New era for Gibraltar with removal of 118-year-old border controls with Spain
It is hoped that free movement between the UK territory and Spain will provide an economic boost.
By BBC News
Border controls between Gibraltar and Spain will be removed on 15 July, ending a 118-year system of routine checks and allowing free movement across the land border . Spanish workers have already torn down border barriers and removed police auxiliary buildings on the Spanish side, marking the first time in about three centuries that no checkpoints exist between the two territories .
The change follows a UK-EU treaty that enters provisional application on 15 July after four years of negotiations, abolishing the land border for around 15,000 daily cross-border workers . External border control will shift to Gibraltar’s airport and port, where travelers will face checks by both Gibraltar and Spanish officials, with Spain holding final say on entry .
Royal Gibraltar Police inspection booths at the land border will also be removed, bringing Gibraltar into the EU’s Schengen free-travel area for land crossings . The arrangement is currently provisional, as signing and Council approval are still pending, meaning some timeline and terms could shift before full implementation .
It is hoped that the new freedom of movement will provide an economic boost to the UK territory by removing the daily bottleneck that has long queued workers at the frontier .