Gibraltar warns of border trouble with Spain if post-Brexit deal not reached by November

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA)- The government of Gibraltar warned this week of significant changes for cross-border travel between Spain if a post-Brexit agreement is not reached before November.

Negotiations between Spain, the EU and the UK about the fate of the small British overseas territory at the tip of the Iberian Peninsula are still ongoing.

But the countdown is on until November, when the EU’s free travel Schengen Zone’s new automated entry and exit system is set to come into effect.

Spanish authorities are already installing the infrastructure that would replace manual procedures that treat holders of Gibraltar identity cards differently than their British counterparts.

In the case of an automated system without a deal, the Gibraltar government says that all non-Schengen citizens, including Gibraltarians, would likely need to satisfy requirements to enter the EU including possessing a passport, justifying their purpose for travel, showing they have enough money and not having been in the area for more than 90 days in any 180 days.

“The outcome of this questioning could lead to refusals of entry to Spain and the Schengen Area for those who, in the eyes of the Schengen authorities, including the Spanish authorities at the land border with Spain, do not meet the entry conditions,” says the government statement.

Further, the automated IT system would collect biometric data from first-time travelers into the Schengen Area, which Gibraltar warns could cause significant border delays for a few days.

While Gibraltar says it is still “unclear” about the “exact nature” of the system, longer delays would be possible if facial recognition facilities are not installed.

The Gibraltar government also said that it plans to retaliate if a deal is not reached with the EU in time.

“Gibraltar would… enhance its own border control infrastructure providing for the use of e-gates and automated systems which would also process biometric data as is becoming customary at borders across the globe,” reads the statement.

In mid-2025 a new travel pre-authorization scheme to enter the Schengen Zone is also set to become operational.

The Gibraltar government says it is expected that Gibraltarians, British citizens and other non-EU citizens resident in Gibraltar would be exempt from both the automated system and pre-authorization scheme if a treaty is reached.

In May, negotiators met and said they agreed on “general political lines” about a post-Brexit treaty. It never went beyond that.

Earlier this week, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said negotiations with the UK’s new government will resume “as soon as possible” and from the point where they left off.