Nevis Company Formation Setup for Non Residents

A Nevis offshore company gives you a fast, private way to hold assets and trade across borders. Nevis sits in the Leeward Islands, next to St. Kitts, in the Eastern Caribbean.

Thinking about where to put your international business? Nevis lets you form a company in about 1-2 business days, with one director, one shareholder, and no local residency rules. A Nevis company managed from outside the Federation pays no Nevis corporate income tax on its foreign profits. Your directors and shareholders stay off the public record. And the island's asset protection laws are among the toughest in the world. That mix is why Nevis company formation stays popular with investors, traders, and families protecting wealth.

Key Takeaways

• A Nevis company is formed under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance, Cap. 7.01 and takes 1-2 business days.
• You need one director and one shareholder. Both can be the same person, of any nationality, living anywhere.
• A Nevis company that is not centrally managed and controlled from Nevis, and has no local permanent establishment, pays no Nevis corporate income tax on foreign profits — but it must still file a simple annual tax return.
• Bearer shares no longer exist in Nevis. They were outlawed in 2023.
• The famous Nevis creditor bond comes from the LLC and trust statutes, not the corporation statute. If bond-level protection is your goal, the structure matters.

What Is a Nevis Company Formation?

Nevis has been in the offshore business since 1984 — longer than most rivals. It is one half of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, an independent nation since 1983 with its own courts and its own company law.

Nevis companies come in two main forms. Both are offshore companies in the everyday sense: they are built for business outside the island.

• Nevis Business Corporation (NBCO) — the share-based company most people call a Nevis IBC or Nevis international business company. It works like a normal corporation, so banks and partners recognise it. This is the entity covered on this page.
• Nevis LLC — a member-based structure with famously strong creditor defences, formed under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, Cap. 7.04.

Nevis also offers a Nevis trust under the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance, Cap. 7.03, and a Multiform Foundation. A third vehicle joined the line-up on 1 February 2026: the Nevis Limited Partnership. Many clients pair a company with a trust. That combination is where Nevis really earns its reputation.

The island's law is based on English common law. But the corporate statute was modelled on Delaware, not on the British Companies Act. That is why Nevis is sometimes called the Delaware of the Caribbean, and why the formation process feels familiar to American clients. Read more on Nevis corporate law.

Why Do Nevis Offshore Companies Attract International Business?

Most offshore jurisdictions sell low tax. Nevis sells something harder to copy: real barriers between your assets and the people who want them.

Serious Asset Protection — But Know Which Statute Does the Work

Correction to a claim you will see almost everywhere: the well-known Nevis rule that a creditor must post a bond with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance before suing sits in the Nevis LLC Ordinance and in the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance — not in the Business Corporation Ordinance. Providers who advertise a flat "US$25,000 bond" or "US$100,000 bond" for a Nevis corporation are quoting the wrong statute.

What the corporation statute actually gives you is still substantial:

• No automatic enforcement of foreign judgments. A US or UK judgment does not travel. A creditor must start fresh proceedings in Nevis, hire Nevis counsel, and pay for it up front.
• Hard separation of the company from you. Directors, officers and shareholders are not liable for corporate debts, and naming a shareholder or director purely to represent the company is open to a motion to dismiss or for misjoinder.
• Security for costs on shareholder derivative actions, where a small minority shareholder can be required to post security for the company's legal expenses.
• Statutory confidentiality over company information, with no public register of owners.

If you want the bond, build for it. Put the Nevis corporation underneath a Nevis LLC or a Nevis trust, and the bond requirement, the charging-order limitation and the beyond-reasonable-doubt fraudulent-transfer standard all come into play. That layered structure — not the bare corporation — is what puts Nevis in the same conversation as the Cook Islands.

No Nevis Tax on Foreign Income

A Nevis company that is not centrally managed and controlled from within the Federation, and has no permanent establishment there, is non-resident for Nevis tax purposes and is taxed only on income sourced inside St. Kitts and Nevis. For a properly structured offshore business, that is 0%. There is no capital gains tax, no withholding tax, and no VAT on that foreign income either.

