Form a Company in Nevis — Fixed-Price

Last updated: April 2026.

Nevis enacted its Limited Liability Company Ordinance in 1995 and has held the same headline protection in statute ever since: a charging order is the sole remedy a creditor has against a Nevis LLC member, and it expires after three years without renewal. Foreign judgments do not apply — a creditor must re-litigate in Nevis and post a USD 100,000 bond to file suit. Foreign-source income of a Nevis LLC or Nevis Business Corporation pays zero corporate tax, zero capital gains, and zero withholding. The FSRC issues a Certificate of Formation or Incorporation in 1 to 3 business days. One member or director is enough, any nationality, no residency requirement. Nominees are permitted. Beneficial ownership sits with the registered agent — not on a public register. The US FinCEN advisory of 2014 was formally rescinded on 24 February 2026.

We form Nevis LLCs and NBCs end to end: name reservation, Registered Agent, Articles, FSRC filing, beneficial-ownership records, banking. Fixed price, no hourly billing.

Quick facts	Value
Corporate income tax (Nevis LLC / NBC, foreign-source)	0% — territorial regime
Corporate income tax (domestic company, Nevis-source)	33%
Capital gains tax	0% (no general CGT)
Withholding tax (offshore entity → non-residents)	0% on dividends, interest, royalties
VAT	17% standard; 10% hotels and restaurants; registration threshold EC$150,000 (~USD 55,500)
Minimum share capital (NBC)	No minimum; 1 share minimum issued at incorporation
Minimum capital contribution (Nevis LLC)	None — no membership interests required at formation
Minimum directors / members	1 director or 1 member (same person allowed, any nationality)
Residency requirement	None for directors, shareholders, or members
Standard formation time	1–3 business days at the FSRC; same-day express for clean profiles
Nominee directors	Permitted
EU blacklist status (April 2026)	Not listed — outside Annex I and Annex II
Government fees	Included in our packages
Language of filings	English
Currency	East Caribbean Dollar (XCD), pegged 2.70:1 to USD

Why Form a Company in Nevis

Three features separate Nevis from the rest of the Caribbean offshore cluster.

Asset-protection statute with teeth. The Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995 gives creditors a single remedy — a charging order over distributions made to a debtor member. The member cannot be forced out. The LLC cannot be liquidated. The order expires after three years. Foreign judgments are not enforced automatically; a creditor must re-litigate in the High Court of Saint Christopher and Nevis, post a USD 100,000 bond, and fund the proceedings locally.

Territorial tax with zero headline rate for offshore income. A Nevis LLC or Nevis Business Corporation earning foreign-source income pays 0% to the Saint Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Department. Dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains, and trading profits from outside the Federation fall outside the Nevisian tax net. Domestic companies trading locally pay 33%.

Regulatory rehabilitation is complete. The 2014 FinCEN advisory that had discouraged US correspondent banking was officially rescinded on 24 February 2026 after more than a decade of CBI and AML reforms. Saint Kitts and Nevis sits outside the EU Annex I blacklist and outside the Annex II grey list in April 2026. The Global Forum peer-review rating is Largely Compliant.

Trade-offs exist. A Nevis LLC cannot carry on business with Nevisian residents without exposing income to domestic tax. Annual renewals are firm — miss a deadline and the FSRC strikes the entity. Bank account opening takes longer than the formation itself.

For comparable jurisdictions in the region, see Antigua, Bahamas, and the BVI.

Company Types Available in Nevis

Nevis has two headline corporate vehicles plus three specialist structures. The split is unusual for the Caribbean: both a US-style LLC and a traditional share corporation coexist under separate ordinances.

Nevis Limited Liability Company ("Nevis LLC")

The asset-protection workhorse. Governed by the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995, as amended. Pass-through taxation for US members (check-the-box to corporation is available). No statutory minimum capital. One member is enough — the same person can be manager and member. Member-managed or manager-managed. Members and managers do not appear on any public register. Charging-order protection under Section 43 is the single most cited feature. Used for asset-protection structures, personal holding vehicles, real-estate holding SPVs layered under a Nevis trust, and US clients familiar with the LLC template.

