Spain gets new powers over visas, residence permits in Gibraltar

Jorge Valero and Ellen Milligan, Bloomberg News on Jun 19, 2025

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BRUSSELS — The European Union and UK agreed to give Spain new powers over the issuance of residency permits, visas and asylum in Gibraltar, as part of an accord to settle the post-Brexit border arrangements for the British overseas territory.

A special role is foreseen for Spain in Gibraltar, a European Commission spokesperson told Bloomberg. The new system will allow Madrid to ensure the EU’s visa-free Schengen area will be fully preserved once border protections are removed between the territory and the South of Spain.

A political agreement reached in early June, if ratified, will eliminate all physical barriers, checks and controls on people and goods moving between Gibraltar and Spain, while establishing dual border controls at the port and airport of the territory.

The authorities in Gibraltar will be able to issue a limited number of visas on humanitarian grounds with validity limited to its territory, an EU official said.

Both Schengen authorities and Gibraltar will play a role in asylum cases, said the official who was granted anonymity to share private discussions. The territory’s government told Bloomberg that they would get the final decision on asylum cases and that while Spain will carry out residency checks, they will decide to grant a permit or not.

Negotiating teams are finalizing the details of the agreement and will then begin the adoption and ratification process.

Gibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory that’s reliant on the free movement of people traveling to and from Spain, which Brexit was meant to limit. Around 15,000 Spanish workers cross daily to work in the territory of 34,000 where both sides have been trying to avoid a hard border torpedoing the free flow of people and goods.

The agreement “does not compromise sovereignty in any respect and provides huge opportunities for traders in Gibraltar while, simultaneously, protecting the fluidity of people necessary for the continued success and expansion of our services industries, especially the online gaming, insurance and financial services sectors,” a spokesperson with the Gibraltar government said.

The accord also foresees strong police and law enforcement, people familiar with the matter said.

The new powers for Spain come against the backdrop of the difficult discussions both sides had over the status of Gibraltar airport and who controls it, with the UK insisting it won’t agree to anything that compromises Gibraltar’s sovereignty.

The post-Brexit status of Gibraltar, a territory that the Spanish crown ceded to the UK in 1713, has been dragging on since the UK left the EU more than five years ago. The breakthrough achieved earlier this month came against the backdrop of the warmer ties between Brussels and the Labour government led by Keir Starmer.

Both sides concluded in May a bilateral defense agreement and deals to ease the regulatory burden for UK firms exporting to the EU or EU fishermen access to the UK waters.

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