An IBC in Seychelles with Full Nominee Service and Apostille

Seychelles is associated with sandy beaches and lazy holidays for many people, but it is also a paradise for legal and very effective tax optimization. The key to this is an offshore international business company (IBC) registration. And if you are interested in the maximum possible confidentiality (to the extent possible in the era of deoffshorization and formidable terms like FATF, FATCA, KYC/AML), you can conduct business using nominee service. And all this is absolutely legal and transparent!

Seychelles is an island state with more than 100 islands, which is geographically located in the western Indian Ocean. The capital is Victoria. Seychelles was a British colony that gained independence in 1976.

 

Like many island nations, Seychelles is renowned for its tourism industry. In addition, they have a developed corporate sector with a preferential tax regime that allows to register and effectively use offshore companies, and conduct international business in extremely comfortable conditions.

The corporate legislation of Seychelles is based on English law, which makes the operation of the offshore organizations registered in this jurisdiction simple and clear. The process is governed by the International Business Companies Act adopted in 1994.

The Anonymity of Beneficial Owners in the Deoffshorization Era

Due to amendments to the Seychelles IBC Offshore Companies Act, the reporting requirements and registration procedure have been slightly changed. The main innovation concerns the register of beneficial owners: the information about the actual (beneficial) owner of the offshore IBC must now be recorded in a special register.

Another important point is the beneficial owner’s obligation to provide the registration agent with complete and reliable information. This requirement applies to all legal entities (including offshore IBCs) if their registration in Seychelles was completed before the amendments were adopted. The innovations will equally affect new/renewed companies as well as the structures that changed the composition of the beneficial owners.

Information to be included in the register in Seychelles:

• first name, last name
• date of birth
• nationality
• interest in an offshore IBC (registered in Seychelles)
• information on the use of the nominee service (director, shareholders)

Register of Directors

With effect from the date on which these amendments came into force, the details of the company directors must be filed in the register. When the actual IBC registration in Seychelles is over and all formalities have been completed, the current corporate law gives the new owner 30 days to submit the directors’ particulars to the register.

Any changes in the composition of directors of the offshore IBC in Seychelles must also be submitted to the register within 30 days. Initial entry of directors in the register is free of charge for all companies in Seychelles and registration agents. However, all subsequent data entries must be paid for in the amount of USD 25 as amended by law.

In February 2017, new company registration and data entry procedure were introduced in Seychelles. All previously registered companies were required to provide data on the company’s directors by December 1, 2017. The register of directors in Seychelles is not open. It was planned to make it public in 2018, but it never happened.

Entering data in the register of directors is mandatory for newly registered offshore companies, and the relevant items are indicated in the registration forms. If the data is not provided within the stipulated period (30 days), the company will be obliged to pay a fine, while the law does not impose any liability on the registration agent.

A Cheap Offshore? No, an Offshore for Specific Purposes

If the offshore business of the IBC is planned to be registered in Seychelles and the project is completed, you will get zero-taxation “in return”. All expenses related to company maintenance (if we talk about taxes, the nominee service requires renewal, and this is a fee-based service) are covered by an annual fixed payment, but its amount is formal and quite affordable.

The amount of the mandatory fee in Seychelles (payable by companies with authorized capital):

• Up to USD 5,000 – USD 100
• From USD 5,000 to USD 50,000 – USD 300
• More than USD 50,000 – USD 1,000

And given that Seychelles does not necessarily require accounting records, it becomes clear why the offshore jurisdiction is so popular with international business.

The only problem of Seychelles is the reputation of a “cheap” offshore. Solid entrepreneurs bypass the jurisdiction as they prefer better services, comfort, security and reliability than the budding business. But has an offshore IBC in Seychelles gotten worse as a result? No, of course not.

Let’s take the choice of accommodation as an abstract example. If you have an important business meeting in another city and you need to work in the evening before, get a good sleep and look well in the morning, you will not choose a cheap motel where soundproofing leaves much to be desired, facilities are shared and service is basic. You need a nice peaceful hotel with a comfortable bed and a work desk, as well as someone to take care of your suit.

But let’s look at a different situation. Suppose you’re traveling and need a place to spend the night and move on in the morning. In this case, you don’t need to drive for hours just to sleep 8 hours in Hilton, especially if you are tired and all you need is a bed. The international business company in Seychelles is a cheap offshore company, but it offers good value for a tight budget.

Seychelles is not the best place to protect and diversify serious assets or run a large-scale business targeting markets in Europe and America. And if this is critical for you, please have a look at our similar offer for Nevis (of course, with nominee service and apostille included). But if you are just taking the first steps in an offshore business, an IBC in Seychelles is an extremely profitable option, perhaps even the best available one.

An Offshore Business Company in Seychelles

IBC is a typical format for a legal entity conducting international business in almost any tax-free jurisdiction. The details of the organizational structure may vary in different offshore destinations, so it is better to first discover what an offshore IBC in Seychelles is.

Basic features:

• a registration agent
• a registered office (agent’s location is allowed)
• the minimum number of shareholders and directors of the company in Seychelles is 1/1
• the position of secretary is not mandatory
• there are no requirements for the minimum authorized/issued share capital. The recommended authorized capital of the offshore company is USD 100. Payment of the authorized capital is not required.
• there is no need to submit accounting or auditing reports in Seychelles. However, it is mandatory for all offshore IBC companies in Seychelles to maintain internal accounts that reflect the organization’s financial standing.
• the use of nominee shareholders and directors is permitted
• there is no requirement for a mandatory annual general meeting of the company’s directors or shareholders
• in Seychelles, bearer shares are permitted

Annual Fees

The minimum amount required to renew the business of an offshore IBC in Seychelles is USD 1,999.

