Passporting into Gibraltar – the state of play

Apr 23, 2021 12:00:00 AM

What has happened?

Firms that previously benefited from outward passports into other EU states ceased to have access to them following the end of the Brexit transition period on 31st December 2020. However, it would appear that those firms have automatically been granted a passport into Gibraltar by the FCA. This appears to be a corollary of the Government’s commitment in 2018 that Gibraltar-based firms would continue to be able to exercise passporting rights into the UK after Brexit.

What do you need to do?

Under current UK legislation, firms in the UK and Gibraltar can apply for a passport if they wish to provide cross-border services or exercise the right of establishment in either of these countries. At present, the FCA intends to maintain the current regulatory position on Gibraltar until 31 December 2021. This is in line with the UK Government’s commitment to maintaining market access for Gibraltar financial services firms in the UK until that date.

UK firms can use Connect to passport into Gibraltar or to change or cancel an existing passport into Gibraltar.

UK-authorised payment institutions and registered account information service providers with several agents, UK-authorised payment institutions (PIs) and registered account information service providers (RAISPs) can provide services in Gibraltar through an agent established in the UK (using a ‘services’ passport) or established in Gibraltar (using its right of establishment).

How can we help you?

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with your Gibraltar passporting arrangements, or any other regulatory compliance issues, our expert team is here to help.

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