Gibraltarian status is a

legal status Legal status is the status or position held by an entity as determined by the law. It includes or entails a set of privileges, obligations, powers or restrictions that a person or thing has as encompassed in or declared by legislation. Jack Balki ...

Gibraltar law The law of Gibraltar is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law. The '' English Law (Application) Act 1962'' stipulates that English common law will apply to Gibraltar unless overridden by Gibraltar law. Ho ...

defined by the Gibraltarian Status Act, 1962. Persons with Gibraltarian status are registered on the Register of Gibraltarians.

History

The term was coined in the 1920s at a time of increasing awareness of

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

and was popularised during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when the civil population of Gibraltar was evacuated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and other parts of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. In 1962, the term was made a legal status in Gibraltar through the ''Gibraltarian Status Ordinance (1962)''. The

Ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

became the ''Gibraltarian Status Act, 1962'' following the implementation of the

Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 The Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 was taken to a referendum in Gibraltar on 30 November 2006. A coalition of groups opposing the proposal held that a majority of 60% should be required to give effect to a new Constitution, quoting other inst ...

. The ''Register of Gibraltarians'' pre-dates Gibraltarian status - the register was created in 1955 while Gibraltarian status originates with the ''Gibraltarian Status Act, 1962''. The 1962 Act provides a legal framework for the register, and defines who is eligible to be listed on the register.

Eligibility for Gibraltarian status

The following is a summary of the eligibility for Gibraltarian status contained in the 1962 Act. See the text of the act for full detail

A person is eligible to be registered as a Gibraltarian people, Gibraltarian if they are a

British national A British national, or United Kingdom national, is a person who possesses a type of British nationality law, British nationality. This includes anyone who is a: * British citizen * British Overseas Territories citizen * British Overseas citizen * ...

and: *(a) They were born 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 ...

on or before the 30th day of June 1925; or *(b) They are child of a person born in Gibraltar on or before the 30th day of June 1925; or *(c) They are the descendant of a person entitled to be registered by virtue of (a) or (b) and their parent or grandparent was born in Gibraltar; or *(d) They were born in Gibraltar and are the child of a person who is registered in the register; or *(e) They are married to a person entitled to be register by virtue of (a, b, c or d) or are the widow or widower of such a person. Further provisions provide for the registration of adopted children. Additionally, a person may be registered as a Gibraltarian at the discretion of the

Government of Gibraltar His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

minister with responsibility for personal status, if they satisfy the minister that: *(a) they are a

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 ...

by virtue of their connection with Gibraltar or the

as their country of origin; *(b) they are a British national; *(c) they are of good character; *(d) they have sufficient knowledge of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

; *(e) they have their permanent home in Gibraltar; *(f) they have been resident in Gibraltar for a continuous period of ''ten'' years immediately preceding the date of application *(g) they intend to make their permanent home in Gibraltar. Further provisions provide for the registration of children, adopted children and spouses of those registered at the discretion of the minister with responsibility for personal status.

Rights

Persons with Gibraltarian status have full right of residence in Gibraltar. Any Gibraltarian who is a British Overseas Territories citizen and/or a British citizen was a

citizen 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 ...

until

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

and enjoyed freedom of movement in the European Union. On 31 December 2020, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom reached a deal to allow Gibraltar to join 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 ...

. This indicates that Gibraltarians will retain freedom of movement within the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...

History

Eligibility for Gibraltarian status

Rights

References

See also