Gibraltar · Tax regime
Category 2 Individual status (Qualifying (Category 2) Individuals Rules)
Repriced. The application fee rose from GBP 1,233 to GBP 5,000 on 22 June 2026 (Legal Notice 2026/127). Under a policy announced on 18 June 2026, new applicants must show net worth above GBP 5,000,000, up from GBP 2,000,000; the Rules themselves require only substantial and sound financial standing. Existing certificate holders are fully grandfathered. The published tax figures are unchanged.
Category 2 is the cleanest capped-tax deal in Europe. There's a hard GBP 42,380 ceiling on a nine-figure income, no CGT, no inheritance tax, no wealth tax, all in English, under English-derived law. What changed in June 2026 is who can buy it. A GBP 5m net worth requirement more than doubles the old bar, and the timing alongside the UK-EU treaty is not a coincidence. Gibraltar is deliberately filtering for a wealthier, more permanent population.
Qualifying routes
Assessable income is capped at GBP 118,000 per annum, taxed only under the Allowance Based System. Minimum annual tax is GBP 37,000. Maximum is GBP 42,380. Worldwide income above the cap is effectively untaxed in Gibraltar.
The facts
- Key figure
- £37k
- Total landed cost
- Expect GBP 37,000–42,380 a year in tax, plus a GBP 5,000 application fee and a refundable advance payment equal to the maximum tax (GBP 42,380), due with the application and then by 30 November each year. Add Gibraltar's substantial residential property costs on top. Approved accommodation must be available exclusively to the applicant and family for the whole tax year.
- Route type
- Tax regime, not a visa
- Timeline
- 1–4 months (Gibraltar Finance processing is fast. Securing qualifying approved accommodation is usually the critical path.)
- Physical presence
- There is no minimum stay. But qualifying approved residential accommodation must be available exclusively for the entire tax year. You pay for the house whether or not you use it.
- Family
- The spouse and dependent children are covered by the principal's certificate and the same accommodation
- Permanent residency
- Category 2 status does not itself lead to permanent residence. It must be maintained continuously, or the right of residence lapses.
- Citizenship
- No direct route. Category 2 confers no path to British citizenship.
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- net worth in excess of GBP 5,000,000 for new applicantsapproved qualifying residential accommodation in Gibraltar, available exclusively to the applicant and family for the full tax yearno more than 183 days a year in Gibraltar in the previous 5 years, no average above 90 days a year over 3 years, and no business or employment there (waivable)two character references, including one from a bankcurriculum vitae and evidence of net worthapplication fee of GBP 5,000status must be maintained continuously
- The net worth requirement more than doubled to GBP 5m on 18 June 2026 for new applicants. Existing holders are grandfathered. But any advisory material still quoting GBP 2m is describing a door that has already closed.
- The GBP 5,000 fee has applied since 22 June 2026 (Legal Notice 2026/127). The GBP 5m net-worth bar is administrative policy from the 18 June 2026 announcement rather than a figure written into the Rules, so confirm with Gibraltar Finance how it applies to your file.
- Category 2 explicitly confers no entitlement to publicly funded schooling or healthcare. The Government reaffirmed this in the same announcement. Budget for private school fees and private medical cover for the whole family. This materially changes the total cost against the GBP 37,000 headline.
- Lose the status, lose the right to reside. The Government confirmed that anyone who does not maintain Category 2 status has no right to continue residing in Gibraltar. This is not a residence permit that outlives its tax basis.
- The approved accommodation has to be available exclusively to you and your family for the entire tax year. You cannot let it out. In a market with very constrained supply, that is a real and recurring cost.
- In any of the five years before applying you must not have spent more than 183 days in Gibraltar, averaged more than 90 days a year over three years, or carried on any business or employment there. The Finance Centre Director can waive this.
- The UK-EU treaty applying provisionally from 15 July 2026 removes routine land border checks with Spain. That is a lifestyle upgrade, but also a tax risk. Living in Spain while claiming Gibraltar status has always been the classic error, and a frictionless border makes it easier to slip into. Spain's 2019 tax treaty with Gibraltar contains specific residency tie-breakers aimed squarely at this.
- No CGT and no inheritance tax are genuine benefits. But Gibraltar is a full CRS participant, so information still flows to your other jurisdictions of connection.