The Spanish police have said that around 90 per cent of hotel reservations presented by individuals at the border are fake.
While some have genuine intentions to visit Spain, the police said for EuropaSur that it has been found out that a large majority of people make a hotel reservation only a few minutes before undergoing border checks and then cancel them upon their entry.
This has raised concerns among authorities as it means that some are entering Spain for other purposes – remain there or reach other Schengen Member States irregularly, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Even though citizens of Gibraltar are permitted to enter the territory of Spain by only presenting their identification cards, the case is not the same for citizens of third countries.
Citizens of third countries who wish to enter Spain through Gibraltar must hold a valid Schengen visa as well as meet several other requirements. Upon their arrival at the border controls, they must show a valid passport in order to identify themselves.
Moreover, they need to provide the reason for their entry into the Spanish territory, provide information on the number of days they plan to stay, and show proof that they have sufficient financial resources for their entire stay.
However, those who plan to enter Spain for other reasons and remain in the bloc irregularly often fail to meet these requirements. Instead, they choose to falsify their documents to make their entry more “normal”.
Taking into account the high number of fraud cases, EuropaSur explains that the border police of Spain is planning to introduce tougher rules.
Despite the police not sharing any information on the changes they plan to make, it is believed that the entry measures will be significantly stricter for those entering Spain from Gibraltar.
On the other hand, the rules will remain the same for citizens of Gibraltar as long as the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement remain effective.
Under this agreement, all citizens of the UK are permitted visa-free entry into Spain and into any other EU country. However, they still must follow the 90/180-day rule. This rule establishes that Britons can not remain in the territory of Spain for more than 90 days in a 180-day period.
Those who wish to remain longer need to apply for a national visa. This type of visa gets issued to those who plan to stay longer in Spain for study, work, or other similar reasons.