Passport control Lisbon airport

Portugal started allowing non-EU e-passports through last June. I know because when I entered in mid-June I had to wait in the endless line, but when I left July 4th, I could breeze through using the e-passport. All current US passports contain the chip.

Dennis

Since I had not been back to the states in a year, it was new to me. I keep reading the horror stories of people going through passport control. I’m wondering if people aren’t aware they can use the electronic gates?

I’d also read the horror stories, but got through the e-gates in about 10 minutes back in September. I was wondering if the delays were from when the vaccine requirement was still in place.

I made the mistake of waiting in line when I returned to the US from Lisbon in July. By the time I realized my error, I was near the front of the line. Then, too, people were passing through the electronic lanes quickly. Lesson learned.

Thanks for the info, Kathryn. We will be flying out of Lisbon airport in June. Now I need to check my passport for that electronic strip.

What if you have a US passport but are flying from Lisbon to Madrid? We arrive via cruise ship and will go to Madrid and home to US from there.

You will go through passport control in Madrid. Flying within the EU doesn’t require passport control.

“ You will go through passport control in Madrid. Flying within the EU doesn’t require passport control.”

This is not entirely correct. It’s flying within the Schengen zone which doesn’t require passport control, not flying within the EU.

Not every EU country is a member of the Schengen zone. And not every Schengen member state is a member of the EU.
Switserland and Norway for instance are in the Schengen zone, but not in the EU.
And Ireland is an EU-member, but is not a Schengen country.

I stand corrected!