Gibraltar-Spain border opens: What it means for residents and tourists

On July 15, the land border between Gibraltar and Spain ceased to exist in its previous form. At midnight, border guards left their posts, and the control infrastructure was dismantled.

This became possible after Great Britain and the European Union signed an agreement on Gibraltar on Tuesday, July 14, in Brussels, ensuring free movement of people and goods between the British overseas territory and Spain.

The document, signed in the presence of the Chief Minister of Gibraltar and the Foreign Minister of Spain, became an outcome of continuous negotiations, launched after the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

“Gibraltar was left out of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement following Brexit, creating the prospect of a devastating ‘hard border’ for the 15,000 people – over half of Gibraltar’s workforce – who cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day,” a press release from the UK Government reads.

According to the agreements reached, Gibraltar will retain its status as a British territory and remain under British sovereignty. Regular checks on land with Spain will be abolished, and trade and travel regulations will be partially aligned with the EU standards. This is expected to facilitate the movement of people and strengthen the region's economic stability.

For travelers, the new procedure will resemble the current mechanisms for crossing the external borders of the Schengen Area. At Gibraltar's airport and seaports, passengers will first undergo British passport control, then European passport control procedures. After completing the necessary procedures, they will be able to travel more freely between Gibraltar and Schengen countries.

However, Gibraltar will not become part of the Schengen Area and will retain its own visa system. The territory also remains under British sovereignty, but thanks to the new treaty, the land line between it and Spain will effectively cease to be a full-fledged border barrier.

The opening of the border was accompanied by celebrations, with thousands of residents gathering at the border crossing, where representatives of Gibraltar and Spain symbolically marked the end of years of separation.

However, the treaty remains a politically sensitive issue. Spain still asserts territorial claims to Gibraltar, although it agreed to put the sovereignty dispute aside for the sake of a practical solution. In the UK, some Brexit supporters have criticized the agreement, arguing that it could weaken British control over the territory.

The border between Gibraltar and Spain was closed in 1969 by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. This was Madrid's last attempt to regain the territory that Spain had ceded to Great Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

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