ARCHIVED - UK passport u-turn: Brits allowed to use EU eGates in Spain
According to the Spanish Tourist Board, UK holidaymakers arriving in Spain will be fast-tracked through passport control
It’s fair to say that the summer season has had a bumpy start both in Spain and in the UK. British travellers arriving at thronged airports are experiencing mammoth delays or their flights are being cancelled altogether, often at the last minute, with some carriers like Ryanair advising customers to arrive three hours ahead of time rather than the usual two to navigate hours-long security queues.
The situation is little better in Spain once holidaymakers arrive, as post-Brexit rules mean that UK travellers have to stand in the non-EU line to have their passports stamped at the drastically understaffed border control.
This summer, the Spanish government plans to draft in an additional 500 personnel to speed the process up, but the Spanish Tourist Board in the UK has announced even better news: UK tourists will be allowed to use the passport eGates, usually reserved for EU and Schengen zone citizens, in some of the most popular Spanish airports.
This means that Brits holidaying in Spain can simply scan their passports through the automated checks, but sources indicate that they will still have to get their passports stamped at a separate desk once through.
According to reports, British citizens can now use the Automated Border Control eGates for Schengen passport holders at the following airports: Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Girona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Mallorca, Menorca, Valencia, Fuerteventura, Sevilla and Tenerife Sur.
British Citizens can now use the Automated Border Control eGates for Schengen passport holders at select Spanish Airports:
— Spain in UK (@Spain_inUK) June 9, 2022
Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Girona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Mallorca, Menorca, Valencia, Fuerteventura, Sevilla, Tenerife Sur pic.twitter.com/enADLprWfc
A word of caution though: in response to the announcement by the Tourist Board, several travellers reported that they sailed through the eGates in no time at all in airports like Palma and Lanzarote, but more Brits reported that their passports wouldn’t scan this week in Madrid and they had to resort to the long queues at border control.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Spanish Tourist Board in the UK has made a blunder either: earlier this year, when the country was still in the grip of the sixth coronavirus wave, the deputy director mistakenly announced that unvaccinated Brits would be granted entry into Spain with just a negative Covid test. While that’s true now, it wasn’t at the time, and the organisation had to apologise for the devastating mistake.
The latest advice on travelling to Spain from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) 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.”
Image: Archive
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