Following an interview in the Gibraltar Chronicle, in which Miss Gibraltar Maroua Kharbouch expressed her “disappointment” at not being considered a Gibraltarian, the Government has replied by clarifying the various definitions of “Gibraltarian” and the benefits associated therewith.

The statement from Number 6 is as follows:

To have entered the ‘Miss Gibraltar’ contest she needed to have British citizenship and have lived in Gibraltar for 5 years. To vote in Gibraltarian elections she must be 18 years or over and be a British citizen and have lived in Gibraltar during a continuous period of six months (and intend to live in Gibraltar permanently) whereas to be on the Housing List she needs to be British and have lived in Gibraltar for 10 years.

So, Miss Kharbouch can vote in local and EU elections, she can be on the Housing List and, of course, she could enter (and win) the Miss Gibraltar contest. However, all these are different from being on the Register of Gibraltarians which was created in 1955 by the AACR. In outline, a person entitled to be on the Register of Gibraltarians must be British and have been born in Gibraltar on or before the 30th day of June 1925 or be the descendant or spouse of a descendent of someone born here before 1925. In exceptional circumstances, the Minister with responsibility for personal status may allow a British citizen who has lived in Gibraltar for twenty-five years to be registered.

Miss Kharbouch will be pleased to know that, for some time, HM Government of Gibraltar has been planning to reduce this ‘exceptional’ requirement of twenty-five years down to ten years. The mechanism to give effect to this change is likely to be announced later this year.