UPDATED AT 10am on 28/04/22

Portugal has announced that it will fast-track British travellers at border control despite Brexit.

There will be passport e-gate lanes for Brits at airports in Faro in the Algarve, Funchal in Madeira, Lisbon and Porto, allowing arrivals to avoid long queues when entering the country.

This will mean that they won’t need to queue for manual passport checks, as stipulated by the EU’s post-Brexit directive.

Nonetheless, Brits will still need to have their passport stamped upon entering Portugal, suggesting that they will have to queue at some point during entry.

Gatwick airport noted in a press release:

“Lisbon, Faro, Porto and Funchal (Madeira Island) airport all have RAPIDforALL e-gate facilities available, so British passengers using them do not need to queue in conventional passport control lanes, although they will still be required to go through a quick passport stamping process.”

Portugal is the first country to scrap the EU’s Brexit rules, though other countries that have high travel numbers from the UK may follow suit. While the EU defines Britain as a third country following Brexit, individual states are allowed to set their own travel rules.

The news was announced by the president of Turismo de Portugal Luis Araujo at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) summit which was held in Manila in the Philippines.

Araujo told The Telegraph that the e-gates would “provide increased accessibility for our valued British travellers, as we head into the busy summer period”.

He added: “We’re delighted to have made travel to Portugal even more seamless for those able to make the most of the new e-gates.”

The newspaper also stated that the UK is Portugal’s biggest overseas tourist market, with nearly 484,000 hotel overnight stays booked by Brits in January and February alone.

Portugal has recently adjusted its entry restrictions, scrapping its passenger locator form. Fully vaccinated Brits can enter freely, provided they have had a booster dose if the primary vaccination series is older than nine months.

Those who have not been fully vaccinated must show proof of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before entry or a lateral flow test no more than 24 hours before entry.