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The Gibraltar passport is a
British passport A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requ ...
issued to British Citizens and British Overseas Territory Citizens who work or live in
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
. Having Gibraltarian status alone, and not being resident in Gibraltar, is insufficient criteria to obtain a Gibraltar Passport. Gibraltar passports are issued by the Passport Office of the Gibraltar Civil Status and Registration Office. Since 2005, passports issued in Gibraltar have been
biometric Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
. As a result of the
British Nationality Act 1981 The British Nationality Act 1981 (c.61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983. History In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which had b ...
, Gibraltarians were made
British Overseas Territories citizen A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the British Overseas Territories (previo ...
s by default, but could apply for registration as a
British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
("''an entitlement that cannot be refused''") under section 5 of the Act before 2002. Despite not being British citizens prior to 2002 and hence having no automatic
right of abode in the United Kingdom The right of abode (ROA) is an immigration status in the United Kingdom that gives a person the right to enter and live in the UK. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971 which went into effect on 1 January 1973. This status is held by Bri ...
, all BOTCs connected to Gibraltar have enjoyed the right to live and work in the EEA countries (including the United Kingdom itself) since 1973 through the territory’s accession to the
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
along with the United Kingdom, and their Gibraltar passports have borne observations to demonstrate such treaty rights. Under the
British Overseas Territories Act 2002 The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 (c.8) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which superseded parts of the British Nationality Act 1981. It makes legal provision for the renaming of the ''British Dependent Territories'' as ...
, all British Overseas Territories citizens have become British citizens on 21 May 2002. Therefore, a Gibraltarian may apply for either a passport describing them as a British citizen or a passport describing them as a BOTC. However, unlike other BOTCs, Gibraltarians cannot hold both passports simultaneously, and a BOTC passport would be cancelled if its holder decides to apply for a British citizen passport at any time. Holders of BOTC passports also face different visa requirements than holders of British citizen passports. Until 31 January 2020, Gibraltarians who opted for the BOTC passport were considered "UK nationals for EU purposes", making them full
citizens of the European Union European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...
with all consequential rights and entitlements. Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, Gibraltar is no longer part of the EU and Gibraltarian BOTCs ceased to be EU citizens, although they continued to enjoy the same rights in the EU during the transition period until 31 December 2020. On 31 December 2020, the governments of Spain and the UK announced that Gibraltar will become a part of the
Schengen area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
. Similar to those of the UK, new Gibraltarian passports will be blue. However, the timescale for their introduction has not been confirmed.
Gibraltarians The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...
travelling within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, EEA and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
are entitled to use a
Gibraltar identity card The Gibraltar identity card is an official identity document issued by Civil Status and Registration Office of the Government of Gibraltar to all British citizens living in Gibraltar. Validity of the document is 10 years (5 years for children u ...
instead of a Gibraltar passport as a
travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...
.


Differences

British passports issued in Gibraltar differ from UK issued ones only in some of the wording but otherwise have the same status. The word "Gibraltar" is added beneath "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and on the information page. The only other difference is that Gibraltar-issued passports replace the mention of ''Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State'' with ''The
Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...
'': Changes to the passport's wording, replacing "Her Majesty" with "His Majesty," will be undertaken following the
death of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...
.


Historical Passports

File:Gibraltar old passport.jpg, Cover of an older-style Gibraltar-issued
British passport A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requ ...
from the 1970s


See also

*
History of nationality in Gibraltar Gibraltar is a juridically independent area in western Europe, and forms part of the Commonwealth of Nations as a British overseas territory. Pre-modern history As with rest of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar was inhabited by various gro ...
* Gibraltarian status


References


External links


HM Government of Gibraltar: Passports and Nationality
{{Gibraltar topics
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
British passports issued to British Overseas Territories Citizens Gibraltar and the European Union