It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this

UK on verge of deal with EU to let Britons use European passport e-gates | Air transport | The Guardian

I flew back into Málaga airport late on Monday night and there was no queue to speak of at Passport Control, but only one non-EU and one EU desk staffed. As luck would have it I was called forward to the EU desk when my turn came.

I agree with the idea of resident TIE holders benefitting from the use of e-gates but not ordinary UK tourists. If they make an exception for one group of non EU citizens, who already enjoy visa free entry to the Schengen area, then logically, and fairly, it should also extend to the other 64 visa free non EU nations.

https://schengeninsuranceinfo.com/sc...empt-countries

I'm absolutely not a Brexiteer but UK needs to come to terms with what they voted for - or hold another referendum!

I tend to agree with you, but what I'm finding confusing is that when EES/ETIAS finally come into operation, won't UK citizens as well as those from other visa-free countries be using the new e-gates anyway, whilst those of us who are resident TIE holders will have to have our passports inspected manually as we'll be exempt?

We have flown twice in the past couple of weeks and both times at Alicante they were letting UK passport holders use either lane.
I showed my TIE to the lady at the line and she sent us down the EU lane.
I still had to scan my passport and then go to a desk, so I cant actually see how the Eu lane is any faster as the same process occured with the French couple infront of us.
The only difference I could see was EU (and Us0 didnt get more than a glance at our documents (I dont show my passport just the TIE)

And as said, even with the EES and the ETIAS we will still have to be manually checked as we wont have the required visa waiver attached to the passport scan.

Scanned by the machines (there are loads all wrapped up at Alicante waiting to be put in)
I dont show my passport in or out to the border control just the TIE.

Why shouldn't all visa free nations use e-gates ? One of the benefits of e-gates in efficient countries is to speed up the immigration process and speed up the throughput at the port, rather than having queues of passengers at manual booths. It sounds dramatic saying 64 visa free nationalities but in reality only a very small number of those nations have any impact on Spanish ports. By far the largest is UK. It's nothing to do with Brexit and the UK not accepting what they voted for, it should be about effiency for the paying passengers arriving in Spanish airports whatever their nationality. Sadly the EU cant seem to get their act to gather in implimenting an efficient system, which is both long delayed and overspent.

The border control officer I got on my way out of Málaga looked as though it was his first day on the job. I handed over my TIE first and he looked at it, perplexed and had to ask his older colleague at the next desk about it - who pointed out the wording about the Withdrawal Agreement and explained that he shouldn't stamp my passport. You do wonder about the quality of the training these officers get.

There are lots of the new machines standing idle at Málaga too.

Those machines have been there stood idle for a long time now

Rules for residents are easy to remember:

• You may be directed to the EU lane... Or the non-EU lane.
• And your passport may not be stamped... Or it may be stamped.

Probably waiting for ETIAS which has been postponed again until 2026...

I think they will all potentially be using e-gates but the issue here is a proposal that UK passport holders use specifically EU passport e-gates.

It makes sense to have a separate EU passport lane to maintain faster throughput for those with EU membership privileges. The gates will presumably - given this proposal - have the same capabilities, but the checking process against the EES for non-EU passports will add a marginal overhead on processing time.

But if the EU is willing to countenance that amongst a package of other issues in an agreement which has some advantages for both parties, that ought to be seen as a positive.

Exactly. My passport gets randomly stamped at times but I don't care about the stamps or whether the entrance/exit ones match up or not.

Though you'd think that someone who is trained to do this professionally would never get this wrong. It can't be that difficult to remember: "Resident = no stamp."

Yes thats what I presumed

I dont know how the EU will eventually implement things but in my experience travelling extensively I have typically found that e-gates are e-gates and anyone who is entitled to use them uses the same gates. Example when arriving at Heathrow UK passport holders use the same e-gates as every other nationality and the same at most airports I have travelled through. Typically you dont see home country e-gates and separate e-gates for others.

You mean they've been haggling for months over a concession that isn't a concession at all?

I wonder how skilled negotiators managed to get it so wrong

Ive not suggested anyone has got it wrong, they have been haggling over the concession to use e-gates, you seemed to be implying that there are (or will be) different types of e-gates (EU and Non EU). All I was saying is that typically e-gates are e-gates, so the current EU only e-gates would become usable by anyone who qualifies, but perhaps in Spain they will do things differently, time will tell.