BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

The British Virgin Islands is the world's pre-eminent offshore corporate domicile.

Services available from BVI:
Offshore companies. New or ready-made companies available.
Bank Accounts
Mutual Funds
Captive Insurance
Trusts
Trusts Vista
Yacht registration
Bank Nominee signatories
BVI REGULATED PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT FUND:
Other Services

New BVI Business Companies Act and the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act.

Offshore company (IBC) Incorporations.
One person is enough to incorporate an offshore company.

Fees summary:
Basic:
Incorporation Fee: $799
Registered Office/Agent: $350 p.a. 
Government Licence: $300+$50 p.a.  (Standard capital)
Total: $1499

Options:
Corporate Seal: $50  (required for bank acc)
Apostille: $150   (required for bank acc)
Corporate Nominee Director: $300 p.a.
Private individual Nominee Director: $1500 p.a.
Nominee Shareholder: $300 p.a. corporate or $1500 p.a. private individual.
Power of Attorney: $150 (only if you have selected a nominee service)
Notarization of Memorandum & Articles of Association: $150
Legalization: $150
DHL/FedEx Courier: $100 

Nominee bank Signatory: $1000 / year if the company is incorporated with nominee service (read more here)
Bank account setup $700

Mail Forwarding from Tortola - US$400 - payable annually in advance, plus the actual cost of postage. We take a US$50 deposit to cover and then invoice for a further sum when this is used up.

Annual maintenance fees after first year:
  Registered Office/Agent: $550 p.a. 
  Government Licence: $350 p.a. (you can check here BVI government penalties)
Total: $900     
(plus fees for nominee services if supplied)

The annual state fee of a BVI company with an non-standard authorized capital (exceeding US$50,000) is US$1,000

See here a sample of Incorporation documents.

New regulations about Bearer Shares.
The BVI law was changed in 17 April 2003, and the incorporation fee and annual fee for a company that allows the issuance of bearer shares will increase to $1000/year, from $350/year at the present, and the share certificates will have to remain in BVI at the registered office.
We recommend to either get registered shares in your name, if privacy is not an issue, or to use our nominee shareholder service ($300/year)
Also, as per the new legislation the shareholder and director would have to be of legal age.

REGISTER OF DIRECTORS
All companies will be required to maintain an updated Register of Directors at the office of the Registered Agent in the BVI. Existing companies will have a period of twelve months to establish the register, which must date back to the date of the enactment of the new Act.

The BVI Government fee increased Jan 1st 2005; for companies with capital of $50,000 or less the fees will be $350 and above $50,000 will be $1100. (this amount does NOT need to be ever deposited . You don't need to have such an amount to open a company)

Nominee Bank Signatory service:
If we provide nominee services for your company, we could assist you further in facilitating the opening of a bank account for the Company.  The normal procedures include providing certified true copies of the records of the Company to the Bank
If we establish the account and also act as signatory, we charge an annual fee of $1000 to act as signatory and to establish the account including all the necessary papers to the bank, we estimate $700 for a total of $1700 for everything. 

As signatory on the Account, we would only act on your instructions and such must be done in writing. 

Bank Accounts:

We have many options for your Tax Free Offshore Company and Offshore Bank Account:
European Banks, Caribbean Banks, Asian Banks,...
and together we'll decide the best one to use for your particular situation.

Miscellaneous:
Certificate of good standing (from June 2009 is) $850 (including courier).

Please check here our due diligence requirements for BVI incorporations.

For your convenience, we have included a Cost Calculator in the order form:

BVI Business Companies Act and the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act.

The BVI Business Companies Act (the “BVIBC”) was enacted last year, and in order to comply, our Memorandum & Articles of Association had to be redrafted and all new incorporations would be done under the new legislation before the beginning of 2006 year. To recap, please note that following:-

The British Virgin Islands will be operating under a new legislation which continues to govern BVI Companies. Under this legislation, companies are referred as BVI Business Companies and not International Business Companies. It is the intention of the BVI Government to discontinue the use of the first company law, "The International Business Companies Act" which was designed exclusively for non-residents. Under the new Companies Act both foreigners and residents will benefit from a zero tax on all business companies, both local and international. To enable transition to the new Act, clients may continue to incorporate companies under the old legislation for a specified period of time (noted below) but are required later to re-register under the new legislation which will then form one single corporate law. This change will allow the BVI to continue to operate as an Offshore tax-free jurisdiction. Below is a time-table for compliance:

1. 1 January 2005, the new BVI Business Companies Act came into force.

