Gibraltar will remain British, but dual Gibraltarian-Spanish passport checks will be required for those arriving by air and sea, according to a new post-Brexit deal.
The UK, alongside the government of Gibraltar, has published a draft treaty with the EU that outlines the arrangements for a “fluid border” for people and goods.
The deal will mean no routine passport checks at the Spain-Gibraltar border for the 15,000 people who cross it every day.
Instead, checks will apply to those arriving by air, and if needed, at ports.
Those arriving by air and sea will face dual border controls: one check from Gibraltarian officials and another by the Spanish on behalf of the EU.
There will also be a tailored customs model to “eliminate burdensome goods checks”, the UK government said.
The draft agreement does not affect sovereignty, stating that nothing signed “shall constitute the basis for any assertion or denial of sovereignty” over the Rock, and protects UK autonomy of key military facilities.
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Gibraltar’s airport is run by the Ministry of Defence and hosts an RAF base. The overseas territory also has an important naval facility.
Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said the treaty protects the “British way of life” on the Rock, while “unlocking new opportunities for growth”.
The treaty, published in draft form on Thursday, still needs to be signed, ratified and implemented.
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In June 2025, the UK, EU, Spain and Gibraltar announced they had agreed on the core aspects of a future formal treaty between the EU and the UK in respect of Gibraltar.
At the time, the then foreign secretary, David Lammy, confirmed that UK nationals who are not residents of Gibraltar would have their time in the territory counted as part of the time-limited allowance for short stays in the Schengen area.
Citizens of countries outside the EU or Schengen area, including the UK, can only spend 90 days in the Schengen area in any 180-day period.
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The EU sees the checks at arrival points into Gibraltar as necessary to ensure that anyone entering the British territory and then crossing into Spain is complying with rules on staying in the Schengen area.
Shadow Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton said: “This is a treaty of over a thousand pages with profound constitutional changes that fundamentally reshapes how Gibraltar’s border, airport and legal framework will operate, yet Parliament has not seen a single page of it”.
“Any treaty that hands Spain new powers over entry, residency, infrastructure or enforcement must be examined line by line by parliament before it takes effect.”
Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the population has historically been heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.
The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the move.
Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