Privacy That Still Meets the Rules

There is no public register of shareholders or beneficial owners. Your registered agent holds those registers at the registered office, and the Nevis FSRC or a competent authority can require them through proper legal channels. The one thing worth knowing: filed documents can be inspected by anyone who pays the prescribed search fee, and the Articles of Incorporation may name your initial directors if you choose to put them there. Most clients simply do not — the statute makes it optional, and directors are then appointed at the organisation meeting instead.

Run It From Anywhere

You never need to set foot on Nevis island. Board meetings can be held anywhere in the world, by phone or video. Directors and shareholders can be individuals or companies, of any nationality. There is no local director requirement.

Move an Existing Company In or Out

Nevis allows re-domiciliation. An existing company from another country can transfer to Nevis and keep its name and its original date of incorporation. There is even an emergency transfer route if your home jurisdiction becomes unstable.

Popular Uses

• Asset protection and estate planning
• Holding company for shares, IP, or property held outside Nevis
• International trade and consulting
• Investment and treasury vehicles

There are limits. A Nevis company generally cannot trade with Nevis residents or deal in local real estate. Banking, insurance, reinsurance, fund management, and similar regulated business activities need a separate licence.

Nevis Corporation or LLC: Which Company Structure Fits You?

Both are solid. They just solve different problems. Here is the short version.

• Pick the corporation if you want a familiar share-based vehicle. A Nevis corporation issues shares, has a board, and looks like a company anyone would recognise. That matters for banks, payment processors, and joint ventures with several investors. This is the classic international business corporation.
• Pick the LLC if asset protection is the whole point. Nevis limited liability companies give creditors only a charging order — no seizing your membership interest, no forcing a sale — and the creditor bond requirement lives in that statute. A Nevis LLC also passes through for US tax purposes, which suits many American owners.

You do not always have to choose. A common structure puts the corporation or LLC under a Nevis or Cook Islands trust. The trust owns the company; you manage it. That is the layered approach we usually recommend.

Key Corporate Features

Government fees are taken from the Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission published fee schedule for IBCs, as amended by the Nevis Business Corporation (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

The Nevis Company Formation Process

Most clients are surprised by how little they have to do. Here is the whole company registration sequence.

1. Appoint a registered agent. Only agents licensed under the Nevis Trust and Corporate Service Providers Ordinance can file with the registry. You cannot file yourself. This is required for incorporation.
2. Reserve your name. Your agent checks and reserves the proposed company name through the Nevis Online Registration Module. Selecting a unique company name is the first real step, and a reservation runs for 120 days, renewable for up to two further periods of the same length.
3. Send your documents. Notarised passport copy, proof of address issued within the last three months, and a short description of your planned business. Some agents also ask for a professional or bank reference.
4. File the Articles of Incorporation. Your articles of incorporation are filed with the Nevis Registrar of Corporations along with the government fee.
5. Receive your Certificate of Incorporation. The Registrar issues the certificate of incorporation and an Endorsement Certificate. Your company legally exists from the filing date.

Formation typically completes within 1-2 business days once your file is clean. Scanned incorporation documents follow immediately; hard copies go by courier, usually inside a week.

Choosing Your Company Name

Your company name must end in Corporation, Incorporated, Company, Limited, or a recognised abbreviation that signals limited liability. It cannot be the same as, or confusingly similar to, a name already on the index kept by the Nevis Registrar of Companies. Words like Bank, Trust, Insurance, Assurance, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, and University are restricted and need approval or a licence — the FSRC publishes the full restricted words list. Names may use non-Latin characters if you supply a certified English translation.

What You Receive

• Certificate of Incorporation and Endorsement Certificate
• Stamped Articles of Incorporation
• Bylaws
• Designation and Acceptance of Registered Agent
• Register of Directors and Register of Shareholders
• Minutes of the first meeting
• Share certificates

How Much Do Nevis Incorporation Fees Cost?

There are two layers: what the government charges, and what your agent charges.

The government side is fixed and public. Filing your Articles of Incorporation costs USD 300. The annual renewal is another USD 300. A Certificate of Incorporation is USD 20, and a Certificate of Good Standing USD 50. Miss your renewal and you pay USD 200 for the first six months late, USD 400 after that. All figures come from the FSRC's published schedule.

Our all-in Nevis IBC formation package is USD 1,730. That covers the first-year government registration fee, registered office, registered agent, your full document set, and company secretarial maintenance — the complete list is further down this page.

