After more than a hundred years of border control between Spain and Gibraltar, the border has become open. Since midnight, checks at the crossing have ceased, and now people can freely cross it without passport control, [reports](https://nos.nl/artikel/2623037-na-ruim-een-eeuw-geen-grenscontroles-meer-tussen-spanje-en-gibraltar) NOS. The dividing fence, stretching about one kilometer, remains in place for now, but its dismantling is planned to begin this week. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory. Following the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the status of this territory became the subject of lengthy negotiations. Last year, the European Union, Spain, and the United Kingdom reached an agreement under which Gibraltar will join the Schengen Area. This will ensure the free movement of people between Spain and Gibraltar. The new measure will relieve thousands of people from daily queues at the border. More than 15,000 residents of the Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción and nearby areas commute to work in Gibraltar and back every day. Passport control will remain only at Gibraltar Airport and its seaport. Gibraltar, covering less than seven square kilometers, was captured by the British in 1704, and in 1713 Spain officially ceded it to Great Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht. At that time, the island of Menorca also became a British territory, which was later returned to Spain. Despite Spain still considering Gibraltar as illegally occupied territory, the agreement reached has allowed for the regulation of cross-border communication. It has become a compromise that satisfies both Madrid and London, and most importantly, it will significantly ease the lives of thousands of people who cross the border daily.