How To Get Residency in Gibraltar | A Complete Guide
Population: 34,003 (2020, 220th)
Demonyms: Gibraltarian
Area: 6.8 km2
Offical Language: English
Currency: Gibraltar pound (It is pegged to – and exchangeable with – sterling at par value)
GDP per Captial: £50,941 (2013)
Human Development Index: 0.961 (3rd)
Region Profile:
Gibraltar is the smallest British overseas territory, but its geographical location is extremely important: it is situated at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, a key waterway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and has historically been a highly contested area among nearby powerful regimes.
This region’s economy mainly relies on financial services, tourism, gambling, and shipping industries. Due to its special tax system and geographical location, it attracts a large number of international companies and banks.
Gibraltar left the European Union along with the UK but joined the Schengen Area starting from 2023.
How To Get Residency In Gibraltar:
Gibraltar is a small city covering only 6.8 square kilometers with a population of less than 40,000. Besides work visas, the region is also known for two other types of visa policies:
1. High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) Category 2 Visa: This visa is issued to financially independent individuals who commit to paying £37,000 in local taxes annually.
2. High Executives Possessing Specialist Skills (HEPSS): This visa is granted to experts in industries beneficial to the local economy, such as gaming, financial services, IT, and digital technology.
HNWI Visa Category 2:
What’s Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 visa?
Gibraltar has been steadily operating the HNWI Category 2 visa program since 1999. This is a residence visa that grants residency in exchange for paying a fixed amount of tax annually in Gibraltar.
The main requirements for applicants are:
1. A net asset value of no less than £2 million;
2. Becoming a tax resident of Gibraltar and paying no less than £37,000 in taxes annually;
Gibraltar does not restrict the length of stay for HNWI participants locally, but participants must commit to becoming tax residents of the territory. This means they need to reside in Gibraltar each year and must not spend more than 183 days in any other single location worldwide within the same year.
In fact, Gibraltar is one of Europe’s tax havens. There is no VAT, wealth tax, or inheritance tax locally, and tax is only levied on the first £118,000 of the visa holder’s global income. Therefore, if you hold Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 visa, according to local income tax rates, your annual tax payment must be at least £37,000 and will not exceed £42,380.
3.Having a stable residence in Gibraltar: either owning or renting a property;
4. Not having been a Gibraltar tax resident in the five years prior to the first application for the HNWI Category 2 visa.
How To Apply For Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 visa?
Generally speaking, to apply for Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 visa, you first need to purchase local health insurance for both primary and secondary applicants, secure a place to stay in Gibraltar, prepare all the required documents, and write a handwritten application letter to submit your visa application to the Gibraltar Finance Centre Director.
These steps typically require the assistance of a local lawyer.
All required documents for this program include:
Personal information documents: passports and passport-sized photos for all primary and secondary applicants; as well as proof of relationship documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates;
Application letter: you need to handwrite a letter stating your personal information and your intention to live in Gibraltar. Additionally, your lawyer/agent and bank must each provide a letter confirming your good standing;
Personal resume: the primary applicant must provide a resume detailing their personal information;
Proof of assets: you need to prove that your assets exceed £2 million and that the source of your assets is legitimate;
Local address: you must provide proof of purchase, lease, or ongoing purchase/lease of a property in Gibraltar;
Proof of health insurance purchase: you must purchase health insurance covering Gibraltar for each primary and secondary applicant annually;
Certificate of no criminal record;
The entire processing time for the Gibraltar HNWI visa is only two to three weeks. The visa fee is £1,000, and the du diligence fee is £15,000.
Dependents:
For Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 visa, the primary applicant’s spouse, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, and children can all get the region’s residency as dependents.
How Long Can I stay In Gibraltar with Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 Visa?
Gibraltar’s HNWI Category 2 residence visa is a permanent residence visa with indefinite validity. Applicants only need to submit documentation to the Gibraltar Finance Centre every three years to demonstrate their financial standing.
BOTC:
Foreigners who have legally resided in Gibraltar for five years, with a total absence of no more than 450 days during that period, and who have proficient English skills, can apply for the British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) passport.
After meeting the relevant residency, nationality tests, and social integration requirements, BOTC citizens can register to become British citizens.
Useful Links:
Gibraltar Tax Residence：https://www.gibraltarfinance.gi/private-clients/tax-residence
Gibraltar HNWI Visa Category 2：https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/income-tax-office/individuals-and-employees/qualifying-individuals