- →
-
Contact Form
-
ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Gibraltar companies for international founders since 1995. Our Gibraltar team handles every step of company formation in Gibraltar on a single agreed service contract, from picking the right legal form through Companies House registration, Income Tax Office registration, UBO filing and your first Gibraltar bank account. Most clients are trading inside 1 to 3 weeks via Companies House electronic filing, or in 3 to 7 working days via a ready-made off-the-shelf Gibraltar Ltd.
Our service covers Companies House filings, registered office, Tax Office registration.
Gibraltar Ltd + registered office + banking introduction + accountant referral under one roof.
Companies House standard formation 1 to 3 weeks. English-speaking case manager.
No notarisation required.
We file Form 1A (incorporation), draft articles, register the UBO, organise tax registration.
Most of the elapsed time in a Gibraltar formation goes on waiting for documents rather than on Companies House, so the checklist below is what we ask for before anything is filed. A company name, with a reserve in case the first is refused, since sensitive words need regulatory approval. The intended activity, described closely enough to show whether a gaming, financial-services or DLT licence is involved. The shareholders, the director or directors and the company secretary, with certified passport copies and proof of address for each, apostilled where the provider asks. The beneficial owners, for the filing under the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Regulations. The share capital you want to issue, remembering that a Gibraltar Ltd has no statutory minimum. A registered office in Gibraltar, which we provide. And a short business narrative with your banking preferences, on which the bank introduction is built. With that pack complete, name approval takes 1 to 3 working days and the certificate of incorporation typically follows within 5 to 10 working days.
The Ltd is the workhorse of Gibraltar commerce. Governed by the Gibraltar Companies Act 2014, modelled on the English Companies Act tradition.
For listed entities and capital-raising structures. Min share capital £20,500.
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ltd | None | 1 to 3 weeks | Default, SMEs, gaming, fintech, holdings |
| PLC | £20,500 | 2 to 4 weeks | Listed groups |
| LLP | None | 2 to 3 weeks | Professional partnerships |
| PCC | Varies | 4 to 8 weeks | Insurance, fund structures |
| Off-the-shelf Ltd | £100+ (paid) | 3 to 7 days | Need immediate trading |
Registering a company in Gibraltar is an English-law process with no notary in it: documents are signed electronically and filed with Companies House Gibraltar. In outline, we agree the legal form and the activity, apply for name approval, draft the memorandum and articles, file the Form 1A incorporation application with the officer, shareholder, capital and registered-office details, receive the certificate of incorporation, register the company with the Income Tax Office, file the beneficial owners in the UBO register and open the bank account, adding a sector licence application where gaming, e-money or DLT activity is involved. The eight steps below set out what happens at each stage. A standard Ltd is trading in 1 to 3 weeks, against 3 to 7 working days if you take over an off-the-shelf Gibraltar Ltd instead.
Confirm legal form, shareholder/director structure, business activity, registered office, share-capital level, banking preferences and any sector-specific licensing requirements (gaming, fintech, e-money, DLT).
Apply to Gibraltar Companies House for name approval. Typical processing: 1 to 3 working days. Sensitive words require regulatory approval.
Drafted by our Gibraltar attorney. Gibraltar model articles work for most Ltd companies; bespoke articles for multi-shareholder or regulated-sector structures.
The Companies House incorporation application (Form 1A) is filed electronically. Includes:
Companies House issues the certificate of incorporation typically within 5 to 10 working days.
The company applies to the Gibraltar Income Tax Office for tax registration. Corporate tax filings are made annually.
Beneficial owners filed in the Gibraltar UBO register under the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Regulations within prescribed time.
Gaming operators apply to the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. Fintech / e-money operators apply to the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. DLT operators apply under the DLT framework. Each sector has its own substance and operational requirements.
