British Virgin Islands - IBC Company Formation

Company Type	Time to Incorporate	Cost
IBC	2 - 3 days	£650

The British Virgin Islands is the most popular offshore jurisdiction, with favourable business regulations, a prosperous economy and stable political situation. In the BVI, an International Business Company (IBC) is very quick and simple to incorporate requiring minimum administration, providing privacy and asset protection. Provided that your IBC has no business activities in the British Virgin Islands, it is wholly exempt from BVI tax on its income.

Incorporating an IBC

Once you have submitted the name of your IBC to us, reservation of the company name can be obtained within hours. We then present the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company to the Registrar, a certificate of incorporation will be issued and your new company is ncorporated. The general time scale for a full incorporation is two days, although the Registrar's office is automated, which enables incorporation to be done sometimes within 24 hours. 

Documents and Information

To start incorporating your offshore company in the BVI we only require the following:

• Your propsed Company Name
• The Director/s full name, date of birth, address and nationality
• The Shareholder/s full name and address

Documents you are required to provide:

1. Proof of identity. Either passport, national identity card, photographic driving licence
2. Proof of residential address. Gas/electricity bill or credit/debit card bank statement dated within the last 3 months

The company documents sent to you will contain:

• Minutes of the first inaugural meetings
• Copies of the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Share Certificates for each shareholder specified, plus two blank certificates

Company Name

Your company name can be in any language and must contain the word Corporation, Limited, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme or Sociedad Anonima or the abbreviation Corp, Ltd, Inc or S.A. Certain words are prohibited such as names suggesting the patronage of any Government or country.  The name approval process takes less than thirty minutes, and a name may be reserved for 10 days.

You can carry out a free name check now using our Company Namecheck service.

Directors

• Directors may be of any nationality and may reside anywhere.
• Only one director is required.
• The names of directors do not appear in public records.
• There is no requirement to appoint a local resident director. 
• Nominee Directors are allowed. Formacompany can provide you with this service.
• The director can be a person or a Corporation.

Shareholders

• Shareholders may be of any nationality and may reside anywhere
• Only one shareholder is required. This can be the same person as the director.
• No upper limit to the number of shareholders.
• Nominee shareholders are allowed. Formacompany can provide this service.
• The shareholder can be a person or a corporation.

Registered Office

All BVI IBC's must have a registered office, this must be a physical address in the BVI. The registered office is where documents may be legally served on the company.

Formacompany can provide this registered office service. Please see our Formation Fees page.

Features of a BVI International Business Company:

• Competitive incorporation and maintenance costs and fees
• Fast incorporation procedures and simple on-going administration
• Minimum on-going compliance requirements
• Engagement in any lawful business in any country and may carry on transactions in whatever currencies they choose
• Only one director and shareholder are required - the sole director can also act as the sole shareholder
• Directors and shareholders can be either corporations or individuals
• Directors, officers and shareholders details remain confidential
• No limitations as to nationality or residence of company directors or shareholders
• A company incorporated under the IBC Act requires a registered office in the BVI
• Full exemption from taxation on any business activity or transaction outside the BVI
• All dividends, interest, royalties, rents and compensations are exempt from income tax
• Tax efficiency - exemption from capital gains tax, inheritance tax and death duties
• Shares may be denominated in any currency
• No issued share capital requirement
• No foreign exchange control
• The only documents required to be filed at the Registry of Corporate Affairs are the incorporation documents which include details of the registered office and registered agent
• No requirements for preparing and submitting company accounts or filing annual returns
• The BVI Registry of Corporate Affairs has an advanced electronic name reservation system and is capable of registering foreign language Memorandum and Articles of Association.