Lisbon Airport Passport Control: 2026 EES Queues and Tips

For most non-EU visitors, passport control is the slowest part of arriving in Lisbon. Since the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) started in October 2025, waits at Humberto Delgado Airport have ranged from a few minutes to several hours. Here is who has to queue, how long it has taken in 2026 and how to get through faster.

Quick answer: if you hold a non-EU passport, such as a UK, US, Canadian or Australian one, and fly into Lisbon from outside the Schengen area, you queue at passport control in Terminal 1 and register your fingerprints and photo on your first EES entry. Reported waits in 2026 range from under 40 minutes to about two hours. Leave two to three hours between landing and any fixed onward booking, pre-register in the free Travel to Europe app up to 72 hours ahead, and use the e-gates if your passport is eligible. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens don’t register.

What the EES check involves

The Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps with a digital record of when you enter and leave the Schengen area. It started on 12 October 2025 and has been fully running at every Schengen external border since 10 April 2026. In Portugal, the PSP police run the border.

• First entry: your passport is scanned, four fingerprints are taken and your photo is captured, at a self-service kiosk or by a border officer. You also answer a short questionnaire on entry conditions.
• Children under 12: photo only, no fingerprints.
• Later trips: quicker, as you are already on file.
• Cost: free. Ignore any website charging for “EES registration”.
• No stamps: EES counts your days instead, so keep to 90 days in any 180 across Schengen.

Refusing fingerprints or a photo can mean being refused entry. Full rules by passport: Portugal entry requirements.

Who queues where

Passport control only applies if your flight comes from outside the Schengen area, such as the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada or Brazil. Flights from Spain, France or Germany arrive like domestic flights, with no border check. Every arriving flight uses Terminal 1; Terminal 2 handles departures only.

You hold	Where you go	EES registration?
EU, EEA or Swiss passport or ID card (including Irish)	EU lane or e-gates	No
Non-EU passport plus a Portuguese or other Schengen residence permit or long-stay visa	Show the permit with your passport	No
Non-EU passport plus a residence card as the family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen	Show the card with your passport	No
UK, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand or other visa-free passport	Non-EU lane, or e-gates if eligible	Yes, on first entry
Passport with a short-stay Schengen visa	Non-EU lane	Yes, on first entry

How long are the queues?

The best guide is what the PSP, the airport operator ANA and the Portuguese press have reported since EES began:

When	What was reported
14 October 2025	Waits of over 90 minutes, two days after EES started.
25 November 2025	The US Embassy warned of longer than usual waits, especially at peak hours, and advised arriving at least three hours before flights home.
December 2025	Waits of several hours over the holidays. After an EU inspection on 15 to 17 December found “serious deficiencies” in border checks, the government paused EES at Lisbon for three months.
January 2026	24 officers from the GNR, Portugal’s National Republican Guard, sent to help at arrivals.
29 to 30 March 2026	With EES back in use, arrivals waited up to two hours early on Sunday 29 March. The next morning: 50 minutes at 8:15am, 38 minutes by 11:15am.
11 to 12 April 2026	On the first weekend of full EES, fingerprint and photo checks for departures were suspended at Lisbon, Porto and Faro to clear the queues.
16 May 2026	IT problems pushed Lisbon departure waits past an hour. Faro arrivals waited over three hours, and EES registration there was suspended.
29 May 2026	48 extra PSP officers at Lisbon. Arrival desks went from 20 to 34, and arrival e-gates from 17 to 31.
22 July 2026	The infrastructure minister said Lisbon waiting times had been cut by half.
6 September 2026	The EU rule letting countries scale back EES registration when queues grew too long expired.

The worst reported waits have come early in the morning, at weekends and over holidays. Since 6 September 2026, border police can no longer scale back EES checks to clear a queue, unless the EU brings that option back, as airlines and travel industry groups have asked.

How to get through faster

1. Pre-register in the Travel to Europe app. The EU’s official app went live for Lisbon arrivals in March 2026, and the PSP recommends it. In the 72 hours before you travel, you enter your personal and travel details and answer the entry questions. It’s free and optional, needs a chip passport, and doesn’t let you skip the border itself.
2. Use the e-gates if you can. Portugal’s automatic gates have taken EU passports and, for adults with a chip passport, several other nationalities, including UK, US, Canadian and Australian. The US Embassy says travellers with children should use the staffed desks. Follow the signs and staff on the day.
3. Move quickly off the plane. Sit near the front, travel with hand luggage only and use the toilets after the border.
4. Have everything ready. The PSP asks travellers to keep their passport open at the photo page and their boarding pass in hand. Take off hats and glasses before the camera.
5. Keep proof of your trip on your phone. Officers can ask for your return ticket, where you are staying and how you will pay for your stay. Set up an eSIM before you fly; see the best eSIM for Portugal.
6. Pick your arrival time. Given a choice of flights, avoid early-morning weekend arrivals and holiday peaks.
7. Don’t book anything tight. Leave two to three hours between landing and a fixed-time train or tour. If someone is collecting you, use a pickup that tracks your flight, such as a pre-booked Lisbon airport transfer.
8. Or clear the border elsewhere. Connect in Madrid, Paris or Frankfurt and you go through EES there, then land in Lisbon with no passport control. Those airports have queues too, so this only helps with a long connection.

