VisaGibraltar cardholders can ask for their Schengen border records to be erased
An October follow-up explains the request route and evidence. The exemption is linked to Gibraltar identity or civilian registration cards, rather than every British passport.
Official source date: 2026-10-13
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Use the October request procedure for an existing record
Gibraltar’s government has published a procedure for identity-card and civilian-registration-card holders with Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) records. Its follow-up notice of 13 October 2026 says affected people should contact the authorities of the Schengen state where their latest recorded entry or exit occurred. Gibraltar cannot itself delete the record.
The notice covers registrations made both before and from 15 July 2026. Explain the cardholder exemption and supply a passport scan or photograph, plus images of both sides of the Gibraltar card. Use the official notice’s template, retain the response and notify [email protected] if erasure is refused. This is a follow-up on an existing operational problem, not a new exemption announced today. Contact the responsible authorities promptly before planned travel rather than waiting for another border encounter.
Understand which cardholders and border crossings are covered
The government’s earlier notice of 23 September describes the exemption at Gibraltar Airport and every external Schengen border, including airports and seaports outside Spain. It also clarifies that holders of Gibraltar identity cards are covered even if they are not currently resident in Gibraltar. The document category therefore matters more than simply stating a current home address.
That notice distinguishes registration before 15 July, when it could properly have been required, from incorrect registration after the treaty arrangements began applying. It explains that fingerprints and a facial image taken at a crossing may indicate EES enrolment. Its earlier instruction to await further information must now be read alongside the October request procedure. Use the September resource to identify the category and the circumstances of the registration, while using the later notice for the action to take now.
Carry the passport and use the appropriate queue
The government’s 15 July technical notice says Gibraltar identity-card and civilian-registration-card holders should carry their passports when travelling through Gibraltar Airport or external Schengen borders. EES exemption does not mean travelling without an identity check or assuming that the card replaces every required travel document.
At Gibraltar Airport, the notice directs cardholders, irrespective of nationality, to the corridors reserved for them and EU citizens. It describes e-gates, with interaction with border officials where technical problems arise or the traveller is accompanied by children under twelve. The exemption remains applicable whichever method is used. At other external Schengen borders, the notice describes the non-EU passport corridor and the lane for EES-exempt third-country nationals. Use this specific queue guidance and follow current airport directions; do not assume that the Gibraltar Airport arrangement applies identically at every foreign terminal.
Keep ordinary British visitor rules separate
The UK’s current Gibraltar entry guidance explains that ordinary British visitors face a different situation from protected cardholders. For short visits, the ninety-day allowance within a 180-day period combines time in Gibraltar with time elsewhere in Schengen. A British passport alone should not be presented as proof of the Gibraltar-cardholder exemption.
The UK resource also explains that Gibraltar Airport has Gibraltar immigration checks and Schengen checks conducted by Spanish authorities. EES applies where the traveller is within its scope. For the ordinary British visitor covered by that advice, passport issue must be within the preceding ten years and validity extend at least three months beyond intended departure. British-Irish dual nationals travelling on an Irish passport are treated as EU citizens. Use the UK resource to identify the applicable visitor situation before borrowing a resident cardholder’s instructions. Do not travel on a passport reported lost or stolen; that document is invalid.
Find the official authority handling personal-data requests
The EU’s EES data-protection contact directory identifies the national data controllers to contact when exercising rights such as correction of personal information or asking how EES data are processed. Use the directory linked from Gibraltar’s follow-up notice to identify the responsible Schengen authority, rather than assuming the Gibraltar reporting mailbox is the decision-maker.
The reviewed guidance does not provide a guaranteed completion date or a quoted application fee for this individual request. Seek clarification from the identified authority if asked for additional evidence, keep copies of the exchange and distinguish a submitted request from confirmation that the record has actually been erased.
