John Culatto
DRIVERS from Gibraltar will now be able to drive in Spain without a separate international licence and vice-versa.
It follows a Spanish Council of Ministers decision to recognise UK licences for those visiting Gibraltar’s neighbouring country.
The deal also gives a new six month period for Gibraltarians legally resident in Spain to exchange their licences without needing to take a theory or practical test.
Spanish drivers visiting Gibraltar will get the same equal treatment.
The decision gives Gibraltarians and Britons the same rights as when both were in the EU.
Thousands of expat Brits had waited expectantly for this decision across Spain, often unable to use their vehicles without having to go through the arduous process of getting a new licence from scratch.
Gibraltarians who are resident in Spain will only need to get a ‘psicotecnico’ test to check reactions and eyesight in order to get their Spanish licence.
They will be able to exchange their licences after six months but their Gibraltar licences will no longer be valid for driving.
The Spanish Cabinet decision allows the exchange of information between Gibraltar and Spain about vehicle ownership.
It will enable authorities on both sides of the frontier and in the UK to track road safety offences committed by drivers in all three jurisdictions.
These requests will be possible within four months of the agreement application.
This accord is completely separate to the EU treaty on Gibraltar being worked out between the UK and Spain in ongoing talks.
More information on the agreement can be found on the Spanish government’s Direccion General de Trafico or on the British Embassy in Madrid’s social media page.
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