Gibraltar passporting arrangements

The transition period has ended and passporting rights for EEA firms have now ceased.

Please see our Temporary permissions regime and Financial Services Contracts Regime webpages for more information. 

Subject to any transitional relief, forms and templates applicable before 11pm Thursday 31 December 2020 should be read in conjunction with Supervisory Statement (SS) 2/19, which sets out how the PRA expects firms to interpret EU-based references in reporting and disclosure requirements and regulatory transactions forms after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the end of the transition period.

Passporting rights will continue for firms operating between the UK and Gibraltar. Statutory Instrument (SI) 2019/589 established transitional arrangements for Gibraltar that will preserve the status quo of deemed-passporting for Gibraltarian firms after the end of the Transition Period. These transitional arrangements have been extended until Friday 31 December 2021 by a further SI (SI2020/1274) and can be further extended until such time as the permanent arrangements of the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime are in place.

Overview of outward passporting to Gibraltar

A firm authorised in the UK can carry on activities that it has permission for in Gibraltar by either establishing a branch, appointing agents or providing cross-border services. This is known as ‘passporting’.

The PRA is the lead regulator for outward passports for dual-regulated firms (firms regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA). 

Submitting outward passport notifications

Firms wishing to passport into Gibraltar should notify us by using the relevant forms: 

Banking forms Opens in a new window

Insurance forms

• Branch notification form
• Cross-border services notification form

Investment forms

• Investment business notification forms

Firms using the Banking forms and Investment forms found in the above link will also need to complete a Declaration Form:

Declaration form

Completed forms should be emailed to PRA-passporting@bankofengland.co.uk.

How we assess outward passporting firms

We will seek reassurance about the risks posed to our objectives by UK firms wishing to operate in Gibraltar. The depth of our review of a passporting notification will be proportionate to its impact on our objectives. 

When we receive a passporting notification from a UK firm, we will consider the adequacy of the firm’s resources and administrative structure and how the firm meets our regulatory requirements. We may also consider whether significant individuals are fit and proper to carry out the proposed business.

Our timelines for processing outward passporting notifications are set out below:

Area	Timeframe to process/respond
Banking	Establishment: Three months Services: One month
Insurance	Establishment: Three months Services: One month
Reinsurance	Services: One month
Insurance Intermediary	Establishment: One month Services: One month
Investment	Establishment: One month Services: One month

Changes to the original notification

Firms must tell us if they make any changes to the original notification details. For example, changes of branch address, management, organisational structure, or an amendment to the regulated activities. This must be done before the change is implemented, unless the change is caused by circumstances beyond the firm’s control (in which case we should be notified as soon as possible after the change occurs).  

Firms will need to notify the FCA, by using the FCA Connect system Opens in a new window, and also email PRA-passporting@bankofengland.co.uk if changing its registered name of contact details. This notification should include all details so we can inform the Gibraltar FSC. 

Banks

Banking firms passporting into Gibraltar must notify us of any such changes using the relevant Banking forms and declaration form 

Investment

Investment firms passporting into Gibraltar must notify us of any such changes by using the relevant Investment forms and declaration form

Insurance 

Insurance firms passporting into Gibraltar must notify us of such changes by completing the following Insurance Distribution Branch and cross-border notification form. 

All notifications should be submitted by email to PRA-Passporting@bankofengland.co.uk or by post to: 

Authorisations Division 
Prudential Regulation Authority
20 Moorgate 
London, EC2R 6DA

Overview of Inward passporting from Gibraltar

A firm authorised in Gibraltar can passport into the UK on either a ‘services’ basis (if it does not have a physical presence in the UK) or a ‘branch’ basis (if it opens an office in the UK). 

Submitting inward passport notifications

The PRA will be the lead UK regulator of a firm that passports into the UK where that firm undertakes any of the following activities:

• accepting Deposits;
• effecting Contracts of Insurance as principal; or
• carrying out Contracts of Insurance as principal.

Where a firm authorised in Gibraltar intends to conduct any of those activities in the UK, the Gibraltar FSC is responsible for informing us of that firm’s intention to passport into the UK. Notices for firms which do not undertake these activities should be directed to the FCA.

How we assess inward passporting firms

When we receive a passporting notification from the Gibraltar FSC the depth of our review will be proportionate to the firm's potential impact on our objectives, the information provided by the Gibraltar FSC and any subsequent information requests. This assessment is intended to inform the dialogue with the home state regulator and to prepare for supervision of the firm.

Our timelines for processing inward passporting notifications are set out below:

Area	Timeframe to process/respond
Banking	Establishment: Two months Services: One month
Insurance	Establishment: Two months Services: One month
Reinsurance	Establishment: Two months

The UK has now left the EU and any references to EU legislation on this page and any related links or forms are there only to provide clarity.