Seychelles Company Formation & Registration Services

Want a tax-free company you can set up in about a day? A Seychelles company formation gives you exactly that. The Seychelles IBC — short for International Business Company — is one of the world's most-used offshore structures. You get zero tax on foreign income, one owner is enough, and your name stays off any public register. Add low government fees, strong privacy rules, and a regulator the EU now treats as cooperative, and it is easy to see why Seychelles companies stay popular in 2026.

The Republic of Seychelles is a group of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, about a thousand miles east of Africa. It sits outside the cyclone belt, unlike many Caribbean offshore jurisdictions. It is part of the Commonwealth, politically stable, and its legal system mixes English common law with French civil law.

For more on the islands as a financial centre, see Seychelles as an Offshore Financial Center.

Why Do So Many People Choose Seychelles Company Formation?

Because it is cheap, fast, and private — a rare three-way win in the offshore world.

• Zero corporate tax on income earned outside Seychelles
• Only one director and one shareholder needed, and the same person can be both
• No minimum share capital
• Government fees are flat, no matter how big your share capital is
• Names of directors, shareholders and beneficial owners are not published
• Incorporation usually takes 1–2 business days
• No exchange controls and no currency limits
• Directors and shareholders can be any nationality and live anywhere
• Corporate directors and corporate shareholders are allowed
• An IBC may own or manage a Seychelles-registered vessel
• Strong asset protection law, backed by trusts and foundations
• Redomiciliation in and out of Seychelles is permitted

What Exactly Is a Seychelles IBC?

It is a company built for business outside Seychelles. That single design choice explains almost everything else about it.

When people say "Seychelles offshore company" they nearly always mean the IBC. It is the flagship product of the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, and it is the structure we set up most often for clients in this jurisdiction.

Key Features of Seychelles International Business Companies

• Tax neutrality. A tax-neutral status applies to income sourced outside the islands.
• Privacy. Owner and director details go to your registered agent, not to a public file.
• Speed. Setting up an IBC is normally done within 24 to 48 hours.
• Flexibility. Shares can be issued in any currency, with or without par value.
• Simplicity. No audit. No filing of financial statements with the Registrar.

The Law Behind Seychelles Companies

Your company is governed by the International Business Companies Act 2016 (Act 15 of 2016). This replaced the 1994 Act on 1 December 2016, and every existing IBC was automatically re-registered under it — any guide still describing your company as a "1994 Act" IBC is out of date.

The IBC Act has been amended several times since. The changes that matter most to you:

1. 2018 (in force 1 January 2019): IBCs may now do business with Seychelles residents and hold Seychelles property — but that income becomes taxable locally.
2. 2021 (in force 6 February 2022): Every company must keep accounting records at its registered office in Seychelles and send updates twice a year.
3. 2024 (in force 18 December 2024): The register of members must show nominator details behind any nominee shareholder.
4. 2025: A nominee shareholder must declare their nominee status and name their nominator within 21 days of appointment.

The Registrar of Companies for IBCs is the Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority. Note that this is a different register from the domestic Seychelles Business Register.

How Does the Seychelles Company Incorporation Process Work?

Four steps, and you never need to visit the islands.

1. Check and reserve your name. We confirm it is free and not restricted.
2. Send your documents. Passport copy, proof of address, and a short business description.
3. We file with the Registrar. The Memorandum and Articles of Association go in electronically.
4. You receive your company kit. Certificate of Incorporation, M&A, share certificates and statutory registers.

Choosing Your Company Name

Your company name must be unique and must end with a word showing limited liability — Limited, Ltd, Corporation, Corp, Incorporated, Inc, LLC and several others are accepted. A "Seychelles LLC" is not a separate product: it is the same IBC with a different suffix on the name.

Names may be registered in any language, but a certified English or French translation is required if the name is in another language.

Some words are blocked outright: Government, Republic, National, Police, Parliament, Royal, Chamber of Commerce. Others need a licence or written consent first: Bank, Insurance, Assurance, Trust, Building Society, Foundation, Fund, Casino, Gaming, Bureau de Change.

