Residence Permit - Self-Employed, Working Director or Partner

If you are seeking to become self-employed, a working director or a partner You need both applications

a business application (this includes registration and, if your activity needs one, a business licence), and a residency application .

(d) they are eligible, if required, to apply for a licence issued under the Fair Trading Act 2023 or, in the case of a regulated business, to be regulated or supervised under another enactment by an authority in Gibraltar;

For a business to be fully registered under the Business, Trades and Professions (Registration) Act and licensed under the Fair Trading Act, the CEO of the Department of Business may consider factors including: the creation of full-time or part-time employment in Gibraltar the provision of in-demand skills the rental of suitable office or commercial space a positive tax filing history the future generation of economic activity in Gibraltar

In the business route this means they must be 55 or under and be contracted to earn at least £37,500 a year

“self-employed individual” means a person pursuing a gainful activity for their own account who is not an employed person;

(4) If a person includes their spouse or civil partner in an application made under regulation 7 or 9, the person must provide the Government with an advance payment in the form of a deposit equivalent to the sum of the total social insurance contribution as would be payable under the person’s contract of employment for the first year of employment.

you must either restructure your business so it operates without a Gibraltar-resident self-employed person, working director or partner, or terminate the business registration and any licence.

The business application (which includes registration and licensing) must be submitted and approved before you make your residency application.

(8) If the Authority is satisfied that the requirements of this regulation are met, it shall issue the person with a residence permit.

18.(1) Unless otherwise stated in these Regulations, a residence permit shall be valid for a period of one year.

Your residence permit is renewed each year.

(2) On application for renewal of a residence permit a person must satisfy the Authority that the following requirements continue to be met–

(b) if the person is self-employed, the requirements set out in regulation 9 (with the exception of the requirement in regulation 9(1)(c));

(c) they are 55 years of age or under;

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, with the exception of regulation 7(5), requirements relating to the payment of a deposit shall not be required in respect of a renewal.

How long until I can apply for Gibraltarian Status? For new applicants who become resident on or after 6 October 2025, it is 20 years.