Gibraltar & The Treaty — The Reading Room
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Gibraltar & The Treaty — The Reading RoomGibraltar and the treaty, in plain words

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Where the texts come from

The English texts come from the official English versions published by the European Union (EU) on EUR-Lex, the United Kingdom (UK) on GOV.UK and UK Parliament, and Gibraltar (the Acts and legal notices that change Gibraltar's law for the treaty, from Gibraltar Laws and the Gibraltar Gazette, and Gibraltar Parliament records: Hansard, Bills and Command Papers), plus HM Government of Gibraltar and European Commission press releases where a statement is quoted. Where a text exists only in Spanish (BOE), we quote it in Spanish and say so, and any translation beside it is ours.

Last checked: 29 October 2026

Aviation and the airport

In force since 15 July 2026

Flights between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom (UK) may be operated only by UK air carriers or carriers the UK authorises, under UK law. Flights between Gibraltar and the European Union (EU) may be operated only by EU carriers or carriers authorised under EU law. Passengers on flights from outside the Schengen area go through Schengen border checks at the airport, and the airline must pass the passenger data to the Schengen Authority at the same time; captains of private flights must send a general declaration before take-off.

What to do

  • UK flights. Air transport between Gibraltar airport and points in the UK "may be provided only by air carriers of the United Kingdom or by air carriers authorised by the United Kingdom".
  • Passenger data. A carrier responsible for a flight that starts outside the Schengen area and arrives in Gibraltar must copy the passenger information it sends to Gibraltar's Principal Immigration Officer to the Schengen Authority at the same time, electronically, by the end of check-in. Not doing so, or sending incomplete or false data, is an offence. The captain of a private flight arriving from or departing to a third country sends a general declaration, with a flight plan and the identity of everyone on board, before take-off.
  • Carbon pricing. The treaty says the UK's carbon pricing system covers all flights between the UK and Gibraltar and the EU's covers all flights between the European Economic Area and Gibraltar.
  • Also in force, not read in detail here. The 14 July 2026 Gibraltar regulations on airport charges, groundhandling, slot allocation and passengers with reduced mobility are held in the library.

The Spanish side

  • Spain's side of the airport is the Schengen first-line checks carried out by Spanish officers in the immigration booths (administrative arrangement on border checks, section 2.1, published in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE)); not read in full here.

Forms you need

  • None found (the general declaration for private flights is set out in the text of , not as a form).
Official sources (title, number, date, exact passage)
Air transport services between Gibraltar airport and points in the United Kingdom may be provided only by air carriers of the United Kingdom or by air

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

carriers authorised by the United Kingdom. These services shall be provided in accordance with the law of the United Kingdom.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

Air transport services between Gibraltar airport and points in the Union territory may be provided only by air carriers of the Union or by air carriers authorised under Union law.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

As regards aviation, the scope of the Union system of carbon pricing shall cover all flights between the European Economic Area and Gibraltar. The scope of the United Kingdom system of carbon pricing shall cover all flights between the United Kingdom and Gibraltar.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

A carrier responsible for a flight originating outside the Schengen area and arriving in Gibraltar, shall transfer a copy of the relevant information sent to the Principal Immigration Officer under rule 3(1) to the Schengen Authority simultaneously and without delay.

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Advance Passenger Information) Regulations 2026, 2026/202, 14 Jul 2026

The captain of a private flight arriving from or departing to a third country shall, transmit to the Principal Immigration Officer and the Schengen Authority a general declaration.

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Advance Passenger Information) Regulations 2026, 2026/202, 14 Jul 2026

transmitted to the Schengen Authority by the end of passenger check-in.

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Advance Passenger Information) Regulations 2026, 2026/202, 14 Jul 2026

Schengen border entry and exit first-line checks at Gibraltar airport shall take place

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Border Checks and Alerts) Regulations 2026, 2026/165, 09 Jul 2026

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Construction: materials in, workers across the frontier

Partly answered

Building materials from Spain or the EU come into Gibraltar by land under the special transit, and transaction tax is charged when they are brought into Gibraltar (15% in the first year of the treaty). Workers: the treaty's frontier-worker rights cover EU citizens who live in Spain and UK nationals who live in Gibraltar, and their family members; a worker who is neither is not covered by them.

