Schengen area, and ask the border guards to add this date and location in your passport. Examples of acceptable evidence include boarding passes and tickets.”
Brits entering Spain will also need to show their fully vaccinated Covid-19 status, a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to departure, or an antigen test taken within 24 hours of departure. Alternatively, they can show a medical certificate or recovery record to prove they've recovered from Covid in the past six-months.
As Covid measures largely come to an end across Europe and tourism returns, Portugal has also made the decision to allow UK citizens to use their e-gates. The country brought in the measure in April.
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