New era for Gibraltar as British territory’s border fence with Spain removed

British and Spanish nationals celebrate (Marcos Moreno/AP)

Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the British territory of Gibraltar no longer have to cross a physical border.

The official opening happened at midnight when a border fence was removed, allowing a new freedom of movement under a historic treaty agreed between the European Union and the UK after years of post-Brexit wrangling.

The contested British Overseas Territory of 38,000 people is perched at the southern end of the Iberian peninsula, a few miles from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

British and Spanish nationals celebrate passport-free travel (Marcos Moreno/AP)

Soon after midnight, crowds crossed freely between Spain’s La Línea de Concepción and Gibraltar in both directions. Many wore Spanish football jerseys after Spain’s victory against France in the World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, adding to the celebratory mood.

“What you feel here is the brotherhood between the two people,” Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.

When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc had been left unresolved.

Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress. In 2025, the EU and the UK announced an agreement on those issues, with the two sides and Gibraltar’s government signing a treaty on Tuesday that eases border crossings.

UK Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said on Tuesday that the agreement secured Gibraltar’s long-term economic future and interests.

Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade representative, said: “It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself. It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down.”

Workers dismantle a Spanish border checkpoint (Marcos Moreno/AP)

Without a deal, Gibraltar could have a faced a hard land border with full passport checks, posing economic risks for the territory deeply dependent on 15,000 Spaniards — almost half Gibraltar’s workforce — who cross the frontier every day for work.

Mendez Segura, 51, crossed into Gibraltar from Spain on Wednesday for work, unused to the newfound freedom of movement.

“I’ve been crossing over and working in Gibraltar all my life with my identity card,” the home care worker said. “I know you’ll be able to cross without it, but it’s just what I’m used to.”

Leisure visits by people crossing both sides of the border would have been affected too.

“People who are visiting family in Spain, or whose Spanish family is visiting them in Gibraltar; children who are going to football matches and extracurricular activities, either in Spain or in Gibraltar – they will be able to do that without having to worry about frontier queues,” Mr Picardo told the Associated Press.

The deal in effect brings the territory into the EU’s Schengen free travel area. At Gibraltar’s airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by UK and Spanish border officials, similar to what is in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris.

Cars crossing into Gibraltar (Marcos Moreno/AP)

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since, and relations between the two countries have had their ups and downs over the centuries. The treaty that removed the border fence does not resolve the territory’s contested status.

In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters on The Rock supported remaining in the EU.

With the border fence gone, Gibraltar officials have set up live facial recognition cameras at entry points and throughout the territory.

Mr Picardo said the territory will have many more CCTV cameras and that it has increased its police presence as well as resources for customs and coastguard agencies.

“The fortress has become a digital fortress now,” he said.