- Companies Limited by Shares;
- Companies Limited by Guarantee;
- Hybrid Companies: Companies Limited by Guarantee, authorised to issue shares;
- Unlimited Companies, authorised to issue shares;
- Unlimited Companies, not authorised to issue shares;
- Restricted Purpose Companies;
- Segregated Portfolio Companies

Shelf companies permitted

Yes

Incorporation timescale for a new company

1-5 days

Company suffix

"Limited", "Corporation" or "Incorporated"; "Societe Anonyme" or "Sociedad Anonima", "Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung"; or - the abbreviation "Ltd", "Corp", "Inc" , "S.A." or "GmbH"; "Unlimited" or the abbreviation "Unltd".

Sensitive words

Assurance, Bank, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Cooperative, Imperial, Insurance, Municipal, Trust, Royal, or any words of similar meaning, as well as any words that suggest patronage or the British Royalty, the Government of the BVI or the UK, or any government or its department

Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name

No

Local registered office

Yes

Local registered agent

Yes

Information to be kept at the registered office

Register of Members, Register of Directors, Register of Charges, all Minutes and Resolutions

Seal required, type of seal

Yes - kept with the client, imprint sent to Agent

Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted

Permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors

1

Residency requirements for directors

No

Corporate directors permitted

Yes

Directors’ meetings/frequency/location

Yes / no requirements

Disclosure to local agent

Yes

Disclosure to public

No

Company secretary required

No

Residency requirements for a secretary

No

Qualified secretary required

No

Corporate secretary permitted

Yes

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders

1

Residency requirements for shareholders

No

Corporate shareholder permitted

Yes

Meetings/frequency/location

Yes / no requirements

Disclosure to local agent

No

Disclosure to public

No

Beneficiary info disclosure to

No

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital

No requirements

Minimum issued share capital

1 share

Minimum paid share capital

1 share

Authorized capital payment deadlines

No requirements

Issued capital payment deadlines

The deadline is set in the Memorandum or Articles of Association of the Company

Standard currency

USD

Standard authorized share capital

50 000

Standard par value of shares

1

Shares with no par value permitted

Yes

Bearer shares permitted

No

Taxes

Personal tax

No

Сorporate tax

No

Corporate tax (in detail)

No - for offshore companies

Capital gains tax

No

Capital gains tax. Details

No

VAT

No

VAT. Details

No

Withholding tax

0% (dividend), 0% (interest), 0% (royalty)

Other taxes

Payroll tax for companies employing local employees, Real estate taxes

Exchange control

No

Government fee

350 USD

Stamp duty

On real estate transactions 12% (for non-residents), 4% (for residents)

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts

Yes

Requirement to file accounts

No

Publicly accessible accounts

No

Requirement to file Annual Return

No

Publicly accessible Annual Return

No

Audit required

No

General information shortly

Location

Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Total area

151 sq. km

Population

105 000 (2019)

Capital

Road Town

National currency

US Dollar

Conditional reduction of currency

USD

Against USD

1

Climate, average max and min t°

Subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds; avg. maximum temperature (August) +29°; avg. minimum temperature (January) +22°

Time difference from Moscow

- 7 hours

Dialing code

+1-284

State language

English

Ethnic groups

Black 83,4%, white 7%, other 9,6% (includes Indian and mixed) (2004 Census)

Literacy rate

98%

History

First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.

Credit rating

Government type

British overseas territory

Executive branch

Executive Council

Legislative branch

Unicameral Assembly

Judicial branch

East Carribean Supreme Court

Unemployment

2,8% (2014)

GDP per capita rank

177 (2018)

Corruption perceptions index rank

—

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