A Single Partner for Your Company When You Expand Into St. Kitts and Nevis
Nevis LLCs and St. Kitts companies are chosen for holding and asset-protection structures that have to last. We help you set the entity up properly and keep it maintained year after year, with renewals, accounts, and records in one pair of hands.
Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission, or the Registrar of Companies. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and act on your behalf; whether a company or document is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.
The Jurisdiction
Why a corporation might consider Nevis
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St Kitts and NevisCommonwealth realm, independent since 1983
Legal system
English common law
Company law
Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance, 1984
Final appeal
Privy Council, London
Currency
East Caribbean dollar, pegged to the US dollar
Exchange controls
None
Local presence required
Registered agent and office
Companies authority
Registrar of Companies, Nevis
Regulator
Financial Services Regulatory Commission
The law
Ordinances from 1984, under a common law roof
Your company is formed under Nevis ordinances that have been in force and amended since 1984, inside an English common law system. Disputes are heard by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and the final appeal is to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
The money
A currency pegged to the dollar, and no permits
The East Caribbean dollar is pegged to the United States dollar, so the rate your accounts translate at does not move. International business companies move funds in any currency, in and out, without approval from the Federation.
The records
No public register of who owns or runs it
Shareholders, members, directors, managers and beneficial owners are recorded with your registered agent rather than on a public file, and are produced to the Financial Services Regulatory Commission on request. There is no register a member of the public can search.
The presence
A Nevis agent holds the address; the owners can be anywhere
On Nevis the local presence is a registered agent and the registered office that agent provides. The ordinance sets no residence requirement for directors, members or managers, and it does not oblige the company to lease space or employ anyone on the island, so the corporation is normally managed from wherever its owner sits.
The year
Two dates, and no annual return
The renewal fee on the anniversary of registration, and a Simplified Tax Return to the Inland Revenue Department by 15 April for the calendar year before. There is no annual return to file, no statutory audit and no economic substance regime to report under.
Our services
Our services for a Nevis corporation
Everything we do for a Nevis corporation, grouped by the kind of work. Follow any branch to the page that describes it.
The company
Your Nevis company
Formed once through a registered agent on Nevis, whichever structure you choose, then maintained by us through each renewal for as long as you own it.
Twenty measures in five categories, scored out of ten by our team, and Nevis's present standing with the international bodies that assess the federation.
Privacy & Confidentiality
Privacy Score8.0
Director Anonymity8.5
Beneficial Ownership7.5
Information Exchange7.0
Average7.8
Banking & Financial
Banking Acceptance8.0
Financial Reputation8.5
Currency Freedom9.0
Banking Partnerships7.0
Average8.1
Regulatory & Compliance
Regulatory Framework8.5
OECD Compliance8.5
EU Recognition9.0
FATCA/CRS Compliance9.0
Average8.8
Business Environment
Incorporation Speed9.5
Tax Efficiency10.0
Political Stability9.0
Legal System9.0
Average9.4
International Recognition
Global Reputation8.0
Treaty Network4.0
Trade Relations6.5
Diplomatic Status8.0
Average6.6
Compare with
JurisdictionOverall /10
Anguilla7.6
Bahamas8.4
Belize7.3
British Virgin Islands8.1
Cayman Islands8.6
Cyprus8.2
Marshall Islands7.8
Mauritius8.0
Panama7.7
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines7.8
Samoa7.5
Seychelles7.6
Saint Kitts and Nevis scores 8.1 overall
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Privacy & Confidentiality
What the beneficial ownership register holds, who is allowed to see it, and what leaves the jurisdiction automatically each year.
Score out of ten
Privacy Score
Strong privacy under the Nevis ordinances
8.0
Director Anonymity
Not on any public file
8.5
Beneficial Ownership
Maintained by registered agents, not public
7.5
Information Exchange
Full CRS/FATCA compliance, automatic exchange
7.0
Banking & Financial
How readily international banks open and hold accounts for entities formed here, and how freely money moves once they do.
Score out of ten
Banking Acceptance
Good acceptance, clean regulatory standing
8.0
Financial Reputation
Known for asset protection, clean compliance
8.5
Currency Freedom
XCD pegged to USD, no exchange controls for offshore
9.0
Banking Partnerships
Limited local banking, offshore banking typical
7.0
Regulatory & Compliance
The governing law, the bodies that supervise it, and where the jurisdiction sits on the international tax and transparency regimes.
What it takes to form and run an entity here: how fast, what it is taxed, and how stable the law behind it has proved.
Score out of ten
Incorporation Speed
24-48 hours for most structures
9.5
Tax Efficiency
0% corporate tax, no capital gains tax
10.0
Political Stability
Stable independent federation
9.0
Legal System
English common law, Nevis-specific ordinances
9.0
International Recognition
How the jurisdiction is regarded outside its own borders, and how far its treaty and trade arrangements actually reach.