Nevis Business Corporation ("NBC")

The share-based corporate vehicle, often called a Nevis IBC in legacy commentary. Governed by the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 2017, as amended by Ordinance No. 5 of 2025. Limited liability to the value of issued shares. One director, one shareholder — same person allowed. One share minimum at issue, no prescribed par value. Used for international trading, IP licensing, joint-venture SPVs with share classes, and conventional holding-company arrangements where a corporate form is preferred over an LLC.

Nevis International Exempt Trust

A separate statutory vehicle under the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance 1994. Not a company. Used as the top layer over a Nevis LLC in the classic asset-protection stack. Two-year limitation period on fraudulent-conveyance claims. Creditors must prove fraudulent intent to the criminal standard.

Multiform Foundation and Limited Partnership

The Multiform Foundations Ordinance 2004 creates a shape-shifter vehicle that can be constituted as a foundation, trust, company, or partnership and re-formed between these during its life — used in bespoke private-wealth and succession structures. The Nevis Limited Partnership Ordinance covers fund structures paired with an LLC as general partner; pass-through at the partnership level.

Form	Min capital	Liability	Tax (foreign-source)	Common use
Nevis LLC	None	Limited	0% (pass-through, territorial)	Asset protection, personal holding, US-style vehicle
Nevis Business Corporation	1 share, no par	Limited	0% (territorial)	International trading, holding, JV SPVs
International Exempt Trust	n/a	n/a	Exempt	Asset-protection top layer, succession
Multiform Foundation	USD 10,000 endowment recommended	Varies by form	Exempt	Private wealth, hybrid structures
Limited Partnership	None per partner	Mixed	Pass-through	Private funds

For clients who need a Nevis entity this week rather than a fresh registration, our sister brand offers pre-incorporated Nevis LLCs and Business Corporations — already on the FSRC register, dormant, and transferable inside a few business days.

Step-by-Step Formation Process

A standard Nevis LLC or NBC formation through the FSRC follows these steps.

Vehicle selection. We confirm whether a Nevis LLC (asset-protection, pass-through, operating agreement) or a Nevis Business Corporation (share-based, directors and officers, by-laws) is the right fit. US-connected clients usually pick the LLC; European and Asian clients split.

Name check and reservation. We submit the proposed name to the Nevis FSRC. Nevis LLCs end in "LLC" or "L.L.C."; NBCs end in "Limited", "Corporation", "Incorporated", or their abbreviations. Restricted words — bank, trust, insurance, royal, chartered, Nevis — need specific FSRC consent. Name approval returns within one business day. Two alternatives is standard.

Registered Agent appointment. Every Nevis entity must have a licensed Nevis Registered Agent. The Agent holds statutory records — Register of Members or Shareholders, Register of Managers or Directors, Register of Beneficial Owners — and is the FSRC's point of contact.

Articles drafting. For an LLC: Articles of Organisation, operating agreement, contribution ledger, manager appointment resolutions. For an NBC: Articles of Incorporation, by-laws, share allocation schedule, first-meeting resolutions. Bespoke drafting is available for share classes, preference rights, or layered trust-over-LLC structures.

KYC on members, managers, directors, shareholders, and beneficial owners. Each participant provides passport, proof of address dated within three months, professional or banker's reference, and source-of-funds declaration. Beneficial-owner records sit with the Registered Agent under the Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance No. 5 of 2025 and parallel LLC guidelines. Access is restricted to the FSRC and federal financial-intelligence authorities.

FSRC filing and incorporation. The Articles go to the FSRC. Certificate of Formation (LLC) or Certificate of Incorporation (NBC) typically issues 1 to 3 business days after name approval. A same-day express path exists for clean profiles, for an additional government premium that we include in expedited packages.

