The Internal Security System (SSI) admits that the European border control system for non-EU citizens could be suspended during Christmas to avoid queues at airports, a measure that has already been authorized by the European Commission.
In a response sent to Lusa, the SSI indicates that there is the possibility of suspending the Entry/Exit System (EES) during the Christmas season, with a decision that “will be taken according to the information that arrives from Portuguese airports”.
The SSI states that this measure was recently authorized at European level, by the European Commission, due to “the constraints that have occurred at some airports in Europegiven the need for more procedures when registering with the EES, which will further increase the waiting time”.
However, the Internal Security System ensures that the decision to suspend or not the application of the EES will be taken “punctually and if necessary, after assessing the situation at each airport and without compromising border security”.
“If there is no need to suspend the EES, it is a sign that there are no excessive waiting times to cross the border”, states that organization.
The new European border control system for non-EU citizens came into operation on October 12th in Portugal and other Schengen countries.
Entries and exits of travelers from third countries then began to be registered electronically, indicating the date, time and border post, replacing the traditional stamps in passports.
The entry into force of this entry and exit system has worsened waiting times, especially at Lisbon airport, with passengers sometimes having to wait for several hours, which recently led the Government to create an emergency ‘task force’ to manage this crisis situation.
The situation could become even more complicated with the implementation of the second phase of the EES, scheduled for next Wednesday, with the collection of biometric datawhich involves obtaining a photograph and fingerprints of the passenger.
According to the SSI, the date of December 10, 2025 was determined by the European Commission and between that day and January 10, 2026, biometric data will have to be collected from 10% of passengers crossing the Portuguese border.
The EES also requires the collection of a travel questionnaire by each passengerwith the mobile application ‘Travel to Europe’ planned for outside the Schengen area, in which pre-registration can be downloaded 36 hours before travel so that the data can be saved centrally and used for border control.
The Internal Security System adds that in Portugal, the ‘Questionnaire’ functionality will be available in the first phase.
In an assessment of the approximately two months of operation of the EES, the SSI states that there were no technical constraints upon entry into operation and, since October 12th and until today, “some adjustments have been made to the PASSE + system to make it more suitable and compatible with the EES” and the computer system “has behaved as expected and in accordance with the rules established at European level”.
The SSI also states that there were some system outages and some specific problems on the national side, which were resolved by the technical teams.
“Globally, the EES system itself is stable, reliable and robust and has demonstrated that it meets the technical requirements for which it was developed”, he highlights, noting that, since October 12th, almost one million passengers have been registered in the EES, which makes Portugal the country in the European Union with the most registrations in this new system.