Gibraltar asks residents wrongly logged on EES to come forward
Oct 7, 2026
Category: Uncategorised
The Gibraltar Government has asked residents who believe they were registered on the Schengen Entry/Exit System after 15 July to report their experience. The 25 September 2026 appeal aims to establish the scale of the problem.
The request appears in a technical notice from No.6 Convent Place. It follows reports of residents encountering problems at EU borders after the Gibraltar treaty entered provisional implementation on 15 July.
Send details, get counted
Residents should email eesinfo@gibraltar.gov.gi with their name, whether they hold a Gibraltar identity card or civilian registration card, and the date and location of the registration.
They should also state whether they were entering or leaving the Schengen Area and whether fingerprints or a facial image were taken.
People registered before 15 July are asked to provide the same details. The information will help the Government monitor how the treaty arrangements are being applied and raise concerns with the relevant authorities.
Exempt on paper, scanned in practice
Gibraltar residents are exempt from the EES under the treaty arrangements. The exemption applies to holders of Gibraltar identity cards and civilian registration cards at Gibraltar Airport and external Schengen borders, including airports and ports in Spain.
Residents must still carry a passport as their travel document, while their identity or civilian registration card serves as proof of their exemption.
The Government said registrations after 15 July should not have been required. Those registered before that date should not now face further EES interaction.
The Olive Press reported on 24 September that residents had their passports scanned into the EES at Malaga and Barcelona airports and the ferry ports of Santander and Bilbao, despite showing Gibraltar identity cards.
Message still in transit
Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said the European Commission had notified external border crossing points of the treaty arrangements. There are reportedly about 1,500 such points at seaports, airports and land borders.
He said the message may not yet have reached every border guard. The Government noted that provisional implementation remains in its early stages.
Incorrect registration or application of the treaty could cause frustration and inconvenience, but each Schengen state and its border authorities are responsible for applying the rules.
The Gibraltar Government cannot reverse decisions made by individual border officials. It will continue to raise cases with the relevant authorities and the Commission, and has already discussed the issue with officials in Brussels.
Exit missing
Gibraltar residents may stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days within any 180-day period, and an incorrect EES registration can affect that calculation.
If someone is registered upon entering the Schengen area but returns to Gibraltar without crossing another EU external border, no exit is recorded. Dr Garcia said the 90-in-180-day counter may continue running even after the person returns home.
The 90-in-180-day rule still applies. Compliance can also be established through immigration or police checks, residence applications, travel records and other evidence rather than relying solely on an EES calculation.
Spotting a hidden registration
The Government said travellers may not always know whether an EES registration has been created. Being asked for fingerprints and a facial image at an external Schengen border is a likely sign.
No public tool directly confirms registration. Travellers can instead contact the national authority of the Schengen state concerned.
The EU’s online stay calculator may also provide an indication. According to the Government, showing fewer than 90 days remaining without the traveller entering a planned arrival or departure could suggest earlier travel was recorded in the EES.
Two cards, one passport
Residents are advised to travel with their passport and a valid Gibraltar identity card or civilian registration card, and to present both at the border.
If an official still tries to register them, they should explain that they live in Gibraltar and are exempt from the EES under the treaty arrangements. Those already registered do not need to take further action for now.
The Government is discussing a process for deleting individual registrations, whether correctly made before 15 July or incorrectly made afterwards. Further details are expected as talks continue.
Andorra knows the feeling
Citizens of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican/Holy See are also subject to the 90-day limit but exempt from EES checks. The EU’s EES leaflet lists the same four exemptions.
Non-Andorran residents of Andorra remain subject to the EES. They can be recorded as entering the Schengen area through Spain or France without an exit being logged when they continue into Andorra, potentially making them appear to have overstayed.
The EU and Andorra negotiated a new border-management agreement, which the Commission presented on 7 September 2026. The European Council has not yet adopted it.
The proposal is broadly similar to Gibraltar’s arrangements. It would exempt residents from EES checks, while Andorra would refer residence applications from third-country nationals to Spain and France for Schengen security checks.
A rollout with bumps
The EES records non-EU nationals on short stays when they cross the external borders of 29 European countries. Its progressive rollout began on 12 October 2025, and the EU considers it fully operational since 10 April 2026.
The system records travel document details, entry and exit dates and locations, facial images and/or fingerprints, and refused entries. Travellers can request access to or correction of their data.
Technical problems and long queues have occurred at EU airports and borders. At least nine Schengen countries have been allowed to delay full implementation while problems persist, with no apparent deadline.
Spain continues to apply the EES at all external entry points. The system is also operating at Joshua Hassan International Airport, where Schengen checks follow Gibraltar immigration controls under the treaty arrangements.
Loose ends on the Rock
Several issues remain unresolved. The Government is still assessing the scale of wrongful registrations through reports sent to its EES inbox.
Talks on deleting registrations are continuing, including whether they will cover records created both before and after 15 July. Individual cases will continue to be raised with the Commission and relevant authorities.
The European Council has also yet to adopt the Andorra agreement presented on 7 September 2026. Spain continues to apply the EES at every external entry point, while nine Schengen countries have been allowed to delay full enforcement.