Certificate of Formation or Incorporation. Issued by the FSRC on approval, delivered electronically. From this moment the entity exists as a legal person and the statutory limitation periods begin to run.

Annual renewal and operational set-up. Annual renewal payment through the Registered Agent keeps the entity in good standing. CRS classification and banking introduction calibrated to director nationality and transaction profile. No financial statements are filed with the FSRC for non-resident vehicles. No audit is required save for FSRC-regulated entities.

End-to-end from KYC clearance to an operational Nevis entity with a banking solution is typically 10 to 14 business days. The certificate itself lands on day 2 to 5. Banking takes the longest.

Required Documents

For each member, manager, director, shareholder, and beneficial owner we need:

Government-issued photo ID — passport preferred, biometric national ID accepted
Proof of residential address dated within three months — utility bill, bank statement, or government letter
Professional or banker's reference signed within three months
Source-of-funds declaration with supporting evidence where amounts are material
Date of birth, nationality, occupation, and current residential address
For PEPs: enhanced due diligence questionnaire and additional evidence trail

For corporate members or shareholders:

Certificate of Incorporation or Formation (apostilled or with certified English translation)
Register of directors, managers, and members or shareholders
Certificate of good standing dated within three months
Articles or constitutional documents
Ultimate beneficial owner declaration identifying natural persons at 25% or more

You also confirm the business activity, the registered office address (we provide the licensed Nevis Registered Agent and registered office in the package), and — for an NBC — the share structure. Most standard-template NBCs use 50,000 no-par shares.

Apostille is required for foreign corporate documents and most source-of-funds evidence. Natural-person KYC documents do not require apostille — certified copies by a notary, lawyer, or bank manager are accepted.

Costs and Timeline

Nevis costs depend on vehicle choice (LLC or NBC), nominee services, and ongoing work — bookkeeping, secretarial support, CRS filing assistance, or trust layering. Bank account opening is the cost-of-time variable.

Our packages cover the full incorporation through the FSRC, all government filing costs, Registered Agent and registered office for year one, Articles and operating-agreement or by-laws drafting, beneficial-ownership record set-up at the Registered Agent, and a calibrated banking introduction. Contact us for a fixed-price quote — no hourly bills, no surcharges added later, no extras after the work is done.

Typical timeline from KYC clearance:

Day	Milestone
0	Engagement, KYC submitted
1	KYC cleared, name reservation filed with FSRC
2	Name approved, Articles drafted, Registered Agent appointed
2–5	FSRC issues Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
5–7	Beneficial-ownership records set at Registered Agent, CRS classification confirmed
7–14	Bank account opened (highly variable per provider)

The same-day express path compresses days 1 to 5 into a single working day for clean profiles.

Tax Overview for Nevis Companies

The Saint Kitts and Nevis tax regime splits into two tracks. Offshore vehicles sit outside the domestic tax net under the territorial regime. Domestic companies sit inside it at 33%.

Corporate income tax on a Nevis LLC or NBC: 0% on foreign-source income under the territorial regime. The exemption covers dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains, and trading profits where the counterparty is outside the Federation.

Corporate income tax on a domestic company: 33% on worldwide profits for Saint Kitts and Nevis resident entities under the Income Tax Act. The domestic regime does not apply to non-resident LLCs or NBCs conducting no business within the Federation.

Capital gains tax: 0% under general rules. A 20% CGT applies only to assets held for less than 12 months by Nevisian tax residents. Offshore-entity gains fall outside.

Withholding tax on offshore entities: 0% on dividends, interest, royalties, and service fees paid to non-residents. Domestic Saint Kitts and Nevis companies pay 15% WHT on the same payment types — a meaningful spread that underlines the offshore advantage.

VAT: 17% standard rate, with a reduced 10% rate on hotel and restaurant services and 0% on staples (rice, flour, sugar, bread, milk, oats). Registration threshold is EC$150,000 (about USD 55,500) in taxable supplies over 12 months. Non-resident LLCs and NBCs with no Nevisian taxable supplies sit outside the VAT system.