2. A two year transitional phase for IBCs to the new BVIBCA was cited as follows:

* Until 31st December 2005 clients can continue to incorporate companies under the IBC Act.
* As of January 1 2006 all companies will be incorporated as BVIBC (under the new Act).
* During the period 1 January 2006 through 31 December 2006 existing companies will be permitted to operate under the existing IBC Act and Companies Acts for one final year to enable them to prepare for transition to the new Act.
* On 1 January 2007, any companies remaining on the registers maintained under the existing Companies Act and the existing IBC Act will automatically be re-registered under the new Act.
* By 2007 it is envisaged that all companies registered in the BVI will be operating under the new regime.

There are many new changes and procedures to be noted. For example, a Director must be at least 18 years old and must be appointed within 30 days of the company’s date of incorporation. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the new legislation, please email us.

Therefore, all new companies will now be incorporated under the new Act.

Jurisdiction details:

The British Virgin Islands are a British dependency located in the Eastern Caribbean, about 80 kilometers East of Puerto Rico. English is the official language and the official currency is the United States Dollar. The Government is stable and promises to remain that way. There is good commercial and professional infrastructure and the Government is actively encouraging the development of the offshore finance business and has now upgraded the Companies Registry by installing state of the art technology.

The International Business Companies Act was passed in 1984 and created the International Business Company (IBC) which is the preferred offshore company vehicle. In recent years the BVI has become extremely popular, particularly in the Far East region, due to the extensive marketing of the jurisdiction particularly by lawyers who moved from Panama during the Noriega regime and set up offices in the BVI.

What information can be obtained from the BVI:

Usually, only the basic information, for example, the Registered Office/Registered Agent, authorized capital, whether the company is in good standing, will be filed at the Companies Registry in the British Virgin Islands ("BVI"). 
Information pertaining to accounts, lists of directors, lists of directors' other interest, shareholders, etc. is not required to be filed as a public record !

Under the International Business Companies ('IBC') Act of the British Virgin Islands, the only party in the BVI who would have information on the shareholdings of an IBC would be the Registered Agent of the BVI IBC, as the Act requires a copy of the share register to be maintained at the Registered Office of the IBC.  The Registered Agent may be aware also of the directorships and business activity of the IBC.  In any event, this is confidential information which the Registered Agent does not normally divulge unless specifically requested to do so by its client

Please read our pages introducing the BVI

British Virgin Islands Companies

General Introduction to the BVI

The British Virgin Islands is the world's pre-eminent offshore corporate domicile. A B statement, but one which we here at OffshoreSimple Inc. believe without reservation!

Since adoption of the pioneering International Business Companies Act in 1984, almost 330,000 companies have been incorporated in the BVI. This number of registrations is growing at an ever-increasing rate and has exceeded 35,000 each year for the last several years. These figures place the BVI very close to the top of the world's leading offshore jurisdictions in terms of companies incorporated, a resounding success for their company and other offshore legislation.

Other jurisdictions have introduced legislation similar to the BVI's in an effort to compete in the international offshore company formation market. However the BVI has maintained its leadership position thanks to the flexibility of its legislation, the quality of its financial services, its commitment to privacy and its integrity and stability as a jurisdiction.

If you haven't already read our pages introducing the BVI, we would suggest you do so in order to obtain a better over-view of the Islands' position in the offshore company 'business' together with some other general historical, political and tourist information.

Why Incorporate In The BVI?

Because the British Virgin Islands is at the leading edge of current Offshore Legislation, by incorporating your offshore company in the BVI the company gains a wide range of highly competitive advantages, including:

And of course OffshoreSimple's own highly competitive fees.

What Can A BVI IBC Do?

BVI IBCs can perform all international corporate activities except:

BVI IBCs may engage in all of the following activities, which, although they may take place within the BVI, do not constitute 'doing business' in the BVI:

What Can A BVI IBC Do That Requires A License?

BVI IBCs can perform the following activities requiring a license:

How To Establish A BVI International Business Company (IBC)

The BVI IBC formation and registration process is quick and easy. For most companies the documentation is simple and brief and the official review and approval at Companies House are completed in approximately 24 hours. To this must be added our own management and processing time plus any time spent in finding a suitable company name, plus of course any delays in the postal or courier transmission of application forms and company 'kits' and in the clearing of checks (cheques) through the banking system.