Names can be reserved ahead of incorporation, and a reservation can be extended through your registered agent for a small fee.

Registration Requirements

The only documents filed with the Registry are the Memorandum and Articles of Association. They can be filed together, or the Articles can follow within 30 days of incorporation.

The Memorandum must state your registered address in Seychelles, your registered agent's name and address, the currency of your shares, and your authorised capital.

There is no minimum paid-up capital. One share is enough.

Your Registered Agent and Registered Office

Every IBC must appoint a licensed Seychelles registered agent, and the registered office must be at the agent's address. You cannot file directly — only a licensed International Corporate Service Provider licensed by the FSA can submit an incorporation. There is no self-filing route at any price.

Your agent holds your registers, receives official notices, pays your government fee, and keeps you compliant. Lose your agent and you lose good standing — and eventually the company itself.

Nominee Services and the Beneficial Owner

A nominee holds shares or a directorship on your behalf. The beneficial owner keeps real control and real benefit.

• Nominee Director — acts on the instruction of the beneficial owner
• Nominee Shareholder — holds shares for the beneficial owner

Under the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2025, a nominee shareholder must give the company a signed declaration within 21 days naming their nominator, and must notify any change to those details within 21 days. The register of members must record it, and the declarations stay at the registered office for seven years after the nominee stops acting. Penalties for non-compliance run to US$10,000.

Nominees give you privacy from the public — not from regulators, banks or tax authorities. That distinction matters, and any agent who tells you otherwise is selling you a problem.

What Does a Company in Seychelles Cost?

Less than almost any comparable jurisdiction.

Two numbers are fixed by statute and never change with your share capital: US$130 to register the company and US$140 every year after that. Everything else is service pricing. Our Seychelles company formation package starts at US$700, with most complete first-year setups landing between US$700 and US$1,500 once you add apostilled documents, nominee services or banking support.

Government fees per the FSA Licensing and Registration Fees schedule, Appendix A (IBC, non-PCC).

Correction: pages quoting a US$100 Seychelles government fee are working from the old 1994 Act schedule. The current FSA schedule and the Second Schedule to the IBC Act 2016 both set the fee at US$130 to register and US$140 a year.

Key Corporate Features

What Do You Need to Register a Company in Seychelles?

Less paperwork than opening a bank account at home.

For each director, shareholder and beneficial owner we need:

• Certified passport copy, valid at least 6 months
• Proof of address dated within the last 3 months — utility bill, bank statement or driving licence
• A short CV or LinkedIn profile
• Tax identification number, where you have one
• Completed application form
• The applicable government fee

If a company is going to be your shareholder, we also need that entity's company documents: Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles, register of directors, register of shareholders, and a Certificate of Good Standing or Incumbency.

Documents must be certified by an approved certifier — a lawyer, notary or chartered accountant. P.O. Box addresses are not accepted. Everything must be in English or officially translated.

How Are Seychelles Companies Taxed?

On a territorial basis — which is simpler than it sounds.

Seychelles taxes income with a Seychelles source. Income earned outside the islands sits outside the local tax regime. That is why an IBC trading purely overseas pays nothing.

Tax Benefits of a Seychelles Offshore Company

• Zero tax on profits earned outside Seychelles
• No capital gains tax
• No withholding tax on dividends paid out of foreign profits
• No stamp duty on the transfer or sale of shares
• No inheritance, estate or gift tax
• No exchange controls

The stamp duty exemption has one carve-out worth knowing: it does not apply to any instrument relating to Seychelles immovable property.

When Seychelles Tax Does Apply

Since 1 January 2019 an IBC may trade with Seychelles residents and own Seychelles property — but that income is taxable locally. Business tax then runs at 15% on the first SCR 1,000,000 of taxable income and 25% on the remainder, per the Seychelles Revenue Commission. Banking, insurance and telecoms sit on a higher scale topping out at 33%.

