Government Responds To GSD Residency Criticism
The Government has rejected the GSD’s criticism of the Residency Policy, saying the rules are based on residency criteria rather than nationality.
A statement from the Government follows below:
HM Government of Gibraltar deeply regrets that the GSD has chosen to persist with its misleading “anti-British” narrative on residency. The Government considers it deeply irresponsible to manufacture an impression of hostility or discrimination towards British citizens where none exists, and in doing so risk putting unnecessary strain on Gibraltar’s relationship with the United Kingdom simply for domestic political advantage.
The irony is that the FCDO and the Convent were consulted on the policy before its introduction and raised no such concern. Those institutions might reasonably be expected to have something to say if the interests of British citizens were genuinely being prejudiced. They did not.
The Government has no difficulty with scrutiny of this policy. Business organisations have raised legitimate concerns about its practical operation, and the Government has engaged with those concerns, responded to them and made clear that the framework will continue to be reviewed as experience of its operation develops.
What the Government will not accept is the deliberate conversion of those legitimate concerns into the wholly different proposition that Gibraltar has adopted an “anti-British” policy.
That allegation is demonstrably untrue.
British citizens remain able to work in Gibraltar without a work permit. The residency criteria apply irrespective of nationality. The framework also contains discretion where an individual has skills important to Gibraltar’s economic development or where a sector faces a demonstrable shortage of labour or skills.
It is therefore extraordinary for the GSD to continue pretending that a policy which does not distinguish between British, Spanish or any other nationality is somehow anti-British “in effect”.
It is equally revealing that the GSD should describe this as “protectionism”. Protectionism is a term properly associated with industrial and trade policy, not with a Government taking responsible steps to preserve the sustainability of its housing, healthcare, schools and other public services. The word they are looking for is protection, and the Government makes no apology for protecting the services, infrastructure and quality of life on which this community depends.
The GSD also continues to blur a basic distinction: the right to work in Gibraltar and the right to establish residence in Gibraltar are not the same thing.
The suggestion that this policy somehow weakens Gibraltar’s British connection is particularly misplaced. At an institutional level, Gibraltar’s relationship with the United Kingdom has rarely been stronger.
The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: "This policy is as anti-British as it is anti French, anti-Finnish or anti-Fijian. The policy is pro-Gibraltarian, as it should be, and it is based on questions for residence and NOT nationality. It's incredible the GSD do not, or do not want to, understand this and how important it is to protect our people and our public services like housing, health and education.
“The GSD are entitled to disagree with us. They are entitled to argue for different thresholds, different exemptions or even a completely different residency policy.
“What they are not entitled to do is to try to sow mistrust with our closest friend and partner.
“There is not one word in these Regulations which discriminates against somebody because they are British. Not one.
“So let us debate the actual policy. Let us debate housing. Let us debate the capacity of the GHA. Let us debate schools, recruitment, investment, entrepreneurship and the appropriate exceptions for sectors which need particular skills.
“But repeatedly attaching the words ‘anti-British’ to a policy does not make it anti-British.
“And there is a striking contradiction at the heart of the GSD’s argument. They tell us that more jobs will be performed by people living in Spain, while simultaneously arguing that the policy will damage employment in Gibraltar. Those propositions require considerably more explanation than they have so far received, and demonstrate the obvious populism behind these accusations.
“We will continue listening to business because responsible Governments listen. Where the practical evidence shows that refinements are necessary, we have already said that we will consider them, but listening does not mean abandoning our responsibility to manage Gibraltar’s limited housing, infrastructure and public services in the long-term interests of this community.
“Gibraltar can be proudly British, resolutely open for business and careful about how residence is managed. There is no contradiction between those things.
“The Government’s policy is not anti-British. It is not anti-business. It is a residency policy designed in Gibraltar to deal with Gibraltar’s particular circumstances. The sooner the GSD engages with what the Regulations actually say, rather than the label they have chosen to attach to them, the more useful this debate will become.
“The fact the GSD say they will change this policy if they get elected is a defining reason to ensure that people do NOT vote for them to protect our public services. The GSD are completely wrong about this. I encourage them to change course for the sake of all our children's futures."
