HM Treasury has extended the UK–Gibraltar financial services transitional regime by 12 months to 2026. The Statutory Instrument (SI 2025/1182) was made on 11 November 2025, laid before Parliament on 13 November, and comes into force on 16 December 2025, avoiding a year‑end cliff edge for cross‑border operations.

In practical terms, the move keeps Parts 2 and 3 of the Financial Services (Gibraltar) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 alive for another year. Those provisions maintain ‘deemed‑passporting’ style access for specified categories of Gibraltar‑based firms serving UK customers-and similar access for UK firms into Gibraltar-while the permanent permissions model is finalised.

The Bank of England has previously described these rules as a bridge to the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime (GAR), noting that the transitional arrangements were extended to 31 December 2025 and could be prolonged until GAR is in place; SI 2025/1182 delivers that extra year of continuity.

Timing also reflects the wider policy backdrop. On 11 June 2025 the UK, European Commission, Spain and Gibraltar announced a political agreement on the core aspects of a future treaty for Gibraltar; the legal text is still being finalised. The extension gives firms regulatory certainty while that process continues.

For operators, insurance is the clearest case study. Gibraltar hosts a sizeable cluster of UK‑facing motor insurers-official material cites more than 25 carriers with a combined share exceeding 20% of the UK motor market-so renewals, claims handling and data flows should continue on familiar terms through 2026.

For investors, the decision trims near‑term regulatory risk for groups that rely on Gibraltar entities to underwrite UK business. Hastings Group, for example, says around 90% of its policies are directly underwritten by its Gibraltar insurer, Advantage Insurance Company Limited-arrangements where stable cross‑border permissions matter for earnings visibility.

Customers should see no immediate change. Where Gibraltar insurers have failed in recent years, UK policyholders have typically been protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; in October 2025 FSCS confirmed protection for more than 16,000 UK customers after the failure of Gibraltar‑based Premier Insurance Company Limited. Eligibility still depends on the firm’s authorisation status and the policy type, so firms should continue to signpost customers to FSCS guidance.

Compliance teams will want to log the formal dates and plan communications accordingly. The UK Parliament’s SI timeline records the instrument as made on 11 November, in force from 16 December, with an objection period ending on 8 January 2026-useful waypoints for board risk registers and ‘no change to service’ updates.

The takeaway for finance directors is straightforward: treat 2026 as a planning window. Progress applications for the forthcoming Gibraltar Authorisation Regime or UK authorisation routes, audit contracts that rely on the 2019 regime’s Parts 2 and 3, and keep investors and customers briefed as the permanent framework beds in.