TG criticises change to scholarship residency requirement

Together Gibraltar has criticised “surprise changes” to the residency requirement for access to scholarship awards, which has been increased from five to 10 years.
The move, first reported by the Chronicle on Saturday, was set out in new handbooks provided to students but was not accompanied by any announcement.

“Once again, a major policy shift has been rolled out without consultation, without transparency, and without even a basic information page for those who will be affected,” TG said in a statement, describing it as “another embarrassment of Gibraltar’s policymaking”.

Under the new criteria, applicants for awards “...must have been ordinarily resident in Gibraltar for a continuous period of ten years at the time you start the course,” the 2026 handbook states. Until now, it had been five years.

The Government said it would review how the policy is implemented after receiving representations following publication of the handbook.

It said it would make a statement after that review and that in the meantime, students should apply as normal.

For TG, that was recognition that the policy “has been rolled out poorly”.

“Whether it is closing major roads without considering the impact on residents, suspending residency applications overnight last month, or making sweeping changes to entitlements, this GSLP Government has shown itself incapable of forward planning or of drafting policies that take into account the people it impacts,” TG said in a statement.

“This latest decision is particularly distressing for students already at university. These students should have received clear guidance on whether their funding would continue and be allowed to focus on their studies.”

“Following the one sided tax treaty with Spain, many families moved to Gibraltar in good faith. They paid their taxes, played by the rules, and contributed to our community.”

“Now, they are being branded as freeloaders just for using the very benefits we used to attract them here in the first place.”

“If the Government believed this change was necessary, it should have been announced five years ago. Gibraltar cannot have its cake and eat it too.”

“If we want to attract families to live, work, and study here, we cannot offer a package of benefits to entice them and then strip those benefits away at the drop of a hat.”

TG said the latest change followed the “badly managed” suspension of applications for residency permits, which it said “continues to rattle” the business community and could have been avoided with transparent communication and proper planning.

“As the party for everyone who chooses to make Gibraltar their long-term home, Together Gibraltar calls on the government to respect the grants of those who would have qualified under the original residency criteria,” the statement added.

“We also call on the government to end this spree of reckless policy changes that risk damaging Gibraltar’s reputation at a time when the world is watching.”