Offshore company formation refers to the incorporation of a legal entity in any given offshore jurisdiction. The registration procedure is mainly the same as the one that investors must follow in any country where commercial law regulates corporate structures.
However, the exact offshore company registration procedure can vary from one country to another, on matters such as: 1) capital requirements, 2) number of required investors, 3) residency requirements, 4) available legal entities, etc.
In all cases, investors will have the obligation to set up an offshore bank account for their newly founded company and here, our team of consultants can be of assistance.
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What are the main steps for offshore company formation?
The basic aspects investors should be aware of refer to the incorporation papers of a company. Offshore company setup implies that the investors will choose a trading name that is available on the respective territory, and if the name is available, the legal entity will be issued with a certificate of registration.
Of course, the investors will have to decide on the legal entity of choice based on the factors mentioned above and once the decision is taken, it is required to draw and sign the statutory documents of the legal entity.
The offshore company registration can be done with the assistance of our team of consultants, as foreign investors are generally not required to participate in person in the incorporation formalities.
For this, foreign businessmen will have to sign a power of attorney, that will be used for the registration of the offshore company, as well as for other related procedures, such as the set up of an offshore bank account.
A necessary component of the process of offshore company formation is to have a registered address for the legal entity. In most of the offshore jurisdictions, it is also required to appoint nominee directors.
What is the cost of offshore company formation?
Foreign investors choose offshore jurisdictions for setting up a business for the many tax benefits available for companies. The advantages of offshore jurisdictions are mainly given by the tax exemptions which are generally not applicable in onshore countries.
However, in order to start the offshore company setup, the investors will have to prepare a minimum budget, similar with the one required in onshore locations.
The costs and fees will vary depending on the country where the investors will set up their business. In the list below, you can discover some of these costs:
- a cost below $1,000 can apply in offshore jurisdictions such as Belize or Seychelles, where the costs start from $890 and $950 respectively;
- costs above $ 1,000 are available in jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Panama or St. Kitts and Nevis, where the prices start from $1,290, $1,490 and $1,790 respectively;
- offshore company formation prices in Dubai start from $3,000;
- higher costs, of minimum $5,000, can apply in the Cayman Islands, which is a very popular destination for offshore incorporation.
In general, investors should prepare a minimum budget of at least $2,000 for offshore company registration. With regards to the duration of the incorporation process, one must know that it takes approximately 1 week.
However, this only refers to the basic steps for company formation setup, as other procedures can take a longer period of time. For instance, all the formalities required for the setup of an offshore bank account can take up to 4 weeks.
Depending on the jurisdiction and the field of activity, investors will also be required to obtain licenses and permits during the process of offshore company formation, and this can also take up to several weeks.
For more details, we invite you to contact our specialists, who can help you incorporate a business in an offshore jurisdiction.