Spain-Gibraltar land border opens after 117 years, ending daily queues for 15,000 cross-border workers

A century-old barrier comes down

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, thousands of people crossed the border line in both directions without controls for the first time in over a century. Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and La Línea mayor Juan Franco were the first to make the official passage, according to Spanish daily El País. Workers symbolically tore down a section of the iron fence during a ceremony, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to join the celebrations in La Línea later that day.

Europe is back.

The border fence, erected in 1908 and stretching roughly one kilometre, is set to be fully removed this week. The two main gates were dismantled first. Around 150 metres of the 1.2 km boundary between the Rock and the Spanish mainland will remain unfenced and be monitored by police presence and cameras.

A deal born from Brexit

A February agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom made the change possible, entering into force on 15 July. Gibraltar will now align closely with the Schengen area and new EU customs rules, though it remains outside Schengen itself. Passport controls will be restricted to Gibraltar's airport, the Joshua Hassan terminal, and its seaport, where both British and Spanish officers will conduct entry and exit checks. Non-EU nationals on short stays, including Britons, will be registered in the EU's biometric Entry/Exit System. British citizens can still stay up to 90 days within any 180-day period without a visa in Gibraltar, with those days counting against their Schengen allowance.

The 15,000 commuters who cross daily

More than 15,000 cross-border workers travel between the economically struggling Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción in Cádiz province and Gibraltar every day, roughly two-thirds of them Spanish nationals. For these commuters, passport and ID checks at the land crossing are now eliminated. Delays had become routine, particularly during rush hour.

I have waited three, four hours, some days even longer, up to seven hours. The ordeal is finally over.

The Spanish medical assistant, who has crossed the border to work in Gibraltar for 30 years, spoke to broadcaster RTVE. The agreement is also intended to ease economic cooperation across the region.

A digital fortress

Chief Minister Picardo told the Associated Press that additional facial-recognition cameras and more personnel for police, customs and the coast guard will be deployed.

From the fortress it has now become a digital fortress.

Workers were still installing surveillance cameras and removing walls from customs barracks as the new regime took effect, with Union Jack, Gibraltar and Commonwealth flags flying from freshly installed masts.

Sovereignty dispute unresolved

The 2016 Brexit referendum saw roughly 96% of Gibraltar's 34,000 residents vote to remain in the EU, yet the territory had to leave alongside the United Kingdom. After years of negotiations, the compromise eases border traffic but leaves the sovereignty question untouched. Spain continues to regard Gibraltar as a colony and illegally occupied territory. A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the deal secures long-term movement of people and goods while protecting the constitutional position of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the moment as one where both sides "shake hands" for the first time in three centuries, referencing Britain's seizure of the Rock in 1704. The 6.5 square kilometre territory was formally ceded by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. British media called the change the biggest shift in Gibraltar's status since it became part of Great Britain.