Gibraltar’s border controls lifted: Is it part of Schengen, the UK – or both? | | Border Conflict Issues

Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar will no longer cross the border from Wednesday.

The move comes after the European Union and the United Kingdom on Tuesday signed an agreement that provides “financial and trade guarantees for people and businesses in Gibraltar, safeguarding British sovereignty and safeguarding UK military operations”.

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The agreement was signed in Brussels by European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and Gibraltar Prime Minister Fabian Picardo.

“Gibraltar was left out of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement following Brexit, creating the prospect of a ‘hard border’ for the 15,000 people – more than half of Gibraltar’s workforce – who cross the border between Spain and Gibraltar every day,” the agreement said.

Here’s what we know about the deal:

What does the contract include?

Britain secured Gibraltar, Spain’s most important southern stronghold, in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession.

The rival British overseas territory of 38,000 people is conveniently located, just 8 miles (15km) from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

The new agreement allows Gibraltar residents to cross into Spain using resident cards without having to stamp their passports. In return, Spanish citizens will be allowed to enter Gibraltar using a government passport.

The agreement brings Gibraltar into the EU’s Schengen area, which allows people from 29 countries to travel between them freely without the need for visas.

At the airport and port of Gibraltar, entry and exit checks will be carried out by British and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what is happening at Eurostar stations in London and Paris, where British and French officials check passports.

Travelers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen area, including the UK, must contend with the EU Entry/Exit System, which was introduced in Europe in April and replaces passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital stamps.

Under the old system, each person had to face two border checks, one from the Gibraltarian border and the other from Spanish authorities when entering or leaving the Schengen area. The checks led to long queues, which caused a lot of confusion for the workers who make the daily crossing.

The British government said the deal would bring “fluidity for people and goods across the Gibraltar-Spain border to support economic growth and jobs in the region”.

What were the motivations behind the deal, and how does Brexit figure into it?

In the 2016 referendum in which UK voters agreed to leave the EU, 96 percent of voters on the “Rock”, as Gibraltar is better known in English, supported remaining in the bloc.

When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc did not end. Previous talks on an agreement to ensure the continued flow of people and goods across the border stalled progress.

Although the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 2021, had a significant impact on the relationship between the bloc and Britain, it was decided that Gibraltar should be addressed in separate negotiations due to its special status because it is not part of the EU or the Schengen area.

In 2025, the EU and the UK announced an agreement on negotiations after more than three and a half years.

Does the treaty place Gibraltar in a special position, and do any other British overseas territories have similar privileges?

Yes, Gibraltar is in a unique position because it has now gained access to the EU without being a true member of the EU.

However, it is under British control, and the deal only aims to end the post-Brexit relationship with the EU and border management due to its open border with the EU.

No other British overseas territory, which includes 14 territories scattered across the Caribbean and Antarctica, has the same level of cooperation as Gibraltar because of shared borders.

Some territories have international systems, including Bermuda, which has its own customs and taxation system, and the Falkland Islands, which are self-governing.