Open operating account. Gibraltar banks: Gibraltar International Bank, Jyske Bank Gibraltar, Trusted Novus Bank, plus EU passporting fintechs.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Ltd via Companies House standard | 1 to 3 weeks |
| PLC | 2 to 4 weeks |
| LLP | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Sector-licensed entity (gaming, fintech) | 3 to 6 months including licence |
| Off-the-shelf Ltd transfer | 3 to 7 working days |
The cost of a Gibraltar company is not one number, because it depends on decisions you have not made yet. Four things move it. The vehicle, since the Ltd is the standard route while a PLC, a Protected Cell Company or a regulated entity carries more drafting and more filings. Whether you register a new company or take over a ready-made one. How many shareholders, directors and beneficial owners have to be verified, because each one means certified documents, apostilles and courier. And whether the activity needs a sector licence from the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner, from the Financial Services Commission or under the DLT framework, which is a separate process with its own timetable and its own substance requirements. Share capital is a choice rather than a constraint here: the Gibraltar Ltd has no statutory minimum, although ready-made companies usually carry paid-up share capital of £100 to £10,000 for credibility, and a PLC needs £20,500.
What the consolidated scope covers is the part many providers split apart: the Companies House filings including Form 1A, the memorandum and articles, the registered office in Gibraltar, the company secretary that every Gibraltar Ltd must have, Income Tax Office registration, the UBO filing under the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Regulations, the bank introduction with the documentation pack behind it, apostille and courier of cross-border documents, and the digital handover pack with the statutory registers and a 12-month compliance calendar. What sits outside it, and is worth agreeing before you start, is the annual cycle after the first year, accounts and audit where the thresholds are met, payroll if you employ anyone, sector-licence work, and translations where a bank or a counterparty asks for them.
A standard Ltd runs 1 to 3 weeks. Name approval at Companies House takes 1 to 3 working days and the certificate of incorporation typically issues within 5 to 10 working days of the Form 1A filing, so the rest is the KYC pack, the articles and any apostilles needed from home. An off-the-shelf Gibraltar Ltd transfers in 3 to 7 working days instead, because the company and its tax registration already exist. A PLC takes 2 to 4 weeks.
No statutory minimum. Most clients form with £100-£10,000.
Gibraltar inherited a duty-based tax system rather than VAT. The absence of VAT is a deliberate competitive choice that has made Gibraltar particularly attractive for service-based businesses, e-commerce operators, online gaming, software licensing and similar high-margin operations.
Broadly correct. Gibraltar sets no residency, nationality or work-permit test for shareholders or directors, and a company can be owned and run entirely from outside the territory. Two local anchors are still needed: a registered office in Gibraltar, and a company secretary, which in practice is a locally based licensed provider, since a sole director cannot also act as secretary. Tax residence follows management and control, so where directors meet matters.
15% on Gibraltar-source profits (or worldwide income for Gibraltar-resident-managed companies). No VAT.
Gibraltar is one of the world’s most respected gaming jurisdictions. The Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner regulates a mature operator base, many of the world’s leading online-gaming companies are Gibraltar-licensed. Sector-specific tax and licensing frameworks apply.
Yes for share-ownership. Tax-residence determination depends on place of central management and control, affecting whether worldwide or Gibraltar-source-only taxation applies.
Four things. Income Tax Office registration, so the company has a tax file from day one. The UBO filing under the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Regulations. A sector licence where the activity needs one, from the Gambling Commissioner, from the Financial Services Commission or under the DLT framework. Then the bank account and an accountant, because a Gibraltar Ltd files an annual return and accounts at Companies House even while it is dormant.
You file a Form 1A incorporation application at Companies House Gibraltar with the memorandum and articles, the director and company-secretary details, the shareholders and their initial share allotment, the UBO declaration, a registered office address in Gibraltar and a statement of capital. Name approval comes first and takes 1 to 3 working days. The certificate of incorporation typically issues within 5 to 10 working days, after which the company registers with the Income Tax Office. We prepare and file all of it.
The whole procedure is remote. Gibraltar requires no notarisation, so incorporation documents and stock transfer forms are signed electronically and filed by us with Companies House. Shareholders and directors may be of any nationality and none of them has to be resident, though the company needs a registered office in Gibraltar and a company secretary, which we provide. You send certified passport copies and proof of address, apostilled where asked for, and most of our Gibraltar clients never travel to the Rock.
