Spain Will Delay Ees Border Checks At Gibraltar

Spain will statesman implementing nan EU’s caller Entry/Exit System (EES) connected October 12, 2025, but nan first shape will only use to airports.

This intends location will beryllium nary contiguous alteration astatine nan Gibraltar–La Línea border, contempt earlier concerns of agelong queues and stricter controls.

The EES will switch manual passport stamping pinch biometric registration for non-EU nationals entering nan Schengen area. The strategy records fingerprints, facial images, and recreation details, aiming to fortify information and way overstays.

How Spain will shape successful nan EES

According to Spain’s Ministry of nan Interior, nan rollout will return spot successful 3 stages:

1. Airports – opening trial connected October 12 astatine Madrid-Barajas Airport.
2. Land borders – including Gibraltar and different outer frontiers, astatine a later, unspecified date.
3. Maritime borders – erstwhile Spanish ports complete method upgrades.

The EU has group April 10, 2026, arsenic nan last deadline for each personnel states to switch passport stamping pinch nan automated system.

Current Gibraltar separator arrangements

For now, interim arrangements stay successful place. Holders of Gibraltar’s reddish ID cards tin transverse into Spain without afloat third-country checks, avoiding passport stamps that would trigger nan 90/180-day enactment limit.

EU nationals tin still participate Gibraltar pinch conscionable an ID card. Spain has confirmed these measures are ineligible nether EU rule and airs nary information concerns.

These provisions will proceed while negotiations connected a UK–EU Gibraltar pact move forward.

Treaty talks purpose to debar disruption

Negotiators from nan UK, EU, Spain, and Gibraltar are pushing to finalise a pact that could efficaciously region nan beingness border. Senior EU charismatic Clara Alberola told nan European Parliament that nan extremity is to person nan pact successful spot by April 2026, earlier nan EES becomes mandatory astatine onshore crossings.

She warned nan timetable is “very ambitious,” but confirmed nan ineligible matter is “well advanced” and could beryllium fresh wrong months. (Cited by Gibraltar Chronicle.)

For thousands of cross-border workers, British expats, and predominant travellers, nan news offers impermanent relief. Concerns of queues, delays, and nan extremity of elastic recreation astatine nan Gibraltar obstruction person been postponed – astatine slightest until Spain originates nan 2nd shape of nan EES.

However, those affected must beryllium alert that erstwhile onshore separator checks are introduced, biometric registration will beryllium compulsory unless nan Gibraltar pact unafraid an statement to destruct nan beingness separator fence.

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