Graciecatt

Thank you so much for the detail SK AAR . It is super helpful to know in advance what will happen and where we will need to go. It helps me smooth the trip for my traveling companions and set expectations, too.

Graciecatt

SK AAR and Palal I have a really dumb question resulting from reading on a different thread from someone who just landed in LIS that the lines for entering Schengen for the first time are 3 - 4 hours long - that they have never seen anything like it.

Since we have to clear immigration, then go through passport control, then go through security, can you please tell me what exactly is the difference between, and what exactly happens at, Clearing Immigration and Passport Control?

I'm assuming going through security after all that is the same "take off your shoes/remove your liquids" as in the US if you don't have Precheck.

corporate-wage-slave

From the USA, the actual order is security then passport control. There is a left turn for flight connections. Security is to check your bags for explosive and firearms, and you need to ideally take out laptops and liquids from the bag. They can test for water bottles if it's not busy but probably better not ho have them on you. There is no shoe removing in Europe as a general rule. Then you pass through passport control for Schengen / Portugal, so a member of the border guards will check your passport and stamp it for entry into Schengen.

The USA and some Brazil flights often all arrive in one bank around 7 am plus or minus a couple of hours. Queues can take a while but they will shout out for any flights about to leave. 3 hours seems an exaggeration to me, 30 minutes isn't unusual for the passport queue, usually security is a few minutes. This is a temporary problem, next year more people can use the e-gates for passports, when ETIAS gets rolled out, but that won't be rolled out until around Christmas 2022.

Graciecatt

Thank you corporate-wage-slave ! So there are really only 2 steps, security and passport control. Thank you for clarifying. Our flight arrives at 5:30 am if all goes as planned so hopefully we will be on the earlier side of the bulk flight arrivals. Then our LIS-BCN flight leaves at 11:20 am. Even though we are flying J and can lie flat, it would still be nice to have time to freshen up and eat in the lounge between flights.

work2fly

Arriving from Canada, we had three areas of queues yesterday around 11am. First was 15 mins or so for someone to check proof of vax, then at least 90 minutes at passport control to enter Schengen, then maybe 10 minutes to clear security and get into the gate areas.

Palal

If you're going non-Schengen to non-Schengen:
1. Get off the plane/bus and walk to 'connections'
2. Clear security
3. Go on to your gate

If you're going non-Schengen to Schengen:
1. Get off the plane/bus and walk to 'connections'
2. Go through passport control/immigration (one and the same)
3. Clear security
4. Go on to your gate after walking through endless shops/restaurants

Schengen>Schengen.
1. Get off the plane/bus and go directly to your next gate

Schengen> non-Schengen
1. Get off the plane/bus, walk to the Non-Schengen part of the terminal (N gates)
2. Go through passport control/immigration
3. Go to your gate

Palal

Unfortunately, long lines at immigration (especially for non-EU/EEA citizens) are nothing new in LIS.

36902BRF

Interesting I arrived from US on Saturday and there was no check in LIS of vax documents or PLF for me. Wait time at immigration (for non-EU folks) was about 50 mins for me but line was much longer by the time I cleared so I'd guess 90 mins was probably about right at that point. Security was about 5-10 mins. Had an 8.5 hour layover thanks to TAP cancelling my connecting flight but that is another story.

cruisr

When I came through LIS on 3/27 it took me almost 1.45 mins to clear passport control. When I was coming back on 3/28 for my flt to the US the line for passport control exiting the country was 1 hour. You can actually walk to the Oriente area in 30 minutes or 8 minute €3.50 Uber ride as mentioned above. Vasco de Gama Mall is nice to visit as is the waterfront there and the Aquarium. IMHO a lot of time will be wasted unless the passport control times are cut down.

corporate-wage-slave

It's slightly more complex than that. UK and Ireland arrivals don't need to do security if transferring at LIS, whether Schengen or otherwise. I guess there are a few other places in that category too, but not Canada, USA or Brazil. Also for USA (etc) security is before passport/immigration on the left side of passport control, so that UK + Ireland arrivals can join the passport queues from the other side.

Palal

When did this change?

corporate-wage-slave

Not recently. As you probably know, the N terminal is split in half length wise and usually USA/Canada/Brazil go up the left side to reach security and passport control for flight connections, whereas UK, Cypus, Ireland are supposed to land on the right side, facing passport control and thus segregated. This allows those passengers, coming from London and going out on the USA services, to just walk across to the gate of their departing aircraft. It doesn't always happen, so sometimes they do land UK, Ireland, Cyprus on the "unclean" side.

Palal

If arriving by jetbridge, pax from all non-Schengen flights go upstairs and then walk to the end of pier N, go downstairs to passport control and then onwards. If arriving by bus, pax from non-Schengen flights go upstairs to passport control and then onwards as I described.

This is the first time I'm hearing about UK/IRL/Cyprus flights arriving differently at the terminal.
I do remember one time, arriving by bus, going through some side passport control area with 2 booths. I don't remember where we ended up afterwards, but maybe that's how what you're describing. All other times arriving from the UK/Ireland we ended up together with all the other non-Schengen customers.

IAN-UK

The few transfers I have though LIS involve overnight stays, so even they turn into arrivals. There was a time when UK arrivals appeared to get special treatment, filtered off to those side-booths. But recently we've been bundled into the rest-of-the-world queue: another Brexit benefit .

morninglemon

My friend just arrived PHL-LIS this morning and reported that her wait at passport control was 1.5 hours with 8 windows open. About an hour into her wait, the next bunch of planes arrived and they opened 4 more windows for EU only. She estimates if you arrive non-EU any time after 7 a.m., expect a 2.5 hour wait. Pregnant women, wheelchair users and families with young children get bumped to the priority line.
I am leaving tonight JFK-LIS so I fully expect to run into this on Saturday morning in LIS. Not sure what our friend will do when she arrives Tuesday and has a 1.5 hour layover in LIS for FNC. There is no way she will make that flight under existing circumstances.