🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands
The BVI Business Company is one of the world’s most recognised offshore vehicles for holding and joint ventures.
Who it suits
Who it does not
Living
A small Caribbean territory used primarily as a corporate domicile rather than a place of residence.
Business
The BVI Business Company (BC) is flexible, well-understood by banks and investors, and backed by English-based law.
Tax
There is no corporate income tax, capital-gains tax or withholding tax in the BVI. Economic-substance rules apply to certain activities.
Figures are indicative and change over time. We confirm the current rules, rates and requirements for your specific situation before you commit.
How incorporation works
- Registered agentA BVI company exists through a licensed registered agent. The agent files, holds the records and carries the regulatory responsibility — which is why the agent’s due diligence is thorough.
- Name and structureClear the name and settle directors, shareholders and beneficial owners.
- Due diligenceCertified identity documents, proof of address and source of funds for everyone behind the company. This is the real gate, and it comes before the registry.
- IncorporationThe agent files the memorandum and articles. A BC is usually registered within a day or two.
- Register of directorsThe first directors are appointed and the register of directors is filed with the Registry.
- Ownership filingsBeneficial-ownership information and the register of members are filed with the Registrar through the agent. Since January 2025 this is a registry filing rather than an entry in the agent’s own database, and new companies file shortly after incorporation.
- Economic substanceAssess whether the company carries on a relevant activity. Pure equity holding companies have a reduced test; finance, intellectual property and headquarters activities do not.
- Bank or EMI accountOpen the account. A BVI company banks better than most offshore names, but the account follows the underlying business, not the certificate.
What we need from you
- Certified passport copies for every director, shareholder and beneficial owner
- Certified proof of address for each of them
- Source-of-funds and source-of-wealth information
- A description of the business, its counterparties and its markets
- Two or three preferred company names, in order
- The share split and the intended capital
- Parent-company documents and a structure chart where a corporate shareholder is used
- Bank or professional reference, where the agent asks for one
What you end up with
- Certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum and articles of association
- Share certificates and the statutory registers
- Register of directors, as filed with the Registry
- Confirmation of the beneficial-ownership and member filings
- Registered office and registered agent in the BVI
- A corporate pack banks and counterparties will accept
Every year after that
- The annual government fee, through the registered agent
- An annual financial return filed with the registered agent — not public, but mandatory
- An economic-substance report where the company carries on a relevant activity
- Keeping the filed beneficial-ownership information and register of members current, with changes reported promptly
- Maintaining the registered agent and registered office
- Keeping records and underlying documentation available to the agent
Common questions
Is BVI ownership public?
No, but it is filed. Since January 2025 beneficial-ownership information and the register of members go to the Registrar through your agent, with changes reported promptly. Access is restricted to the authorities and, under the regime, to those with a legitimate interest — not to the general public.
Do BVI companies file accounts?
They file an annual financial return with the registered agent. It is not published and it is not an audit, but it is mandatory, and an agent that does not receive it has to report the company.
Does economic substance apply to me?
Only if the company carries on a defined relevant activity. Pure equity holding companies have a reduced test that is usually satisfiable; finance and leasing, intellectual property, headquarters and distribution are much harder.
Is there any tax?
The BVI charges no corporate income tax, capital-gains tax or withholding tax. That says nothing about where you are taxed. A BVI company owned and managed from a country with controlled-foreign-company rules is taxed there, and that is the question worth asking first.
Can it open a bank account?
Better than most offshore names, but not automatically. Banks look at the underlying business, the counterparties and the owners. A BVI holding company over a real operating business is bankable; a BVI company over nothing is not.
How fast is incorporation?
A day or two at the registry. The due diligence before it and the filings around it are what shape the real timetable.
Set up your company in British Virgin Islands
Tell us about your business and we will confirm whether British Virgin Islands is the right fit — and handle the full incorporation.
- A reply within one working day
- The first consultation is 30 minutes
- Confidential, no obligation