Gibraltarian status is a

legal status Legal status describes the legal rights, duties and obligations of a person or Legal person, entity, or a subset of those rights and obligations. (defining "status") The term may be used to describe a person's legal condition with respect to perso ...

in Gibraltar law 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 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the civil population of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other parts of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. In 1962, the term was made a legal status in Gibraltar through the ''Gibraltarian Status Ordinance (1962)''. The Ordinance became the ''Gibraltarian Status Act, 1962'' following the implementation of the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006. 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 and: *(a) They were born in

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 populated British Overseas Territor ...

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 that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

; *(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 until

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, and enjoyed freedom of movement in the European Union. On 31 December 2020, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom began negotiating a deal to allow Gibraltar to become a ''de facto'' member of the

Schengen area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

. As of 2025, no deal has yet been signed.

History

Eligibility for Gibraltarian status

Rights

References

See also