What to do

  • Materials. Goods in free circulation in the EU move by the T2GI transit; transaction tax and, where it applies, excise duty are charged on presentation to customs in Gibraltar. The standard rate in the first 12 months after entry into force of the treaty is 15%, then 16% for the second year, then "17% or such rate as may be the lowest applied by any Member State at that time" (the Act's words; we did not check how they apply). Reduced rates and exemptions in the Act's schedules apply to some goods; we did not check building products against them.
  • Employees. An "employed frontier worker" is a person covered by the treaty (an EU citizen legally living in Spain, or a UK national legally living in Gibraltar) who works in one place and returns at least once a week to the other. Gibraltar's Frontier Workers Regulations (in operation 13 August 2026) give the right to a certificate of status, valid for one year, applied for online.
  • Posted workers. EU citizens living in an EU country who are employed by an employer that normally operates there and are posted for a limited time to Gibraltar "to supply services that are both locally produced and consumed at the contiguous frontier zone" may enter, leave and stay in Gibraltar as needed to supply them and have equal treatment on the listed terms of employment. The text does not say whether building work on the Rock is such a service; we found no official text that settles it.
  • Third-country nationals. The treaty's frontier-worker part applies to the persons it names. We found no official text that gives a worker from a third country who lives in Spain a right to work in Gibraltar under the treaty. Residence permits issued in Gibraltar before the treaty took effect stay valid for two calendar years or until they expire, whichever comes first; later permits follow the treaty's rules for who may hold one.

The Spanish side

  • Spain's posting rules are in Ley 45/1999 (filed in the library) and the unemployment rules for frontier workers are on the SEPE pages (also filed); we have not re-read them for this page.

Forms you need

  • Certificate of status for frontier workers: made online on the relevant pages of www.egov.gi, with a valid identity document and evidence of being a frontier worker.
Official sources (title, number, date, exact passage)
(a) where goods which were in free circulation in the Union and which are moved to Gibraltar having been transported under the special transit system for Gibraltar (in accordance with the procedure provided for in Annex 19), upon presentation of the goods to customs;

Treaty on Gibraltar and the European Union Act 2026 (Act No. 2026-11), Gibraltar

(a) in the period ending 12 months following the entry into force of the TGEU (year 1): 15%. (b) in the period commencing after 12 months following the entry into force of the TGEU and ending 24 months following the entry into force of the TGEU (year 2): 16%.

Treaty on Gibraltar and the European Union Act 2026 (Act No. 2026-11), Gibraltar

(c) after 24 months following the entry into force of the TGEU: 17% or such rate as may be the lowest applied by any Member State at that time.

Treaty on Gibraltar and the European Union Act 2026 (Act No. 2026-11), Gibraltar

Union citizens legally residing in the Kingdom of Spain; (b) United Kingdom nationals legally residing in Gibraltar; and (c) family members of the persons referred to in point (a)

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

persons referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 who pursue an economic activity as an employed person either in Gibraltar or in the Kingdom of Spain and who return at least once a week to the Kingdom of Spain or to Gibraltar, respectively, are employed frontier workers.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

Commencement 13.8.2026

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Frontier Workers) Regulations 2026, 2026/319, 13 Aug 2026

(7) A certificate of status issued under these Regulations is valid for one year from the date of issue.