If your IBC starts earning Seychelles-source income you must notify the Registrar within one month and file a return with the Seychelles Revenue Commission. Business tax returns are due by 31 March for the preceding year.

One more thing worth knowing: the exemption on foreign passive income is tied to economic substance conditions for companies in multinational groups. If that describes you, talk to us before you incorporate.

Bank Accounts for Your Seychelles Company

Your company is only as useful as the account behind it.

We handle opening a bank account for a Seychelles company in three stages:

1. Documentation. We assemble the certified corporate and personal file the bank will demand.
2. Selection. We match you to a bank that accepts your business model, not just any bank.
3. Application. We manage the submission and the follow-up questions.

A business bank account can be opened in Seychelles or in a third country. Multi-currency corporate accounts are standard. Offshore banking options range from traditional banks to payment institutions, depending on your volumes and risk profile.

Expect real due diligence. Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks apply everywhere now, and a Seychelles company with no substance and a vague business description will be declined. A clear, honest business story is the single biggest factor in approval.

What Business Activities Can a Seychelles IBC Carry Out?

Almost anything, with a short list of exceptions.

Common uses for offshore companies registered here:

• International trading and e-commerce
• Holding company for group subsidiaries
• Intellectual property holding
• Consulting and professional services
• Investment and portfolio holding
• Vessel and aircraft ownership
• Estate planning and succession

Activities That Need a Licence

Under section 5(2) of the Act, your IBC cannot carry on these business activities without the right licence from the Financial Services Authority:

• Banking
• Insurance and reinsurance
• Trust or corporate services business
• Mutual funds and fund management
• Securities business
• Gambling, including interactive gambling
• Virtual asset services — wallets, exchanges, broking, ICOs and NFTs

The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2024 is the newest of these and has been in force since 1 September 2024. Any crypto business needs an FSA licence, at least two individual directors with one resident in Seychelles, a staffed physical office in Seychelles, a resident compliance officer, and audited accounts. Mining facilities and mixer or tumbler services are banned outright.

On cost, be careful what you read. Round-number VASP licence figures quoted around the web are not FSA-published fees. The FSA charges a non-refundable application fee — forfeited if your application is incomplete or refused — and publishes the current amount itself. In any case the fee is the small part: the real cost of a Seychelles crypto licence is the substance, meaning a resident director, a staffed office, a resident compliance officer and audited accounts. Confirm current fees with the FSA before you budget.

Annual Renewal and Staying in Good Standing

Miss this and your company can be struck off.

Your obligations each year are short but non-negotiable:

1. Pay the government annual fee. Due on the anniversary of incorporation, paid through your registered agent.
2. Keep your registered agent and registered office. Both must stay in place continuously.
3. Lodge accounting records twice a year. First-half records by 31 July, second-half records by 31 January.
4. Prepare an annual financial summary within six months of your year end — required unless your company is both a holding company and not a large company.
5. Keep your registers current — register of directors, register of members including nominator details, and register of beneficial owners.

The company must retain accounting records for at least seven years. Records that do not give a true and fair view are treated as not kept at all. Breaches carry a discretionary penalty of up to US$10,000.

A "large company" means annual turnover above SCR 50,000,000 under the Revenue Administration Act.

Fall behind on the annual fee and the Registrar can strike the company off after roughly 180 days of non-payment. Since the 2024 amendment, a struck-off company is dissolved automatically rather than waiting a year — and a struck-off or dissolved company still owes its outstanding accounting records at the next January or July deadline.

Good news on the paperwork: there is no audit, no requirement to file financial statements with the Registrar, and no public annual return. The old annual return provision has been repealed.

Privacy and Asset Protection

Seychelles keeps your details off the public record — but not off the record entirely.

Here is the honest picture in 2026:

• The register of directors is filed with the Registrar but is not public. Access needs a court order, a legal compulsion, or authorisation from the agent or a director.
• The register of members stays at your registered office. It is not filed and not public.
• The register of beneficial owners is held under the Beneficial Ownership Act 2020, with a database at the Financial Intelligence Unit. Not public. Regulators, banks and tax authorities can reach it.
• Accounting records are held at the registered office and are not open to inspection.
• A company search will confirm a company's name, number and standing. It will not disclose ownership.