Ready to register your Gibraltar Ltd? Contact our Gibraltar desk.
Gibraltar is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Gibraltar for your Ltd specifically? British overseas territory, gaming licensing is the headline reason, but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you are weighing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Gibraltar specifically: 15% CIT (raised from 12.5% on 1 July 2024); no VAT, major operational advantage for trading & services.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Gibraltar:
Yes. A name change is filed with the CHG via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing, typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change as standard for both shelf-company purchase and new formation.
Not really. Gibraltar left the EU with the United Kingdom, so the Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives no longer apply. Its treaty network is also very thin: one comprehensive agreement, with the United Kingdom, in force since March 2020, plus the 2019 tax agreement with Spain that mainly settles residence conflicts, and around 28 information exchange agreements. Cross-border withholding tax therefore has to be planned through the counterparty’s domestic rules.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural, for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in Gibraltar or a domestic tax-base reform, we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and set out the remedial steps. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
A Ltd is a separate legal entity Gibraltarian-tax-resident with its own corporate tax filings and beneficial-owner record. A branch is an extension of a foreign parent, the foreign parent is the legal entity, the Gibraltar branch books local-source income but the parent’s overall tax liability cascades. Most foreign owners pick a Ltd for liability ring-fencing and clean tax accounting; branches are sometimes preferred where the parent has specific group-relief or treaty considerations that depend on common legal personality.
Engaging us for your Gibraltarian new Ltd formation covers the following deliverables under one service:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, we operate the same service globally for Gibraltarian corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are scoped separately, so the incorporation or transfer work stays exactly as agreed.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Gibraltar consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive, a Gibraltarian Ltd can engage in any lawful commercial activity, but choosing a jurisdiction where the activity has a deep operating ecosystem (talent pool, regulatory familiarity, banking and supplier networks) materially shortens the time from incorporation to first revenue. Tell us your activity profile and we will confirm whether Gibraltar is the right fit before we begin.
Gibraltar’s double-tax treaty network varies by counterparty country and is a critical factor in how a Gibraltarian Ltd should be structured. The OECD Multilateral Instrument has updated most modern treaties since 2017 to embed a Principal Purpose Test (PPT), treaty benefits are denied where a structure was set up primarily for tax advantage rather than genuine commercial purpose, so substance and operational reality matter more than ever.
Common Gibraltarian Ltd patterns we see: regional hub for cross-border trade, IP holding with treaty-protected royalty flows where applicable, local trading and asset-holding entity, and finance/distribution arms serving group operations elsewhere. Each pattern has its own substance and transfer-pricing implications which your consultant will map before structuring.
The 2026 corporate-law and tax landscape in Gibraltar: 15% headline corporate tax. Standard CIT raised from 12.5% to 15% on 1 July 2024; no VAT, major operational advantage for trading & services.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Gibraltarian structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above €750 million consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the CHG’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Gibraltarian tax regime, but reporting obligations to the CHG apply to every entity regardless of size.
We track these regulatory currents continuously and flag anything material to active clients within working days of the change being announced. You do not need to monitor Gibraltar regulatory news yourself, that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: CHG confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Gibraltar tax authority following the financial year-end, usually 6-12 months after period close), and VAT/sales-tax returns (monthly or quarterly cadence depending on turnover, where applicable). Beneficial-owner-register updates are event-triggered (filing required when ownership changes) rather than calendar-based.
Penalty consequences vary by jurisdiction but typically follow a pattern: small late-filing fee for short delays, larger automatic penalty for sustained non-filing, and ultimately strike-off from the CHG for prolonged non-compliance. Strike-off voids the company and may require court application to restore. Our retainer service handles the full filing calendar so this never happens to a client on our books.
Three layers determine the after-tax dividend: Gibraltar corporate tax already paid at the Ltd level on profits (15%); Gibraltar withholding tax on outbound dividends, which depends on the recipient country and treaty position (often reduced or eliminated by treaty); and recipient-country tax on the dividend in the parent’s hands (often subject to participation exemption at the recipient level). Your consultant maps this end-to-end in the initial scoping so the after-tax economics are clear before incorporation.