Annual renewal thereafter covers the USD 300 government fee plus your registered agent and registered office.

Corporate Taxation in Nevis

Nevis is not a zero-tax country. Its position is more interesting than that, and most competitor pages describe it wrongly.

What changed: Nevis used to run a blanket statutory exemption for offshore companies. The EU's Code of Conduct Group reviewed that regime and Nevis closed it to new entrants after 31 December 2018, with grandfathering that expired on 30 June 2021. St. Kitts and Nevis was removed from the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions as a result.

What replaced it is ordinary residence-and-source taxation, which is why Nevis never had to bolt on an economic substance regime the way the BVI and Cayman did. Under the federal Income Tax Act the standard corporate rate is 33%. But a Nevis company is only taxed on that basis if it is resident. Two tests decide it:

• Central management and control. If the company is directed from outside the Federation, it is non-resident. The Inland Revenue Department looks first at where board meetings actually take place.
• Permanent establishment. An office, branch, place of management, or an agent in Nevis with authority to conclude contracts can create a taxable presence on its own.

Clear both and the company is taxed only on income sourced inside St. Kitts and Nevis — which, for a genuine offshore business, is nothing.

One practical warning that older guides get backwards: do not hold your board meetings in Nevis. Some pages still claim meetings on the island are harmless. Under the management-and-control test they are the single clearest way to make your company Nevis tax resident and pull its worldwide income into the 33% charge. Meet anywhere else, or act by written consent.

On qualifying foreign income there is also:

• No capital gains tax
• No withholding tax on dividends or interest
• No inheritance, estate, or gift tax
• No VAT
• No exchange controls

The filing you cannot skip. Since the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2021, every Nevis company files a CIT-101 Corporate Income Tax Return with the St. Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Department each year, even with zero income and even if it holds a tax holiday. It is due 3½ months after your fiscal year end — so 15 April for a 31 December year end. The return does not disclose your financials; it exists to confirm you are not trading locally. A company that is tax resident or has a permanent establishment files a CIT-100 as well.

If you are a US citizen, or resident anywhere that taxes worldwide income, you still report this company at home. Compliance with Nevis law does not replace your own country's rules. See our guide to Nevis as an offshore financial centre.

Corporate Details You Should Know

Shares

Registered shares only. Shares may be issued with or without par value, in any currency, and in multiple classes. Share certificates are optional — the share register is the primary record.

Bearer Shares

Nevis abolished bearer shares. The Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, No. 2 of 2023, passed by the Nevis Island Assembly on 24 August 2023 and gazetted on 21 September 2023, outlawed them outright. Existing bearer shares were given six months to convert to registered shares. Custodians had three months to surrender any certificates they held. The regulator confirms the position plainly: bearer shares are prohibited under the amended NBCO. Every Nevis company today has registered shares only.

If a provider still offers you bearer shares in Nevis, treat it as a red flag about the provider. For anonymity we build ownership through a trust or a Multiform Foundation holding the registered shares — a structure that works and holds up.

Required Capital

No minimum. An incorporator can subscribe for a single share.

Directors and Officers

The board must have at least one director, and since the 2015 amendments a single director is recognised regardless of how many shareholders there are. Directors and shareholders of Nevis companies may be individuals or corporate entities, of any nationality, resident anywhere. Officers, including a secretary, are discretionary and appointed by the director(s). A single person can be sole director and sole shareholder.

Meetings

Shareholders and directors can act by unanimous written consent with no meeting at all, and may issue proxies in writing. Nothing has to happen in Nevis — and for tax residency reasons, nothing should.

Records and Privacy

Registers of directors, shareholders, and beneficial owners are held by your registered agent at the registered office and are not published. Shareholder and beneficial ownership details are never filed with the Registrar. Documents that are filed — principally the Articles of Incorporation — can be inspected by anyone paying the prescribed search fee, which is why naming initial directors in the Articles is optional and usually declined.

Registered Office and Local Presence

A registered office in Nevis is mandatory and is the agent's licensed address. No physical presence, staff, or local office of your own is needed. Nevis does not impose economic substance requirements.

Trading Restrictions

You cannot conduct business within Nevis or deal in local real estate. Banking, insurance, reinsurance, fund management, and similar regulated work needs a licence from the Nevis financial services regulator.