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Frontier Workers) Regulations 2026, 2026/319, 13 Aug 2026

(a) be made online, submitted electronically using the relevant pages of www.egov.gi;

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Frontier Workers) Regulations 2026, 2026/319, 13 Aug 2026

who are posted for a limited period by that employer to Gibraltar to supply services that are both locally produced and consumed at the contiguous frontier zone on that employer's behalf,

Government of Gibraltar, TGEU Implementation (Frontier Workers) Regulations 2026, 2026/319, 13 Aug 2026

Residence permits issued by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom, in respect of Gibraltar, prior to the date of entry into force of this Agreement shall remain valid for a period of two calendar years after that date or until their expiration date, whichever comes first.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

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Online gambling: the real impact

Treaty changes little

The treaty text has no part on gambling, so it gives no EU market access to Gibraltar gambling firms and takes none away. Gibraltar's own gambling law and its UK-facing market are unchanged by it. What can change for these firms is the people and the rules around them: who may work in Gibraltar and live in Spain, anti-money-laundering standards, and Spain's own law on offering games to people in Spain.

What to do

  • What the treaty says about gambling. We searched the full text of both volumes for "gambling", "gaming" and "betting". "Gambling" appears once, in the list of criminal offences in Annex ("Offences related to illegal gambling"); "gaming" and "betting" do not appear as words (the three matches for "betting" are inside "abetting"). The word "financial services" does not appear either. So we found no treaty provision on market access or licensing for gambling.
  • Gibraltar's law. The Gambling Act 2025 (Act 2026-04) came into operation on 1 April 2026, all except sections 55 to 77 (Notice of Commencement LN 2026/064), and the Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026 (LN 2026/065) carry the commencement date 1 April 2026. They are Gibraltar's own measures, not treaty measures.
  • The UK market. The Government of Gibraltar's press release 755/2026 (7 October 2026) records the Minister raising "the impact of increases in UK gambling taxation on Gibraltar's gaming sector". That is a UK tax matter, not a treaty one.
  • Anti-money laundering. The UK, for Gibraltar, must not weaken its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures below the level of the EU acts listed in Annex as they stood when the treaty came into force. This reaches firms that are subject to those measures.
  • Workforce. The treaty's frontier-worker rights cover EU citizens who live in Spain and UK nationals who live in Gibraltar, and their family members. Third-country nationals who work for a gambling firm are not named in that part. Gibraltar residence permits granted before the treaty stay valid for up to two calendar years; later ones are issued only under the treaty's conditions: changes to the conditions may not let anyone obtain a Gibraltar residence permit unless they can show a genuine connection with Gibraltar, and a permit may not be granted on the basis of predetermined investments or payments. That condition does not apply to EU citizens and their family members, or to nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra and San Marino. We found no official text specific to gambling staff or to transient workers.
  • Selling into Spain. This is not a treaty matter. Spain's Ley 13/2011 applies to cross-border gambling, that is, games offered by persons or companies based outside Spain to residents in Spain.

The Spanish side

  • Spain's Ley 13/2011, article 2, covers "las actividades de juego transfronterizas, esto es, las realizadas por las personas físicas o jurídicas radicadas fuera de España que organicen u ofrezcan actividades de juegos a residentes en España". We read the text of the Ley; we did not search for later changes to it or for the Spanish regulator's pages.

Forms you need

  • None found.
Official sources (title, number, date, exact passage)
1303 00 Offences related to illegal gambling

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

Notice of Commencement (LN.2026/064) (All except – ss.55- 77)

Government of Gibraltar, Gambling Act 2025, 2026-04, 23 Mar 2026

LN.2026/065 Commencement 1.4.2026

Government of Gibraltar, Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026, 2026/065, 01 Apr 2026

Minister Feetham also directly raised the impact of increases in UK gambling taxation on Gibraltar’s gaming sector.

HM Government of Gibraltar, press release 755/2026, 7 October 2026 (read 8 October 2026)

The United Kingdom, in respect of Gibraltar, shall not weaken or reduce its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures below the levels set out in the Union acts listed in Annex 17 in force at the entry into force of this Agreement,

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

a residence permit issued in Gibraltar unless they are able to demonstrate a genuine connection with Gibraltar.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

on the basis of predetermined investments having been made in Gibraltar's economy or real estate; or (b) as a result of any predetermined financial payments having been made to the Gibraltar authorities.

