UK visitors to Gibraltar could be refused entry by Spanish frontier officials – even if they have a passport valid for the British Overseas Territory. They would then be sent home on the next plane.
As part of a post-Brexit treaty, Spain will check the passports of British travellers flying to Gibraltar. The move marks a breakthrough in discussions that have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
The deal has been constructed to allow a free flow of passengers, vehicles and goods across the land frontier between Gibraltar and Spain. In order to achieve this, Gibraltar must be treated the same as the Schengen area – the passport-free zone that includes almost all the European Union, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
These are the key questions and answers.
What will happen at Gibraltar’s frontiers?
Visitors arriving by air or sea from a non-EU port to the British Overseas Territory will face two passport checks on arrival. The existing examination by Gibraltar’s Borders and Coastguard Agency will be augmented by a Spanish frontier post.
Consequently, the “third-country” rules that the Boris Johnson government negotiated for UK citizens will apply to the territory.
Spain will have the final say on whether a UK traveller can enter Gibraltar. Spanish officials will “refuse entry to third country nationals who do not fulfil the entry conditions”. Unless they meet the “Schengen rules” for passport validity and maximum length of stay, they will be flown back to the UK.
These rules will not apply to residents of Gibraltar.
As Spain gains control of the territory’s border, officials are at pains to stress that Gibraltar will not become part of the Schengen area. The chief minister, Fabian Picardo, says: “Gibraltar will remain outside both Schengen and the EU, but Schengen border rules will apply at its external border.”
How different will it be from a Schengen area frontier?
None that a new arrival will notice except for the initial Gibraltar formalities. Mr Picardo says: “A new facility for passport checks will be built at our airport so we can carry out cumulative passport checks on arrivals from third countries.
“In this Agreement, the first hand on the gate remains a British hand. The first check is a British check.”
At the second check, the red tape that British travellers will face is exactly the same as any Schengen frontier post. Because the Gibraltar-Spain border controls will be removed – allowing free movement as far as the Arctic and the Baltic – there is no alternative to treating UK arrivals as entering the European frontier-free zone.
Customs rules for the European Union will also be applied, meaning that no dairy or meat products can be taken from the UK into Gibraltar.
What will change?
At present British visitors to Gibraltar must simply have a valid passport and can stay up to 90 days. The only rule: “Your passport must not expire during your planned visit to Gibraltar.”
When the agreement takes effect, British passports will need to meet two stricter requirements:
- Under 10 years old on the day of entry to Gibraltar
- At least three months remaining on the intended day of departure from Gibraltar or the Schengen area
Under the EU’s entry-exit system, they will need to provide a facial biometric and fingerprints.
One contingent of British travellers may benefit from the change: thosee who use Gibraltar as the best access point for some nearby locations in Andalucia. Mr Picardo said: “Ppeople cleared at the airport will be able to travel freely between Gibraltar, Spain and the wider Schengen area, meaning an end to often lengthy queues for businesses, workers and visitors crossing the land border.
Holders of Irish passports – or any identity document issued by an EU nation – will be allowed entry to Gibraltar up to the expiry date, while British travellers will be barred once their passport has less than three months remaining. There is likely to be a fast track for EU arrivals.
How long can British passport holders stay in Gibraltar?
The special status of Gibraltar to enable extended stays in the Mediterranean will end.
At the moment, time spent in Gibraltar does not count towards the “90 days in any 180 days” limit that the UK negotiated for British travellers after Brexit.
UK citizens who are nearing the maximum 90-day stay in Spain or elsewhere can currently cross the land border into Gibraltar and continue to enjoy Mediterranean life until the calendar permits them to return to the Schengen area.
This option will cease, and could mean that UK long-stayers travel across to Morocco instead.
This story was first published in June 2025 and is kept updated with the latest information
Read more: What are the new ETA travel rules and how do they affect dual citizens?
