Gibraltar border chaos erupts as Spain stamps passports

Massive queues built up at Gibraltar’s land border with Spain after police insisted on stamping passports on all British nationals including Gibraltarians with red ID cards during rush hour.

Pictures from around 10.30am last Friday (February 21) show long queues at the border, sparking fears of another tit-for-tat exchange of tighter immigration controls.

Gibraltar citizens have red ID cards, which allow them to cross into Spain without requiring their passport to be stamped or having to provide further evidence of their reasons for travel.

As many as 15,000 residents cross the border daily for work.

However, this is a transitional measure while negotiations regarding Gibraltar continue between the EU and UK, with the measures reportedly making Spanish police officers uneasy.

Spanish police officers at the border were warned not to stamp the passports of Gibraltar residents with red ID cards in which the Policia Nacional chief inspector in charge at the frontier ordered strict Schengen checks.

The chief inspector’s order to tighten checks during the cross-border rush hour was short-lived and within an hour normality resumed, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle, although it was in place long enough for large numbers of Gibraltar residents to be affected.

A Spanish source told the outlet: "What should be clear is that border controls will remain as always, without the stamping [for Gibraltar red ID card holders]."

Spain hasn't so far implemented EU travel rules for Gibraltarians crossing its border, despite Brexit coming into effect on February 1 2020.

London and Brussels have been locked in negotiations over a new common travel area between Gibraltar and Spain, but have not yet been able to strike a deal.

In October, 12,000 protesters took to the streets of La Linea, demanding a Brexit treaty.

The protest, organised by local officials and supported by political and social groups, called for "special measures" to protect the city's economy.