Language

English, for legislation and all company documents.

Re-domiciliation

A company formed in Nevis can leave, and a foreign company can come in, keeping its name and original incorporation date. Emergency transfer provisions exist for companies fleeing war, expropriation, or similar events.

Opening an Offshore Bank Account

A company without a bank account does very little. Plan for this from day one.

You can open an offshore bank account for a Nevis company in dozens of countries — you are not limited to Nevis banks. Which bank suits you depends on your nationality, your business, your expected turnover, and whether you can travel. Some banks want an in-person visit and substantial opening balances; others onboard remotely.

Be realistic about timing. Account opening usually takes several weeks, not days, and due diligence is heavier than it was a decade ago. We handle the introduction as part of the company formation services we provide.

Talk to us about opening a bank account for your Nevis company.

How Is Nevis Company Formation Changing in 2026?

Nevis is not standing still, and the direction of travel is clear: broader product range, tighter paperwork.

The development: On 25 September 2025, the Nevis Island Assembly passed the Nevis Limited Partnership Bill, 2025, moved by Premier and Minister of Finance the Hon. Mark Brantley. It took effect on 1 February 2026 as the Nevis Limited Partnership Ordinance, No. 3 of 2025, adding a modern limited partnership to the island's line-up and formally recognising electronic filing and electronic signatures. (Nevis Island Administration, 25 September 2025.) The Assembly followed up in November 2025 by passing both the Nevis Limited Liability Company (Amendment) Bill and the Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Bill — the latter now published by the regulator as the Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance No. 5 of 2025.

What 25 years of formation work tells us: the jurisdictions that survive are the ones that add compliance without losing speed. Nevis has done exactly that. It outlawed bearer shares, introduced an annual tax filing, and digitised the registry — and still incorporates a company in 1-2 business days. Clients rarely leave over a new form. They leave when formation slows to three weeks. Nevis understands this better than most of its rivals.

Where this is likely heading: based on the current pattern, expect the paperwork around Nevis companies to keep growing modestly — more electronic filing, more information sitting with your registered agent — while the core commercial benefits stay intact. Economic substance rules are not in force and, unusually, Nevis has no obvious reason to introduce them: it satisfied the EU by abolishing its ring-fenced offshore regime outright rather than by layering substance tests on top of it. Nothing here is guaranteed, so treat it as a direction rather than a forecast.

Nevis Company Incorporation with Offshore Protection

Our USD 1,730 incorporation package includes:

1. Government registration fee (first year)
2. Registered office address (first year)
3. Registered agent services (first year)
4. Company secretarial maintenance
5. Certificate of Incorporation
6. Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
7. Appointment of first directors
8. Consent actions of the board
9. Share certificates
10. Register of Directors, Officers, and Shareholders
11. Free phone and email consultations

Join thousands of satisfied clients who have used Offshore-Protection.com for more than 25 years. When you buy any offshore company formation product, you get free support from our lawyers for day-to-day questions about running your overseas company.

Start your Nevis incorporation today. Order a Nevis IBC with or without a bank account.

Nevis Company Formation FAQs

• Can a foreigner start a business in Nevis?

  Yes. There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of a Nevis company. You can be the sole director and sole shareholder, of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. You do not need a local partner, a local director, or a visit to Nevis. The only requirement is that a licensed Nevis registered agent files your documents for you.

• How much does it cost to form and renew a Nevis company?

  Our all-in Nevis IBC formation package is USD 1,730, which covers the first-year government registration fee, registered agent, registered office, and your full document set. The government's own charges are USD 300 to file your Articles of Incorporation and USD 300 each year to renew. Annual renewal after year one covers that government fee plus your agent and registered office — contact us for the current figure.

• How long does Nevis company formation take?

  Usually 1-2 business days once your due diligence documents are complete and approved. Allow 3-5 business days if the Registrar's workload is heavy. Scanned copies of your incorporation documents follow straight away. Hard copies are couriered and normally arrive within about a week.

• Do I need to visit Nevis to form a company?

  No. The whole process is handled remotely by your registered agent. Board and shareholder meetings can be held anywhere in the world, or skipped entirely through written consent. Banking, signing contracts, and investing can all be done from wherever you are.

• Are Nevis directors and shareholders on public record?