Anyone still selling Seychelles as untraceable is describing a jurisdiction that stopped existing around 2020.

Pairing Your Company With a Trust or Foundation

Real asset protection usually comes from structure, not secrecy. Holding your offshore corporation under an asset protection trust or a Seychelles foundation separates legal ownership from you personally. That is what stands up to a creditor claim — a nominee never will.

How Is Seychelles Company Formation Changing in 2026?

The jurisdiction just got its reputation back.

The stat. On 17 February 2026 the Council of the European Union removed Seychelles from Annex II of its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions — the "grey list". That followed the OECD Global Forum's peer review published on 21 January 2026, which re-rated Seychelles as Largely Compliant on Exchange of Information on Request, up from Partially Compliant since 2020. The Seychelles Ministry of Finance confirmed the delisting. As of today Seychelles appears on neither EU annex.

What 25 years of formation work tells us. Banks are slower to forgive than regulators. We have watched this cycle in Belize, in the BVI, in Cayman: a jurisdiction gets delisted, the government issues a proud press release, and correspondent banks carry on applying the old risk score for another 12 to 24 months because their internal country lists update on their own schedule. The practical effect for you is that a Seychelles IBC formed in 2026 is genuinely easier to bank than one formed in 2023 — but the improvement shows up first with fintechs and regional banks, and last with the large European correspondents. Plan your banking around that lag rather than around the headline.

What we expect next, with hedges. If the delisting holds through the Council's October 2026 review, we would expect Seychelles formation volumes to recover meaningfully into 2027, and the current price gap against the BVI to narrow as agents regain pricing confidence. The main risk to that view is enforcement: the Global Forum specifically flagged the response rate on accounting-information requests as needing improvement, and also called for better ownership information where nominee arrangements are used. If Seychelles cannot lift that, a future review could reverse the gain. We would treat the 31 July and 31 January accounting deadlines as the compliance item most likely to be policed hard over the next two years.

Seychelles Company Formation Package

Our Seychelles company formation package starts at US$700 and 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. Memorandum & Articles of Association
7. Appointment of first directors
8. Consent actions of the board
9. Share certificates
10. Register of Directors
11. Register of Officers
12. Register of Shareholders
13. Free phone and email consultations

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I start the company incorporation process in Seychelles?

  Pick a company name, send us certified copies of your passport and proof of address, and we handle the rest. We file the Memorandum and Articles of Association with the Registrar of International Business Companies at the Financial Services Authority. Most companies are incorporated within 1–2 business days. You never need to travel to Seychelles.

• Can a foreigner start a business in Seychelles?

  Yes. There are no nationality or residency requirements for the directors or shareholders of a Seychelles IBC, and a single foreign national can own and run the company alone. You do not need to visit the islands or hold a residence permit.

  The one rule to know: an IBC is designed for business outside Seychelles. You may trade with Seychelles residents or own local property, but that income becomes taxable in Seychelles and some activities need a local licence. If you want to physically operate a business inside the country — a hotel, a shop, a fishing operation — that is a domestic company under the Companies Ordinance, plus the relevant permits from the Seychelles Licensing Authority.

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

  The government charges US$130 to register an IBC and US$140 each year afterwards, regardless of your share capital, per the FSA's published fee schedule.

  On top of that you pay your registered agent for the registered office, statutory registers and compliance work. Our Seychelles formation package starts at US$700, and most complete first-year setups land between US$700 and US$1,500.

  Extras that are usually quoted separately: apostilled documents, nominee director or shareholder services, bank account introduction, and any licence for a regulated activity such as virtual assets.

• Does a Seychelles IBC pay tax?

  Not on foreign income. Seychelles uses a territorial system, so only Seychelles-source income is taxable. An IBC trading entirely outside the islands pays zero corporate tax, zero capital gains tax and no stamp duty on share transfers.

