Gibraltar Residency Documents Checklist

This checklist helps you collect the facts and documents likely to matter before you use the Gibraltar Eligibility Checker, continue to an official Government service or speak to a Gibraltar adviser.

It is not an official application checklist. Gibraltar has different residence routes, transitional rules and specialist statuses, so the exact evidence depends on your facts. Use this page to organise the file, then compare it with the current official requirements for the route you are actually using.

Start by identifying your route

Collecting documents before identifying the correct route often creates the wrong file. An employee, a self-employed applicant, a spouse, a student, an existing Civilian Registration Card holder and a Category 2 applicant do not all submit the same evidence.

Before gathering paperwork, establish:

• whether you want to live in Gibraltar or only work there;
• whether you held a valid Gibraltar residence card or Permit of Residence on 6 October 2025;
• whether you already hold a red Gibraltar identity card;
• whether your route is employment, business/self-employment, family, student or specialist status;
• whether anyone is applying with you;
• whether a work permit, business approval or other step must happen before the residence application.

That route check determines which parts of the checklist below actually matter.

Core documents for a standard new application

The Government's current residency evidence page lists a core set of documents for a standard application. These include a valid passport, a national identity card if the applicant has one, employment evidence where the employee route applies, evidence of qualifying Gibraltar accommodation, proof of age and an official vetting form from the country where the applicant was most recently living.

All documents submitted through that process must be valid and not past their expiry date. If family members are included, they need their own identity documents and each included person aged 18 or over needs the stated vetting evidence.

Make the documents tell one consistent story

The residence decision is based on facts, not the number of PDFs uploaded. Names, dates, employment terms, addresses and status history should therefore be internally consistent.

Before submission, check that:

• the passport and identity documents are current;
• the employment contract and Notice of Terms of Engagement describe the same real employment;
• the Gibraltar address matches the accommodation evidence;
• the lease term satisfies the published residence requirement where renting;
• salary figures match the contract and other employment evidence;
• existing Gibraltar card dates and expiry dates are recorded accurately;
• family relationships are supported by the relevant civil-status documents;
• any material change from an existing residence position is identified rather than hidden.

Employment evidence

For the standard employee route, the current guidance requires an employment contract or Notice of Terms of Engagement meeting the residence criteria. The contract is expected to be for at least one year and show the current qualifying gross annual earnings figure.

The employer's Gibraltar status also matters. The published criteria refer to a business trading in or from Gibraltar, properly registered and licensed and up to date with relevant payments and filings.

If the applicant is not British, EU, EEA or Swiss, the employer must check the work-permit process. Where a work permit is required, approval in principle comes before the residence application can proceed.

Accommodation evidence

The current residence rules require evidence of qualifying accommodation in Gibraltar. A rental must be the applicant's main home, be for at least 12 months and not be a holiday rental. Purchased property must be available for the applicant's exclusive use and cannot be let while the permit is held.

Do not treat an address alone as accommodation evidence. Keep the rental agreement or purchase documents and enough information to show that the arrangement matches the published residence criteria. New residence applications cannot be made on the basis of living on a vessel.

Vetting and good standing

The standard evidence list requires an official vetting form from the country where the applicant was most recently living. Included family members aged 18 or over also need the published vetting evidence.

The application process includes good-standing checks and can take account of public policy, public health and public security grounds. If there is a fact that may be relevant to those checks, prepare an accurate explanation rather than assuming it will not matter.

Business and self-employed documents

A self-employed person, working director or partner who wants to reside in Gibraltar must deal with the business application before the residence application. The business stage includes registration and, where the activity requires it, licensing.

Business-route preparation can therefore include registration and licensing records, tax and social-insurance history, commercial-premises evidence and material showing the genuine Gibraltar economic activity behind the application. New businesses and newly registered self-employed applicants may also need the deposit described on the official fees page.

See self-employed residency before treating an owner or working director as an ordinary employee.

Family documents

Family evidence depends on the relationship. The ordinary residence framework covers a spouse or civil partner and/or children accompanying the main applicant. The official portal also contains a separate durable-partner rule for the unmarried partner of a person with Gibraltarian Status.

Prepare the civil-status documents that prove the relationship, identity and age of each person, plus the required adult vetting evidence. Where a spouse or civil partner is included under the ordinary route, check the separate advance-deposit requirement.

Existing residence documents

If you already hold or previously held a Gibraltar card or permit, do not discard it from the file just because it is old. Under the current framework, whether a Civilian Registration Card or Permit of Residence was valid on 6 October 2025 can determine whether the new rules apply at all.

Keep copies of current and previous Gibraltar documents, their issue and expiry dates, the address associated with them and relevant DIHA correspondence. If a document is expired, cancelled, missing or tied to an incorrect address, resolve the status rather than making a new application on an assumption.

Fees and deposits

The official portal currently states a £250 residence processing fee for the main applicant, £250 for each included family member and a £20 annual renewal fee. Business, self-employed and some other cases can involve additional deposits.

Keep proof of any required payment, but check current figures immediately before applying. Fees, earnings references and contribution calculations can change.

General preparation checklist

The sections below combine the main evidence categories used by the checker and the published Government material. Not every item applies to every person.

Specialist routes need specialist checklists

Category 2 and HEPSS have their own Gibraltar Finance application material. Those routes can require evidence that is not part of the ordinary employee application, including specialist financial, role, accommodation or insurance documentation.

Do not use the general checklist as a substitute for the current Category 2 or HEPSS application material.

Route-specific notes

For employee-route preparation, also review the income requirement guide, property and accommodation guide and the official employee checker.

For existing residents, renewals and document-health issues, start with the renewal guide and confirm the current position with DIHA before relying on new-applicant assumptions.

For Category 2 and HEPSS, use the specialist guides and official Gibraltar Finance material rather than treating those routes as ordinary employee residency.

Final check before submission

• Use the current official application page, not a saved old checklist.
• Confirm that every submitted document is still valid.
• Check that the route-specific prerequisites have been completed in the right order.
• Keep copies of everything submitted and evidence of payments made.
• Do not add unsupported assumptions to fill a gap in the evidence.
• If the facts do not fit the standard route, identify the exemption, transitional rule or specialist route that is actually being relied on.