Any UK firm which wishes to carry on business in another EEA State may do so if it is within the scope of a relevant EU Single Market Directive. This is referred to in FSMA as an EEA right, and the exercise of such rights is known as 'passporting'.

What is passporting?

If a UK firm wishes to exercise passporting rights it must notify the FSA of its intention to do so. The notification must give the information set out in our rules and must include whether the firm intends to set up a branch in that EEA State or will merely provide services into that State.

The activities which are 'passportable' are set out in the relevant EU directives for banking, insurance, insurance mediation, UCITs management and investment services businesses. Activities which are not covered by the directives are not passportable and a firm would need to seek direct authorisation from the host EEA state for such activities.

UK firms which have passported out of the UK, and EEA firms which have passported into the UK, must notify their home-state regulator of changes to their passport details, such as changes of address, management, or organisational restructures.

Are you eligible?

A firm which is authorised in the UK and to which one of the EU single market directives applies has a right to carry on business in another EEA State.

What you need to do

UK firms should notify FSA by completing the relevant standard form of notice of intention, which can be downloaded from the forms page. Once completed, the relevant form should be returned to:

Passport Notification Unit
Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HS

Alternatively, the form may be emailed to passport.notifications@fsa.gov.uk. There is no fee for making an application to passport.

Changes to existing passporting details must be notified to the Passport Notification Unit in writing. Guidance is given in SUP 13 [for UK firms] and SUP 14 [incoming EEA firms]

What the FSA will do

We will endeavour to process a firm's notification as quickly as possible and in any event within the time scales set out in the directives for notifying the host EEA State:

 
Passporting change Period for giving notification
Establishing a branch Three months (One month under the Insurance Mediation Directive)
Cross-border services One month
Subsequent changes to branch or services details One month

 

We will tell the firm when we have notified the host EEA State. In the case of a new branch passport, the firm must then await notification from the host EEA State of any local requirements it must comply with before it can start business. If the host EEA State has not contacted the firm within two months of notification by FSA, the firm may start business. A firm may withdraw its notice of intention at any time before the FSA has forwarded a notification to the host EEA State.