Expenses covered by this amount:

• state duty
• registered agent’s services
• registered address (legal address) of an offshore IBC in Seychelles

Amount of fine (based on duration of delay):

• up to 6 months – USD 399
• from 6 to 18 months – USD 799
• more than 18 months – USD 1,199 
• if fines are charged and not paid within 2 years, the offshore IBC in Seychelles will be struck off the register

International business companies registered in Seychelles are not entitled to:

• own real estate in Seychelles
• conduct any business with residents in Seychelles
• provide management services to local companies or register offices in Seychelles
• conduct banking, trust or insurance business (a license is required)

Registration of an Offshore Company in Seychelles – What You Spend and Get

If you choose experts from the International Wealth portal to represent your interests, rest assured that you will not have any reasons to worry about the quality of services or their completeness. You will receive a full package of documents, and the procedure of an offshore IBC registration in Seychelles will be carried out in full compliance with the current legislation.

A minimum package of documents:

• Certificate of Incorporation for an offshore IBC in Seychelles
• Articles of Association and Memorandum of Association for an IBC in Seychelles
• Subscriber’s Resolution Appointing First Director
• Minutes of the First Board Meeting
• Register of Directors
• Register of Shareholders
• Share Certificates in your name or in the name of a nominee shareholder (if you additionally select the nominee director service)
• Declaration of Trust (when a nominee shareholder’s services are used for an additional fee)
• stitching apostilled copies of documents

Services and additional features included in the invoice (you don’t need to pay for them additionally):

• registration and preparation of documents for the international business company in Seychelles
• registration agent’s services (first year)
• registration address (first year)
• delivery of a complete set of documents for the offshore IBC in Seychelles (anywhere in the world)
• payment of all registration and state fees

Costs of Company Registration and Maintenance in Seychelles

As we said earlier, your total costs will be relatively modest. Seychelles is a “cheap” offshore, but it does not mean that the registration of a business company here will be unprofitable. The jurisdiction is perfect as a starting point, so the opinion that Seychelles is a second-class offshore is completely groundless.

Basic costs:

• IBC’s net registration in Seychelles with full apostille – 2899 USD
• nominee director’s services – USD 1,399 per year
• nominee shareholder’s services – USD 1,399 per year
• renewal of the offshore IBC – USD 1,999 per year

Additional services (after IBC has been registered in Seychelles):

• a notarized set of documents for offshore IBC – USD 700 (USD 1,000 with apostille)
• preparation of standard Minutes of the Meeting or Resolution – USD 500
• updating the register of directors, including filling in the register – USD 550
• notarized and apostilled minutes – USD 1,000
• Share Certificate – USD 50 each
• searching for a company and getting a register of expenses – USD 600
• Certificate of Good Standing of an offshore IBC company in Seychelles issued by the Register – USD 700 (USD 1,000 with apostille)
• Certificate of Incumbency issued by the registration agent (Standard/Special UBO/Special UBO+voting rights) – USD 490
• notarized Certificate of Authority – USD 690 (USD 890 with apostille)
• certification by the registration agent (per document) – USD 150
• company liquidation (preparation of documents) + Certificate of Dissolution – USD 2,300
• change of company name in Seychelles with a new Memorandum and Constituent Contract – USD 1,200
• notarization (per document) – USD 250
• apostille – USD 300
• issuing a stamp – USD 200
• restoration of IBC’s legal capacity in Seychelles if the company is excluded from the register – upon request
• offshore IBC name reservation – free of charge
• financial report (up to 40 transactions per year) – USD 2,400
• financial report (from 41 to 150 transactions per year) – USD 4,500
• financial report (more than 150 transactions per year) – upon request
• virtual office in Seychelles (postal services, dedicated phone line, fax) – from USD 3,500
• professional director’s service – USD 3,400 + expenses

Free consultations with professionals that help you select:

• a foreign/offshore personal account
• a foreign payment system
• a foreign corporate/personal account

Registration (Incorporation) of an Offshore Business Company in Seychelles (with Apostille and Notarization)

Our experts will tell you all the details of the procedure. If you want to control each stage, we will give you this opportunity, but it does not make much sense. In any case, your request to register an offshore IBC in Seychelles will be fulfilled.

Key stages:

• The first and main step is your desire to entrust us with the registration of an IBC in Seychelles with full nominee service and apostille. To do this, please contact us at info@offshore-pro.info (alternative communication channels).
• Under the service agreement, you will have to pay a fee for the services rendered and assistance in registering an international business company in Seychelles. The recommended payment method is a bank card, Pay Pal system, or bank transaction (in all cases, the fee starts from 2899 USD). Alternative payment methods may be more appropriate for you.

You will need the following documents to register an offshore IBC in Seychelles with a full nominee service and apostille:

• a notarized copy of a foreign passport or other acceptable ID (pages with a photo and signature)
• proof of residential address (paid utility bill, bank statement)
• company name in Seychelles
• contact information (the address where we can send documents regarding your IBC in Seychelles)

The registration of an offshore IBC in Seychelles (including receipt of a set of apostilled documents) takes 5-6 business days from the date on which we receive payment and a full set of documents. It may take a few days longer if you order nominee services.

Other services in Seychelles that we offer:

• Seychelles Limited Partnership
• Set Up a Company (BC) in Seychelles
• Open a Private Bank Account in Seychelles Remotely
• Open a Corporate Bank Account in Seychelles Remotely
• Seychelles: companies, bank accounts, and yacht registration

Seek advice and start incorporating your company now, and we will provide you with the best offshore products and nominee service.