The
Gibraltar variant British passport
[1]
[2]
is a
British passport
issued to British Citizens and British Overseas Territory Citizens who work or live in
Gibraltar
. Having
Gibraltarian status
alone, without being resident in Gibraltar, is insufficient 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
.
The
British Nationality Act 1981
, made Gibraltarians
British Overseas Territories citizens
by default, and they could apply for registration as a
British citizen
("
an entitlement that cannot be refused
") under section 5 of the Act until 2002. Despite not being British citizens prior to 2002 and hence having no automatic
right of abode in the United Kingdom
, all BOTCs connected to Gibraltar have enjoyed the
right to live and work in the EEA countries
(including the United Kingdom itself) since 1973 because of the territory’s
accession
to the
European Community
as territories of the United Kingdom, and their Gibraltar passports have borne observations to demonstrate such treaty rights.
[3]
[4]
Under the
British Overseas Territories Act 2002
, all British Overseas Territories citizens (BOTC) have been British citizens since 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. Holders of BOTC passports and holders of British citizen passports face different visa requirements.
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
with all consequential rights and entitlements. Since
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 a draft agreement on Gibraltar becoming part of the
Schengen area
.
[5]
Similar to those of the UK, new Gibraltarian passports will be blue. However, the timescale for their introduction has not been confirmed.
[6]
Differences
[
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]
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
His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State
with
The
Governor of Gibraltar
:
The Governor of Gibraltar requests and requires
in the Name of His Majesty
all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.
[7]
Changes to the passport's wording, replacing "Her Majesty" with "His Majesty," were undertaken following the
death of Queen Elizabeth II
.
[8]
Historical Passports
[
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]
See also
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References
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External links
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UN member states
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A?B
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C
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D?F
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G?K
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L?M
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N?R
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S
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T?Z
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Other entities
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UN observer states
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Other sovereign entities
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Sovereignty disputed
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No recognition
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International organizations
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Africa
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Americas
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Europe
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Global
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Defunct passports
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Dissolved states
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Former organizations
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Sovereignty disputed
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Passport types
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Document types
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Data formats
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Imitations
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