No personal income tax. The Federation abolished personal income tax in 1980 and has not reintroduced it. No inheritance or estate tax. No stamp duty on offshore-entity share or interest transfers.

Annual renewal. Every Nevis LLC and NBC pays an annual renewal through the Registered Agent to maintain good standing. Miss the deadline and the FSRC issues a strike-off notice after a grace period.

CRS and FATCA. Saint Kitts and Nevis implements CRS — Nevisian financial institutions report non-resident account holders to the federal competent authority for exchange with CRS partner jurisdictions. US-owned Nevis LLCs that elect US tax classification remain fully within the US federal tax net. Nevis shelters the member interest from US-domestic creditor collection, not US income from tax.

EU listings (April 2026). Saint Kitts and Nevis is not on Annex I or Annex II. Removed from the EU list in 2018 and not relisted. The May 2014 FinCEN Advisory FIN-2014-A004 was formally rescinded on 24 February 2026. USD correspondent banking access for Nevisian banks has improved accordingly.

Accounting records. Every NBC and LLC keeps records adequate to show and explain its transactions, held by the Registered Agent or at a notified location. Financial statements are not filed with the FSRC for non-resident vehicles. Audit is not required save for regulated entities. Tax residence certificates are not issued to offshore vehicles claiming the territorial exemption.

Banking for Nevis Companies

Nevisian banking splits into two tiers. Domestic commercial banks, regulated by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, serve the local economy and regional clients. Class A offshore banks, regulated by the FSRC under federal statute, handle non-resident corporate accounts. Most non-resident LLCs and NBCs bank offshore — either through Nevis-licensed offshore banks or abroad.

Bank of Nevis International Ltd (BONI) is the long-standing Nevis offshore bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Nevis Ltd. Class A licence from the FSRC. Remote onboarding, USD/EUR/GBP/CAD support, minimum opening deposits typically from USD 5,000. The go-to domestic home for pure Nevisian offshore vehicles.

St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd (SKNA National Bank) is the largest commercial bank in the Federation. Corporate accounts in EC$ and USD, full wire and regional ACH services. Conservative KYC on non-resident structures.

Republic Bank (Saint Kitts) Ltd — part of the Trinidadian Republic Financial Holdings group — offers full commercial banking with stronger non-resident onboarding than some regional peers. CIBC Caribbean (formerly CIBC FirstCaribbean) is the Canadian regional arm; conservative KYC, suitable for NBCs with recognisable counterparties.

For most cf24 Nevis LLCs and NBCs the operating account sits elsewhere. HSBC Hong Kong and UOB Singapore are the standard Asian homes for offshore holding vehicles and asset-protection stacks. Swiss private banks — Julius Baer, VP Bank, Bordier — handle investment-holding structures at higher thresholds. Airwallex takes a selective view depending on director nationality. Wise Business does not typically onboard pure Nevis offshore entities.

We screen bank choice against director or manager nationality and transaction flows before any introduction. Applying to the wrong bank wastes six to twelve weeks.

Nominee Director Services

Nevis permits nominee directors for NBCs and nominee managers for LLCs. The mechanics survived the 2025 amendment cycle. The compliance backdrop has tightened over the last three years, and the arrangement deserves care.

What nominees still do. A nominee director of an NBC signs board resolutions, opens bank accounts where the bank accepts the arrangement, and sits on the Register of Directors maintained by the Registered Agent. A nominee manager of a Nevis LLC performs the equivalent function under the operating agreement. For clients who want the beneficial owner's name kept off transactional counterparties, credit files, and commercial registries outside Nevis, nominees still achieve that. Combined with Nevis's charging-order protection and non-public beneficial-owner register, the privacy posture is among the strongest in the Caribbean.

