GIBRALTARIANS will only be allowed to go outside La Linea if they are officially registered as residents in another municipal area.

The new rules announced on November 8 to fight COVID-19 have stopped residents of one Andalusia town going to another.

Although Gibraltar is not part of Spain, its British residents have been allowed to pass through the frontier but can only remain in neighbouring La Linea.

It would mean that anyone who has a second home in Estepona, for example, would not now be allowed to stay there.

The only exception would be if they are registered as having their primary home there, something unusual among the fiercely patriotic locals.

These new restrictions on movement were explained more clearly by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

“A resident of Gibraltar entering Spain is then subject to exactly the same constraints as a resident of La Linea,” Picardo explained to GBC yesterday.

“They cannot then go beyond the municipal boundaries of La Linea unless their travel is in keeping with the Spanish rules or are registered beyond it.”

He said that people might be able to ‘persuade the authorities’ that a secondary home has become a primary one for a short period.

“You would probably be unlucky to be told you cannot access your second home,” he added.

Picardo said the idea of the rules would be to stop people visiting holiday homes or relatives in other areas to stop COVID-19 spread.

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