Concern as Spanish border guards again tighten controls, albeit briefly

Spanish border police stamped the passports of Gibraltarian red ID card holders for a short period on Friday, raising fears of another tit-for-tat exchange of tighter immigration controls.

The measure started at around midday and remained in place until about 1.45pm, prompted by an order issued by a senior Policia Nacional officer on duty at the border.

The Gibraltar Government noted the action and was preparing to take reciprocal steps, although ultimately these were not necessary as the tighter Spanish controls were lifted soon thereafter.

The decision to stamp passports was taken by the same officer who triggered rush hour chaos last month when his order to stamp Gibraltar passports led to reciprocal controls on Gibraltar’s side of the border.

Under temporary arrangements in place since the end of the transition period, British nationals with red ID cards - including most Gibraltarians - are allowed to cross without passport stamping or additional scrutiny, part of goodwill measures pending the outcome of talks for a UK/EU treaty on the Rock’s future relations with the bloc.

Without those arrangements, Gibraltar residents would have to have their passports stamped and could be asked to provide details of travel arrangements including hotel bookings and proof of means of subsistence. They would also be limited to maximum stays of 90 days in any 180-day period.

But the arrangements appear to be making some Spanish police officers uneasy.

According to Europa Sur, the officer who on both occasions issued the order to tighten controls is concerned that allowing Gibraltar residents to cross without passport stamps could leave both him and his officers exposed to legal consequences for failing to apply Schengen rules.

The officer has reportedly written on four occasions to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior seeking written authority to waive the Schengen controls but had yet to receive it.

On Friday, he was finally ordered by the provincial Policia Nacional headquarters to lift the controls, Spanish media reported.

For the Gibraltar Government, the “rogue officer” had taken steps to “…countermand the transitional provision agreed between the governments of Spain, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Gibraltar, which enables both Spain and Gibraltar not to require individuals moving between Gibraltar and the Schengen area to show their passports if they are remaining in Gibraltar or Spain.”

“Once again, decisions of the type taken today by the rogue officer in question cause difficulties for ordinary people who need or wish to move from one side of the frontier to the other, when the sole reason for being a public servant or in public life should be to make the lives of people easier so long as they are in keeping with all applicable rules and relevant agreements entered into between nations,” a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place said.

After the measure was lifted, border flow returned to normality and remained fluid for the remainder of the afternoon.