BVI Configurator Tool

Shareholding service

You need the shareholding service if you do not wish to be directly listed as shareholder in the primary documents (First Resolutions) of the company.

Instead, our in-house licensed firm will remain listed as the shareholder, on your behalf and for your benefit. You will receive a fiduciary declaration from us, in evidence of this relationship.

The protection provided by the shareholder service is not absolute. The identity of the actual beneficial owner may be disclosed, if ordered so by the BVI Supreme Court or by the BVI Financial Investigations Agency.

Seychelles International Trust

Under the trust laws of Seychelles, neither the settlor nor the beneficiary of a trust are considered legal owners / controllers of trust property. The trust property remains legally separated from the initial settlor and the beneficiary(ies). This separation allows this property to remain protected from potential lawsuits and attacks by creditors. Seychelles International Trusts are well-suited for such asset-protection purposes, in particular because trust property and income are entirely tax-exempt in Seychelles.

Note (!) Under the trust laws of Seychelles, neither the settlor nor the beneficiary of a trust are considered legal owners / controllers of trust property. The trust property remains legally separated from the initial settlor and the beneficiary(ies). This separation allows this property to remain protected from potential lawsuits and attacks by creditors. Seychelles International Trusts are well-suited for such asset-protection purposes, in particular because trust property and income are entirely tax-exempt in Seychelles.

Shareholder data on public file

When, for some specific reason, you want yourself to be directly visible as company shareholder, it is recommended to submit this information to public file in the BVI Registry of Companies. This filing is optional, and is only made specifically at request of a company shareholder. This service may become useful when there are several different shareholders to a company, or when shares change hands.

A standard registered capital

is the maximum capital (or number of shares) at which the minimum Government fee still applies. In BVI, that maximum is 50'000 shares, at which the Government registration fee of USD 550 applies. For companies having 50'001 and more shares, the Government registration fee leaps to USD 1350. Whether those shares have a face value or no-par-value, is irrelevant under the BVI BC Act. Therefore, potentially the most price-effective share structure for a BVI BC is to have 50'000 shares at no-par-value.

Par-value shares / no-par-value shares.

A par-value is a nominal value (price) of a share, also known as „face value”. Traditionally, the par-value of a share is considered as the minimum price for which the share can be issued or sold. In contrast, a no-par-value share does not have any fixed nominal value - in recognition of the fact that the price of the shares may fluctuate freely depending on the success of the company. No-par-value shares provide more flexibility to the company principals at raising the initial capital.

Corporate directorship service(BVI-based, regulated firm)

You need the professional directorship service to avoid being seen as directly managing and controlling an offshore company.

This may be especially important if you live in a high-tax country. Through this service, the company will be seen as managed in the BVI.

The corporate directorship service means that the directorship function is provided by our in-house management firm, which is regulated and licensed by the BVI Financial Services Commission.

A corporate director features a number of individuals entitled to sign, which eliminates any potential lapses in service, as compared to individual directorship service. This option is also less expensive than a directorship by a regulated private individual.

Personal directorship service(BVI-based, licensed individual)

You need the professional directorship service to avoid being seen as directly managing and controlling an offshore company.

This may be especially important if you live in a high-tax country. Through this service, the company will be seen as managed in the BVI.

The individual directorship service is provided by a BVI-based, licensed individual - one of our senior company managers. An individual director appears more “natural” than a corporate director. However, an individual director may not always be available to act instantly - for example, in case of illness or travel.

Account signatory service

You may wish to avoid being seen as directly controlling the account of the offshore company. This may be especially important if you live in a high-tax country, where your company may get investigated. The account signatory service provides an additional “local mind & management” substance to your company. The account signatory function would be provided by a BVI-based, licensed individual - one of our senior company managers. This service is subject to your Beneficial Owner privileges under the terms of the underlying fiduciary services contract. Both sole-signatory or additional-signatory services are available.

Business address and document management

If you plan to run an active trading or services business you will probably need this. If you are located in a highly regulated, high-tax country, you must not be seen as running an offshore company from your own home. This service aims to satisfy the “mind and management” test by providing real on-site domestic substance for the company located in BVI.

Call handling

If your potential clients, partners, auditors, tax inspectors, competitors or any other people are expected to call your company with inquiries you will need this service. It is designed to verify that your company is actually located and operated in BVI - instead of being simply run from your own home.

Apostilled set of copies of primary documents

It is recommended to prepare at least one set of notarized/apostilled copies of primary documents, because it is the most convenient way of presenting the corporate documents to banks, potential customers, suppliers, business partners or government institutions. It is especially recommended to prepare such set of certified/apostilled copies if the documents are expected to be used in any of the countries, who are members to the 1961 Hague Convention.

Apostilled original certificate of incorporation

You may be required to present an apostilled original Certificate of Incorporation when doing business with some banks or some government institutions. If so, this option will be required.

Through a Limited Power of Attorney, you, or anyone else, can be granted certain limited rights to represent the company. For instance, the powers to negotiate and conclude one specific purchase, to perform customs-clearance of goods in one certain location, to register a foreign subsidiary, to operate one specific bank account, etc. Limited Powers of Attorney can be issued as, and when necessary to company employees, agents or to the owners themselves.

The Certificate of Good Standing (CoGS)

This document is used to formally confirm the continued legal existence of an offshore company after some time has already passed since it's registration. The Certificate of Good Standing confirms that the status of an independent legal entity (a juridical person) has not been revoked or became void for the particular offshore company, that this company has not been merged, filed for dissolution, or been struck-off.

A current Certificate of Good Standing is sometimes required by banks for bank account opening. If the document is intended for use in a country other than the country of company registration, it must be legalized by apostille.

A certificate of incumbency

A document that identifies the current signing officers, directors, shareholders and other individuals authorized to represent the company. It is especially relevant in jurisdictions where this information is not part of public record. A Certificate of Incumbency is usually issued by the secretary or by the registered agent of the company.

A current Certificate of Incumbency is usually required by banks for bank account opening. Therefore, if you intend to open a bank account for your company, it is recommended to order the Certificate of Incumbency along with the initial incorporation documents. If the document is intended for use in a country other than the country of company registration, it must be legalized by apostille.

Instead of keeping confidential and sensitive original documents at your home, you may choose to leave them in safe custody with the Registered Agent. Scanned electronic copies can be provided at any time, or the original documents can be couriered out at request.