Offshore · Company formation
Company formation in Seychelles
A zero-tax holding or international trading vehicle for genuinely foreign-source income.
At a glance
- Entity
- International Business Company (IBC)
- Corporate tax
- 0% on genuinely foreign-source income (territorial); Seychelles-source income is taxable under the Business Tax Act — 25% up to SCR 1,000,000, 33% above (confirm current rate)
- Incorporation time
- ~1–2 business days
- Minimum capital
- None (no minimum; typically US$1 nominal, US$100,000 authorised)
- Resident director
- Not required; a licensed Seychelles registered agent is mandatory
- Audit
- No general audit requirement; accounting records must be kept at the registered office and lodged bi-annually
- Remote set-up
- Yes, fully remote through a licensed registered agent
- Government fee
- US$130 registration + US$140 annual (FSA non-PCC IBC schedule; as of 2026)
- Best for
- A zero-tax holding or international trading vehicle for genuinely foreign-source income.
The process
- Appoint a licensed Seychelles registered agent — incorporation cannot be filed directly with the registry
- Clear the proposed company name and prepare the Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Complete KYC/due-diligence on beneficial owners, directors and shareholders
- Agent files the incorporation with the FSA Registrar and pays the US$130 registration fee
- Receive the Certificate of Incorporation and set up the registered office, share register and beneficial-ownership register
- Open a corporate bank or EMI account (a separate, often slower, step)
What can go wrong
- The 0% headline holds only for genuinely foreign-source income; Seychelles-source income is taxed, and passive foreign income of a multinational-group member requires adequate economic substance to stay exempt.
- Banking is the real bottleneck — many banks treat Seychelles IBCs as higher-risk, so corporate accounts can be slow or declined and EMIs are commonly used.
- Compliance has tightened: accounting records must be kept at the registered office and lodged bi-annually, with penalties up to US$10,000; a beneficial-ownership register is mandatory.
- An IBC is likely a CFC and/or tax-resident where it is effectively managed, so a founder's home-country rules can undo the offshore 0%; note the EU removed Seychelles from its Annex II grey list on 17 Feb 2026.
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Form a company in Seychelles?
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