More arrival-day slips to avoid: Portugal travel mistakes and first time in Portugal.

After passport control

The metro, taxis and the Uber and Bolt pick-up at the P2 car park are all at Terminal 1, and since 15 October 2026 taxis in the airport scheme charge fixed fares into the city. Compare options in Lisbon airport to the city centre and Uber vs Bolt vs taxi, skip the Euronet cash machines (see Lisbon tourist traps), and if you land hours before check-in, use luggage storage.

Leaving Portugal

If you hold a non-EU passport and fly outside Schengen, for example to the UK, Ireland, the US or Brazil, you pass an EES exit check before your gate. Your passport is scanned and your face or fingerprints are checked against your entry record. Departures have had bad days too, as on 11 and 12 April and 16 May 2026.

• Get there early: allow about three hours before a flight to the UK, Ireland or North America, especially in summer and at holiday times.
• Check your terminal: Ryanair, Wizz Air and other low-cost airlines leave from Terminal 2, which has its own border check for non-Schengen flights. TAP and easyJet use Terminal 1.
• Early flight: sleep at one of the Lisbon airport hotels.
• Delays: if a queue or a late flight wrecks your plans, check flight delays and compensation and your travel insurance.

Porto and Faro

The same rules apply at every Portuguese airport. Porto and Faro make fewer headlines than Lisbon, but both have had long queues.

• Faro: it handles many flights from the UK and Ireland, both outside Schengen. The PSP sent 15 extra officers for Easter 2026, and on 16 May 2026 arrivals waited over three hours. See Faro airport transfers and Faro airport hotels.
• Porto: departure checks were suspended there in April 2026 along with Lisbon and Faro, and the government promised extra border capacity at Porto and Faro for June and July. See Porto airport to the city centre and Porto airport hotels.
• E-gates and the app: Porto, Faro and Funchal also have automatic gates. Travel to Europe launched for Lisbon first, with Portugal’s other international airports due to follow, so check the app for your airport.

Connections at Lisbon

Lisbon is TAP’s hub for flights between Europe, the Americas and Africa. Whether you meet passport control depends on where you come from and where you fly next.

Connection	Passport control at Lisbon?	Suggested buffer
Schengen to Schengen (Paris to Porto)	No	Your airline’s minimum
Outside to inside Schengen (New York to Madrid)	Yes, EES entry	2 hours, 3 in summer
Inside to outside Schengen (Rome to London)	Yes, exit check	2 hours
Outside to outside Schengen (London to São Paulo)	Usually no, but transfer security	Your airline’s minimum
Separate tickets, any route	Depends, plus bags and check-in again	3 hours or more

• One ticket or two: on a single booking, such as a TAP ticket through Lisbon, the airline normally rebooks you if you miss the connection. On separate tickets, a missed flight is your problem, and a Terminal 2 departure adds a shuttle bus.
• Leaving the airport on a layover: you go through EES on the way out, and an exit check later if your next flight leaves Schengen. With six hours or more, see Lisbon stopovers and layovers.

Plan it: install a Portugal eSIM before you fly so messages from your driver and ride apps work as soon as you clear the border, and pick a Lisbon hotel with a 24-hour reception on Booking.com in case the queue runs late. Landing at night or leaving at dawn? See Lisbon airport hotels.

FAQ

How long does passport control take at Lisbon airport?

It varies by the hour. Reports from 2026 range from under 40 minutes to about two hours, with longer waits over the 2025 holidays. Non-EU travellers should allow two to three hours from landing to leaving the airport at busy times.

Do British and American travellers have to register for EES?

Yes. UK, US, Canadian, Australian and other non-EU visitors give fingerprints and a photo on their first entry under EES, then get a quicker check on later trips. Irish citizens are EU citizens and don’t register.

Who can use the e-gates at Lisbon airport?

Adults with a chip passport from the EU and several other countries, including the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, have been able to use Portugal’s e-gates. Travellers with children should use the staffed desks.

Does the Travel to Europe app let you skip the queue?

No. It lets you enter your details and answer the entry questions up to 72 hours before you travel, which shortens your time at the desk or kiosk. You still go through passport control.

Do you need ETIAS to fly to Lisbon?

Not yet. ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are being taken. The EU has dropped its late-2026 target, the start is widely expected in 2027, and the EU says it will give several months’ notice. It will cost €20.

How early should you get to Lisbon airport for a flight to the UK or US?

About three hours before departure, as you also pass an EES exit check. The US Embassy has advised at least three hours for flights to the US. Within Schengen, about two hours is usually enough.

More: Portugal entry requirements, what’s changed in Portugal for 2026 and things to know before visiting Portugal.

Some links in this guide are affiliate or referral links (GetYourGuide, Booking.com, Discover Cars, Welcome Pickups, Airalo, Yesim, Saily, Tiqets, Radical Storage, EKTA, AirHelp, Uber). If you book or sign up through them we may earn a small commission or ride credit at no extra cost to you. It helps keep our groups and this site free.