  If your company does earn Seychelles-source income, business tax applies at 15% on the first SCR 1,000,000 and 25% above that. You would also need to notify the Registrar within one month and file with the Seychelles Revenue Commission.

  This exemption covers Seychelles tax only. You remain responsible for reporting the company in the country where you are tax resident.

• Do Seychelles companies have to keep accounting records?

  Yes, and this is the change that catches most owners out. Since February 2022 every IBC must keep accounting records at its registered office in Seychelles and send updates twice a year — first-half records by 31 July, second-half records by 31 January.

  Most companies must also prepare an annual financial summary within six months of their financial year end. The exception is a company that is both a holding company and not a large company.

  There is still no audit, and nothing is filed publicly. Records must be kept for seven years, and breaches carry penalties of up to US$10,000.

• What are the main benefits of a Seychelles offshore company?

  Zero tax on foreign profits, fast incorporation, low fixed government fees, and no public register of owners or directors. One person can be the sole director and sole shareholder. There is no minimum capital and no audit requirement.

  Seychelles also offers political stability, a hybrid common law and civil law system familiar to international investors, and — since February 2026 — a clean standing with the EU and the OECD Global Forum.

• Is Seychelles still on the EU blacklist or grey list?

  No. On 17 February 2026 the Council of the European Union removed Seychelles from Annex II, the grey list, and Seychelles is on neither EU annex today. The decision followed the OECD Global Forum's peer review of 21 January 2026, which re-rated Seychelles as Largely Compliant on Exchange of Information on Request.

  Two caveats we give every client. The next EU review is scheduled for October 2026. And correspondent banks update their internal country risk lists on their own schedule, so expect the banking benefit to arrive later than the headline.

• Are bearer shares still available in Seychelles?

  No. Bearer shares are prohibited under section 48 of the International Business Companies Act 2016, and were already abolished under the previous Act. Only registered shares can be issued.

  Any provider still advertising "immobilised" bearer shares in Seychelles is quoting a regime that no longer exists. If bearer instruments are genuinely essential to your structure, that is a conversation about a different jurisdiction and a different structure — talk to us first.

• Can a Seychelles IBC run a crypto exchange or hold digital assets?

  Holding crypto as a corporate asset is fine. Providing virtual asset services is not, without a licence.

  Since 1 September 2024 the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2024 requires an FSA licence for exchanges, wallet providers, brokers, custodians, ICOs and NFT issuance. Licensees need at least two individual directors with one resident in Seychelles, a staffed local office, a resident compliance officer and audited accounts. Mining facilities and mixer or tumbler services are prohibited outright.

• Can I register a company in Seychelles with a bank account?

  Yes. We incorporate first, then apply for the account using your Certificate of Incorporation and certified corporate documents. Banks run their own due diligence, so approval depends on your business model, expected turnover and the countries you deal with. We match you to institutions that already accept your profile rather than sending a speculative application.

• Can I buy a shelf company in Seychelles?

  Yes, ready-made companies are available and can give you an earlier incorporation date. In practice we usually recommend forming a new company instead. Shelf companies cost more, banks increasingly ask why the entity was dormant, and a fresh incorporation only takes a day or two anyway.

• What happens if I miss the annual renewal?

  You lose good standing first, which means no certificate of good standing for your bank or counterparties. Penalties accrue, and after roughly 180 days of non-payment the Registrar can strike the company off the register.

  Since the 2024 amendment a struck-off company is dissolved automatically, and the accounting-record obligation survives strike-off — outstanding records are still due at the next January or July deadline. Restoration is possible but slow and expensive. Paying the fee on the anniversary is far cheaper than fixing this later.

• How do I run a company search in Seychelles?

  Submit a written request to the Registrar and pay the applicable fee. This confirms whether a company exists and whether it is in good standing. Note that IBCs sit on the FSA's register, not the domestic Seychelles Business Register — two different registers that are easy to confuse. Ownership details are not disclosed through a search.