Spain has issued a striking internal order to not apply the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) to people from Gibraltar – despite no clear legal basis for doing so.
The instruction came from the Policia Nacional, specifically its immigration and borders division, and was sent to all air, sea and land border posts across the country on April 22, reports Europa Sur.
Officers were told not to register Gibraltar nationals in the EES, which has been fully operational since April 10.
The EES is mandatory under EU rules for all non-EU travellers crossing external Schengen borders for short stays. It replaces passport stamping with biometric and digital records.
But the Spanish police instruction explicitly excludes Gibraltar nationals, without citing any legal provision to justify it.
The same message also mentions citizens of Andorra, though they are already exempt under EU rules, along with Monaco and San Marino, due to their special status within the Schengen framework.
Why Spain is bending the rules
In practice, Spain has already been applying this exception at the La Línea border crossing. The reasons appear to be both logistical and political.
On one hand, there are concerns about staffing levels needed to properly implement the system. On the other, a broader agreement between the EU and the UK over Gibraltar is expected to come into force on July 15. That deal would effectively remove the need for EES checks at the border altogether.
Until then, Gibraltar residents continue to cross into Spain much as they have for years.
Legal limbo
The decision may simplify life at the border but it creates complications elsewhere.
For example, if a Gibraltar resident enters Spain without being registered in the system and later tries to fly from Malaga to a non-Schengen country like Turkey, the system may flag them as having entered illegally because there’s no digital record of their arrival.
The reverse can also happen. If they enter Schengen through an airport and are registered, but later exit via Gibraltar without being logged out of the system, they could appear to have overstayed the 90-day limit, risking denial of entry next time they travel.
A temporary workaround
In effect, Spain’s instruction looks like an attempt to create a temporary workaround ahead of the expected EU–UK agreement on Gibraltar.
But he Schengen Borders Code does not currently allow for this exception.
That leaves border officers following orders that don’t fully align with EU law and travellers caught in a system that may not recognise their movements correctly.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
