The British citizens who can travel anywhere in Europe without post-Brexit rules
GIBRALTAR – Ahistoric post-Brexit dealcomes into action next week, when residents ofGibraltarwill be able to stroll across intoSpainand surrounding Europe without any checks or restrictions. Long queues for. . .
GIBRALTAR – Ahistoric post-Brexit dealcomes into action next week, when residents ofGibraltarwill be able to stroll across intoSpainand surrounding Europe without any checks or restrictions. Long queues for the double police checkpoints where travellers have had to present passports to officials from both Spain and the British overseas territory will be gone when the land border disappears forever next Wednesday. British citizens living on “the Rock” will be able to travel anywhere in the Schengen area without being subject to the post-Brexit rule that restricts Britons tostaying only 90 days in every 180 in the European Union. ShortsSince news of the deal last year, there has already beena surge of interest among Britons who want to move to sunny Gibraltarand benefit from its low taxes, Mediterranean sunshine and restriction-free travel. The Gibraltar Government has temporarily paused new applications since last October. Paul Duck, managing director of Chestertons, the territory’s biggest estate agent, toldThei Paperthat “hundreds” of people had expressed an interest in buying or renting properties there. The average property purchase in 2024-25 was £587,000, according to the Gibraltar Office of Fair Trading. Many more are now expected to move to Gibraltar and take advantage of its unique combination of British and European culture. “Don’t forget that Gibraltar is not part of England; we are a mixture of Mediterranean-British,” said Brian Reyes, editor ofThe Gibraltar Chronicle. “I am sure we will carry on eating fish and chips and continue with all the traditions of the Rock which make it what it is. ”The border between Spain and Gibraltar. Work began last month to remove the historic border fence, which will be taken down for good on 15 July following the agreement with the EU (Photo: Francisco J Olmo/Getty)The Rock’s population is a diverse mix of Gibraltarians, British émigrés, Maltese, Genovese and Moroccans. Among the 40,000 residents, many religions are represented, with Christians living here alongside Jewish and Muslim people. The marina is full of superyachts, reflecting its status as a destination where high-rollers from around the world like to work and play. Owen Smith, chairperson of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, says the Rock might now see the arrival of Spanish fashion brand Zara and other European companies. “Gibraltar has been insulated from many of the challenges which high streets in the UK face. It has many locally owned businesses and fewer franchise posts. It is one of the challenges to try to retain that uniqueness,” he said. “I do think there is a chance we may lose some of our British retail experience. ”Until now, Gibraltar has appeared more British than Britain, with its British bobbies, red postboxes and London black cabs – albeit with the backdrop of Spanish sunshine. Mike Nicholls, CEO of Chesterton’s estate agents, believes Gibraltar will experience more of a European influence. “I sense we will feel a little bit more European. We will have the benefits of Europe, a low-tax economy and British traditions,” he said. “On the other hand, we have enjoyed a low crime [society]. Now the people we don’t want, the unsavoury ones, may find it easier to come in. ”The marina at Gibraltar, the tiny British overseas territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula (Photo: Burak Akbulut/Getty)Perhaps conscious of that potential risk, authorities in Gibraltar have erected new high-security fencing at the border with CCTV cameras. They have also ordered a new fleet of London black cabs and red postboxes – perhaps to safeguard its Britishness, or to please the tourists. The dissolution of the land frontier will be the biggest change to a British Overseas Territory since Britain handed back governance of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and will end hundreds of years of border disputes between Gibraltar and Spain. The European Union and Britain reached an agreement on the status of Gibraltar last year, ending the years of political limbo that had hung over the Rock since theBrexitvote in 2016. “This will in effect undo the damage that Brexit did to Gibraltar and that we have been able to keep at bay with these negotiations,” Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar Chief Minister, toldThe i Paperin an earlier interview. The deal will ensure the 15,000 Spanish workers who make the daily commute into the Rock to work and keep the place going will face no hold-ups. Smith warns that some local businesses are concerned about new taxes as Gibraltar moves closer to Europe. They currently pay an import duty of between 0 and 12 per cent, but under the agreement between the UK and Brussels, they must pay a standard 15 per cent transaction tax, which can be passed on to the customer. But he says tourist-focused companies will not be affected. Legend has it that if Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaque monkeys ever leave the Rock, then it will cease to be a British territory (Photo: Florian Gaertner/Getty)Roland Walker – whose father opened Roy’s Fish and Chips when he moved from Kent to the Rock in 1989 – believes the deal will be good for business. “I think the agreement will bring more tourists, which will be a good thing. At the moment, our customers are mainly Brits and Americans, not Spaniards, but that may change when the border disappears,” he said. At present, the only flights into Gibraltar come from the UK, but Visit Gibraltar, the tourist office for the Rock, said that a number of European airlines had expressed interest in launching services to the British overseas territory. After 15 July, anyone flying into the airport or arriving or stopping off at the port will have the novel experience of having their passport checked by Gibraltarian and Spanish police. Legend has it that if Gibraltar’s famous Barbary macaque monkeys ever leave the Rock, then it will cease to be British. However, British sovereignty was never on the table during four years of torturously slow diplomatic talks to iron out a deal. On the other side of the border in Spain, Juan Franco, mayor of La Linea de la Concepción, has already seen a radical change since the deal was announced last year. La Linea has long been one of Spain’s poorest towns with an unemployment rate of 29 per cent, and has been plagued by drug smuggling from Morocco. But Franco says wealthy Gibraltarians and Britons arenow buying up propertiesin select parts of town and gentrifying areas he likened to Sotogrande – an exclusive area south of Marbella on Spain’s south coast. New businesses are investing in the town, with restaurants opening and people visiting from Gibraltar to go shopping, see a concert or visit its cafes. But the mayor said there was a downside. “It is pushing up prices beyond what local people can afford. It is creating a divide,” he said.