What nominees cannot do since 2025. They cannot obscure beneficial ownership from Nevisian authorities. Under the Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance No. 5 of 2025 and the parallel LLC compliance framework, every entity's beneficial owners — natural persons ultimately owning or controlling 25% or more of shares, voting rights, or membership interest — must be identified and recorded by the Registered Agent. The register is not public; access sits with the FSRC and federal financial-intelligence authorities. Where the entity is a passive non-financial entity, the account-opening bank reports beneficial owners under CRS regardless of any nominee arrangement.

Our position. We provide nominee services where the structure is legitimate and KYC-compliant, supported by a signed nominee declaration and indemnity deed. We decline instructions aimed at obscuring beneficial ownership from regulators — the filing regime makes that neither possible nor lawful.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Nevis LLC and a Nevis Business Corporation?

A Nevis LLC is a member-managed or manager-managed vehicle with pass-through taxation and contract-based governance under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995. A Nevis Business Corporation is a share-based entity with directors, officers, and by-laws under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 2017. Both sit outside the 33% domestic tax regime on foreign-source income. LLCs dominate asset-protection use; NBCs suit trading and holding.

How long does it take to form a Nevis company?

The Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission issues a Certificate of Formation (LLC) or Certificate of Incorporation (NBC) in 1 to 3 business days after name approval under standard service. A same-day express path is available for clean profiles. Including KYC, Articles drafting, beneficial-ownership record set-up, and banking, the typical end-to-end timeline is 10 to 14 business days from KYC clearance.

Does a Nevis LLC pay tax?

A Nevis LLC earning foreign-source income pays zero corporate tax, zero capital gains tax, and zero withholding tax in Nevis on dividends, interest, or royalties paid to non-residents. The territorial regime applies when the LLC does not transact with Nevisian residents. US-owned LLCs that elect US tax classification remain fully within the US federal tax net — Nevis does not shelter US owners from US income tax.

Is Nevis on the EU blacklist?

No. Saint Kitts and Nevis was removed from the EU Annex I list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in 2018 and has not been relisted. In April 2026 the Federation sits outside both Annex I and Annex II. The US FinCEN advisory that had applied since 2014 was formally rescinded on 24 February 2026 after reforms to the Citizenship by Investment programme and broader AML framework.

What is the Nevis charging-order protection?

Under Section 43 of the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, a charging order against a member's interest is the sole remedy available to a creditor. The creditor cannot force distributions, foreclose on the interest, or liquidate the LLC. The charging order expires after three years and is non-renewable. Foreign creditors must post a USD 100,000 bond to file suit in Nevis and cannot enforce foreign judgments without re-litigating on the merits.

Do I need to visit Nevis to form a company?

No. Nevis LLC and NBC formation is done remotely through a licensed Nevis Registered Agent. KYC documents, Articles, and beneficial-ownership declarations are handled electronically. No personal appearance is required at the FSRC, the Registered Agent, or any Nevisian bank — offshore accounts open remotely with video KYC where supported, and local Nevisian banks accept remote onboarding for referrals with clean profiles.

Can a Nevis LLC open a bank account?

Yes. Bank of Nevis International is the long-standing specialist for Nevis LLCs and NBCs, with remote onboarding and minimum deposits typically from USD 5,000. Most cf24 Nevis entities also bank offshore in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Switzerland depending on structure and flows. Onboarding runs 2 to 8 weeks. We screen the choice against member and manager nationality and the transaction profile before any introduction.

Get Started — Form Your Nevis Company

A fixed-price quote in 60 seconds. Certificate in 1 to 3 business days through the FSRC, or inside a single working day on the express path. Licensed Nevis Registered Agent and registered office included. Bank introduction calibrated to your member or director profile.

Call +48 2222 5 2222 or email [email protected] to start. Most Nevis formations operate with a bank account within 14 business days of KYC clearance.

Content prepared by Piotr Walter, In-house Counsel. Approved by Tomasz Bielski, Managing Director.

Company Formation in Nevis