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

nationals of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss Confederation, the Principality of Andorra and the Republic of San Marino

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

Union citizens legally residing in the Kingdom of Spain; (b) United Kingdom nationals legally residing in Gibraltar; and (c) family members of the persons referred to in point (a)

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

d) Las actividades de juego transfronterizas, esto es, las realizadas por las personas físicas o jurídicas radicadas fuera de España que organicen u ofrezcan actividades de juegos a residentes en España.

Jefatura del Estado, published in the BOE, Ley 13/2011, de 27 de mayo, de regulación del juego (BOE-A-2011-9280), consolidated text, BOE-A-2011-9280, 27/05/2011

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Financial services: the real impact

Treaty changes little

The treaty text has no part on financial services, so it gives Gibraltar firms no EU passport and no other market access to the EU. What these firms rely on is the UK arrangement for firms passporting between the UK and Gibraltar, which the UK regulators say runs until 31 December 2026 and may be extended while a permanent arrangement is made. What the treaty does reach is anti-money-laundering standards, and the rules on who can work in Gibraltar.

What to do

  • What the treaty says. We searched both volumes of the treaty for "financial services" and found no occurrence; "passporting" does not appear and "passport" appears six times, each time for travel or identity documents. We found no treaty provision on market access for banks, insurers or investment firms.
  • The UK arrangement. The FCA says: "Passporting is no longer available except for firms that wish to passport between the UK and Gibraltar until 31 December 2026" (a transitional arrangement that "may be extended to allow for the permanent arrangement of the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime"). The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) page says the transitional arrangements were set up by SI 2019/589 and extended to 31 December 2026 by further SIs. These are UK arrangements, not treaty ones. The Financial Services and Markets Bill in Parliament is a Bill, not law, and is not used here.
  • Anti-money laundering. As in the section "Online gambling: the real impact", the treaty requires the UK, for Gibraltar, not to weaken anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures below the level of the Annex EU acts as in force when the treaty entered into force.
  • Workforce. As in the section "Online gambling: the real impact": the frontier-worker rights cover EU citizens living in Spain and UK nationals living in Gibraltar and their families; Gibraltar residence permits and the conditions for new ones follow the treaty. We found no official text specific to financial-sector staff.
  • EU side. We found no official EU or Spanish text that gives Gibraltar-authorised firms access to the EU market under the treaty.

The Spanish side

  • No Spanish official text was searched for the regulatory treatment of Gibraltar-authorised firms in Spain (Banco de España, CNMV); that is not done.

Forms you need

  • The FCA and the PRA publish notification forms for passporting between the UK and Gibraltar (named on their pages); we did not file the forms.
Official sources (title, number, date, exact passage)
Passporting is no longer available except for firms that wish to passport between the UK and Gibraltar until 31 December 2026.

Financial Conduct Authority, Passporting between the UK and Gibraltar (fca.org.uk, page fetched 28 September 2026)

(Please note, this date may be extended to allow for the permanent arrangement of the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime.)

Financial Conduct Authority, Passporting between the UK and Gibraltar (fca.org.uk, page fetched 28 September 2026)

Statutory Instrument (SI) 2019/589 established transitional arrangements for Gibraltar that will preserve the status quo of deemed-passporting for Gibraltarian firms after the end of the Transition Period. These transitional arrangements have been extended until 31 December 2026 by a further SIs

Bank of England, Gibraltar passporting arrangements (bankofengland.co.uk, page fetched 28 September 2026)

The United Kingdom, in respect of Gibraltar, shall not weaken or reduce its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures below the levels set out in the Union acts listed in Annex 17 in force at the entry into force of this Agreement,

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

Union citizens legally residing in the Kingdom of Spain; (b) United Kingdom nationals legally residing in Gibraltar; and (c) family members of the persons referred to in point (a)

UK/EU and EAEC Agreement in respect of Gibraltar, Miscellaneous No. 9 (2026), signed 14 July 2026, volume I

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