The Formation Process

When you wish OffshoreSimple Inc. to proceed with the formation of your BVI IBC, please complete the Order Form and return it to us. This can be done directly by either e-mail or, after printing out and filling in the form, by fax, post or courier, but we strongly recommend (and prefer) e-mail.

Please note however that we only proceed with the actual incorporation upon receipt and clearance of full payment.

Before completing the Order Form, please read the following notes carefully. Incorrect or incomplete applications just waste time and money - we try to be as competitive as possible and one way you can help us maintain this is by doing things right, first time!

How Much Will My BVI IBC Cost?

Probably a great deal less than you think!

Here at OffshoreSimple Inc. we try to be as competitive as possible. We do this in several ways:

But whilst we believe that we are one of the most cost effective and lowest priced offshore company formation organizations around, please don't just take our word for it, have a look at some of our competitors and see what they will charge you for an identical BVI IBC.

The total cost of an offshore company is best looked at as comprising of a distinct number of items and frequently shown as such on price lists. These items are:

Referring back to the prices charged by many of our competitors, please note that frequently the price quoted in adverts, especially in newspaper/magazine adverts, is just the formation fee alone! As we're writing this, we have a newspaper right in front of us, and there is no way any formation organization, however efficient, can actually form "BVI Companies - From US$500" as quoted in their advert. OK, their basic formation fee less any Disbursements (costs) may be US$500, but the end price.....US$1,500.....2,000? Check it out for yourselves, don't just take our word for it, there are several such companies on the internet, so take a look - we know pretty well what they all charge so we've not worried by your having a look.

When we quote a price, it is always fully inclusive and always incorporates the first year annual charges. Also, because we invoice you from offshore, you will pay no sales or value added taxes on top of our price. What you see is what you pay!

Annual Costs

You will have seen several references to annual fees made above. Regrettably there are such things to be paid in order to keep your company operational, and they cover items such as:

The annual fees for the first year of your BVI IBC's life are included in the initial cost of buying the company, however the annual fees for the second and subsequent years are payable on or before the anniversary of your company's formation.

We will invoice you for these fees shortly before the 'quarter' in which your incorporation took place and will expect them to be paid fully and promptly. Failure to do so will result in your company being struck off the company register and any bank or VISA accounts maintained by the company becoming frozen. We do get the odd client company which thinks it needn't pay its annual fees, but they don't last long!

We will advise you well in advance should there be any changes in our annual domiciliary fee, nominee director's fee or in the government registration and filing fee.

What Your Company Is & What You Will Receive

Once we have formed your new British Virgin Islands International Business Company for you, we will immediately send the 'company kit' on to you by courier. As we've already mentioned, we always use a courier and we are geared to dispatching 'company kits' on this basis unless we are otherwise advised on the order form. If, for security/privacy reasons, you do not wish to give us a street address for delivery, you must advise us of this prior to dispatch to enable us to make arrangements with DHL for them to hold the company kit at their nearest depot to you. We will then provide you with the anticipated delivery date and the airway bill number - from this point on it will be your responsibility to contact DHL and make your own arrangements for either delivery or personal collection.

What our formation fee covers and what you will receive from us is:

Now, as the beneficial owner of a brand new offshore company, ready to trade in any legal service or commodity in any country of the world except for the BVI itself, you can use it to minimize or eliminate your 'onshore' taxation, protect your 'onshore' assets and reduce or eliminate the pervasive and invasive government bureaucracy which abounds. Enjoy and prosper!

Corporate Banking Facilities

Of course, now you finally have your company, you will surely need some form of bank account to go with it. OffshoreSimple Inc. will be pleased to assist you in the opening of an offshore corporate bank account and an associated corporate or personal ATM Debit or Secured Credit Card. Depending on circumstances, we may also be able to assist you with obtaining an Offshore Credit Card Merchant Account.

Please read full details of these associated banking services.

Mail Forwarding Services

We are also able to offer the owners of our IBCs a mail forwarding service. This can be either from your Registered Office address in the BVI (PO Box #), from an address provided in Switzerland or from an inconspicuous UK street address. For more details check our virtual office page.

For your convenience, we have included a Cost Calculator in the order form:

FIND/BUY RELATED BOOKS!

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the details contained herein are correct and up-to-date, it does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We do not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any errors or omissions.

Please go to our Uses of offshore Companies Page where you will find interesting information on the benefits of using offshore companies and trusts for business and personal use, links to information on other locations and details of our products and services.