Spain-Gibraltar Land Border Checks End as Gibraltar Joins Schengen Area

Border checks between Spain and Gibraltar ended shortly after midnight on Wednesday, allowing people and vehicles to cross the land frontier without routine customs or document inspections for the first time in years. Several hundred people gathered at the crossing, some waving Spanish flags, as the change took effect.

The agreement, signed Tuesday in Brussels by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Gibraltar, removes routine checks at the land border and incorporates Gibraltar into the Schengen passport-free area.

Travelers arriving at Gibraltar's airport and port from outside Schengen must still show passports to officials. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the agreement opens a new era for the territory and the adjoining Spanish region. Gibraltar, home to about 40,000 people across less than seven square kilometers, relies on 15,500 workers who cross daily from Spain.

Owen Smith, head of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, told AFP that previous checks created significant hassle that affected hiring and retention. Manuel Triano Paulete, secretary general of the CCOO trade union in Spain's Campo de Gibraltar region, said the change removes uncertainty for cross-border workers who previously faced unpredictable wait times.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to visit the frontier zone on Wednesday.

Gibraltar's economy centers on financial services and online gaming. EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič attended the signing with British and Spanish ministers and Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.