  Shareholders and beneficial owners are never filed with the Registrar — those registers sit with your registered agent at the registered office and are released only to competent authorities through proper legal channels. Directors appear on the public file only if you choose to name them in the Articles of Incorporation, which the statute makes optional. Anyone can pay the prescribed fee to inspect documents that have been filed, so most clients simply appoint directors at the organisation meeting instead.

• Can a Nevis company still issue bearer shares?

  No. The Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance No. 2 of 2023, passed on 24 August 2023 and gazetted on 21 September 2023, outlawed bearer shares. All Nevis companies now issue registered shares only. Companies holding bearer shares had six months to convert them, and custodians had three months to surrender any certificates. The Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission confirms that bearer shares are prohibited. If a provider offers you bearer shares in Nevis today, their information is out of date.

• Does a Nevis company pay tax?

  Not in Nevis, provided the company is non-resident and has no permanent establishment in the Federation. Residency turns on central management and control — essentially, where the company is actually directed from — so a company run from outside Nevis is taxed only on income sourced inside St. Kitts and Nevis. There is no capital gains tax, withholding tax, or VAT on foreign income. The standard corporate rate of 33% applies to Federation-source income and to resident companies. You remain responsible for reporting the company in your own country of tax residence.

• Should I hold board meetings in Nevis?

  No. This is the most common structuring mistake we see. Because Nevis tax residency is decided by where central management and control sits, and the Inland Revenue Department looks first at where board meetings take place, meeting on the island is the quickest way to make your company Nevis tax resident and expose its worldwide income to the 33% rate. Hold meetings anywhere else, or act by unanimous written consent, which the Ordinance expressly permits.

• Does a Nevis company have to file anything each year?

  Yes, two things. You pay the USD 300 annual renewal fee to keep the company in good standing, and you file a CIT-101 corporate income tax return with the St. Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Department, even if the company had no income. The CIT-101 is due 3½ months after your fiscal year end. There is no requirement to file audited accounts or financial statements, and nothing you file becomes public.

• Is there a minimum capital requirement?

  No. Standard authorised capital is USD 50,000, but you can issue as little as a single share. Shares may carry par value or no par value, may be denominated in any currency, and may be divided into multiple classes with different rights.

• What is the minimum number of directors and shareholders?

  One of each, and the same person can hold both roles. A single director has been recognised regardless of shareholder numbers since the 2015 amendments to the Ordinance. Directors and shareholders may be individuals or corporate entities, and there is no residency or nationality requirement. Officers, including a company secretary, are discretionary and appointed by the director or directors.

• Does a creditor really have to post a bond to sue my Nevis company?

  Not for a Nevis Business Corporation. The bond requirement that Nevis is famous for sits in the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance and the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance, not in the Business Corporation Ordinance — so the flat "US$25,000" or "US$100,000" figures you see quoted for Nevis IBCs are drawn from the wrong statute. A corporation still benefits from non-recognition of foreign judgments, meaning a creditor must litigate afresh in Nevis at their own cost, plus statutory confidentiality and the separation of the company from its owners. If you want the bond and the charging-order protection, hold the corporation under a Nevis LLC or a Nevis trust.

• Should I choose a Nevis IBC or a Nevis LLC?

  An IBC suits trading, holding, and investment structures with shareholders, a board, and a familiar corporate shape that banks and counterparties recognise. A Nevis LLC is the stronger vehicle for pure asset protection, especially for a single owner, because creditors are limited to a charging order and must post a bond before bringing an action. Many clients use both, with the operating company owned through an LLC or a Nevis trust.

• Can I move my existing company to Nevis?

  Yes. Nevis allows re-domiciliation in and out. A company incorporated elsewhere can transfer its domicile to Nevis and keep both its name and its original date of incorporation. There is also an emergency transfer procedure for companies that need to move quickly because of war, expropriation, or similar conditions in their home jurisdiction.

Is Nevis Right for You?

Nevis gives you a company in 1-2 business days, one director and one shareholder of any nationality, no Nevis tax on foreign income, no public register of owners, and asset protection laws that make creditors think twice. The trade-off is a modest annual filing and a licensed agent you must keep. For most international owners that is a good deal.

Book a consultation and we will tell you honestly whether Nevis fits your situation — or whether another jurisdiction does.