Gib tug-of-war: 'Commuter pass', extra lane and biometric 'passport swiping' machines to cut border queues
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 @ 6:42 PM
WORKERS who live in Spain and have jobs in Gibraltar may be able to acquire a pass to allow them to get past border controls more quickly.
Andalucía tax authorities say the 'red' lane, for people travelling into or out of the Rock's territory and who have goods to declare is rarely used, but the 'green' or 'nothing to declare' lane is normally gridlocked.
Commuters who have a pass would be able to use the 'red' lane even though they do not normally have goods to declare to customs officers as it would mean they could get to work and then return home without queuing for hours.
To obtain the pass, they would need to provide photo ID, a padrón or local census certificate and a copy of their job contract, and then renew this border card every year.
Also, regional authorities in southern Spain plan to build a third lane for cars crossing the border in either direction.
And whereas at present, one on-duty police officer checks every pedestrian's passport or national ID card, 12 'biometric' machines will be installed so border-crossers can simply swipe their passport as they can now do at many European airports.
Over-zealous border checks purporting to be in order to reduce contraband cigarette smuggling into Spain from the Rock – even though the checks are equally stringent for people entering Gibraltar from Spanish territory – mean daily queues in either direction reached between three and seven hours at their peak last summer and continue to be a headache for those with jobs in Gibraltar and homes in Spain.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com