Score out of ten
Global Reputation
Widely used for asset protection structures
8.0
Treaty Network
Limited DTA network, TIEAs in place
4.0
Trade Relations
CARICOM, OECS membership
6.5
Diplomatic Status
Independent Commonwealth nation
8.0
OECD Global Forum and Inclusive Framework
3
Exchange of information rating
Largely CompliantGlobal Forum peer review
Base erosion and profit shifting
Minimum standards implementedInclusive Framework
Country-by-country reporting
ImplementedWhere applicable
Financial Action Task Force and its Caribbean body
3
Increased monitoring
Not listedNo strategic deficiencies identified
Technical compliance
Substantially implementedAgainst the forty Recommendations
Regional membership
MemberCaribbean Financial Action Task Force
Account reporting regimes
2
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
Model 1 agreementWith the United States
Common Reporting Standard
ExchangingAutomatic exchange network
Tax cooperation instruments
4
Tax information exchange agreements
In forceWith multiple jurisdictions
Mutual Administrative Assistance Convention
SignatoryMultilateral
Regional double taxation relief
CARICOM treatyMember states
Regional tax administration
MemberCaribbean Association of Tax Administrators
European Union
1
List of non-cooperative jurisdictions
Not listedNeither Annex I nor Annex II
Domestic supervision and Nevis framework
4
Financial services supervision
Financial Services Regulatory CommissionSupervision and oversight
Company law
Nevis Business Corporation OrdinanceGoverning statute
Limited liability companies
Nevis Limited Liability Company OrdinanceGoverning statute
Trusts
Nevis International Exempt Trust OrdinanceGoverning statute
Start your company
What starting a Nevis corporation involves
The formation is one piece of work with one fee. The Nevis ordinances attach two appointments for as long as the corporation exists, and two more are optional.
Already have a Nevis company with another agent? Bring it to us for US$350, one time. Its number, its date and its contracts do not change. About transferring your company→
The package price includes the government fees, which are set by the Nevis authorities and passed on at cost. The rest is our fee for advising you, preparing and coordinating your paperwork, and handling the incorporation on your behalf; whether the company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.
Hold a presence on Nevis
The Nevis ordinances require a registered agent and a registered office on the island for the life of the corporation. The first year of both is inside the formation fee; each renews annually.
Appointment A
Registered agent
A company must at all times have a registered agent on Nevis. Yours is appointed through us, receives everything the authority sends, and stays on the record with the authorities.
An address on Nevis that the authorities hold on file as your company’s address. Your statutory records are kept there, within reach of your registered agent, and your correspondence is forwarded on.
Decided at formation and documented before any share is issued. The two arrangements are independent: one concerns the board, the other the shareholding.
The account is opened once the corporation exists, so it stands apart from the formation itself. Arranged alongside the formation, or on its own afterwards.
Opening
Usually remoteNot every bank. We say which, before you apply.
The papers
Assembled by usCompany documents, IDs, what the business does.
The decision
The bank’sOn its own timetable, which is not ours to set.
Commonly opened inthe Eastern Caribbean, North America, Europe, Asia, or with a digital provider. There is no requirement to bank in the Federation, and no exchange controls either way.
A Nevis corporation is formed once and maintained for as long as you own it. Its year has two dates, the renewal and the tax return, and we hold both under one annual package.
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The filing
One document leaves your company each year, on a date the Federation sets. It is drafted from records we already hold, sent to you for a single approval, and filed.
The one service with no filing date attached to it, because it is the thing the return above draws on. Kept month by month, so the figures already exist on the day they are needed.
13jurisdictions, should the next company be elsewhere
Why Expanship
Built to last, and looked after that way.
Nevis asks little of a company each year, and we make sure that little is done: the renewal, the simplified tax return, the books and the local address, from the team that set it up, at a price you knew first.
One price
Same team
What every engagement includes
One price, agreed first
Setup, the local presence and the year’s filings in one figure you see before we begin.
A named contact
One person who knows your file and answers for it, not a ticket queue.
A written checklist
What we need from you, and what happens next, set out before the work starts.
The same team, every year
The renewal, the simplified tax return, ownership and records, by the team that set it up.
Nothing to travel for
Onboarding to signing, all online. No trip to the islands unless the law demands one.
Your information, handled
Strict security protocols and professional confidentiality throughout the process.
The island first, then the practical side of forming and keeping a corporation there.
About the jurisdiction
Because the Nevis ordinances set a high procedural bar for creditors. A claim against a Nevis structure faces a short limitation period, a high standard of proof and a bond that must be posted before proceedings begin. Those are features of the statutes, not a prediction of how any claim would be decided.
English common law, under Nevis ordinances in force and amended since 1984. Disputes are heard by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and the final appeal is to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
A Nevis corporation pays no tax in the federation on income earned outside it. It files a short annual tax return with the Inland Revenue Department confirming where it is resident and whether it has a permanent establishment. There is no capital gains tax.
St Kitts and Nevis is on neither EU list, Annex I or Annex II, and is not under FATF increased monitoring. The OECD Global Forum rates it Largely Compliant for exchange of information.
Only the authorities, on request. Shareholders, members, directors, managers and beneficial owners are recorded with the registered agent, not on any public file. There is no search a member of the public can run.
Yes. All of the shares can be held by non-residents, and there is no rule that any director, member or manager live in the federation. The registered agent on Nevis is the only local requirement.
Working with us
Two dates. The renewal fee on the anniversary of formation, and the simplified tax return by 15 April for the previous calendar year. There is no annual return, no statutory audit and no economic substance filing. Both are handled inside our annual package.
Only a registered agent and a registered office on the island, which we arrange and hold. The corporation is not obliged to lease space or employ anyone, and its owners and directors can be anywhere.
Usually outside the federation. Accounts are opened in the Eastern Caribbean, North America, Europe or Asia, or with a digital provider. There is no requirement to bank locally and no exchange controls. We prepare the application and the bank makes the decision.
Formation on Nevis starts from US$1,149 in our packages, and that figure already includes the government fee, the first year of registered agent and office, and the company documents. From the second year the annual package starts from US$999. Government fees are itemised separately on the pricing page.
No. Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission, or the Registrar of Companies. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and act on your behalf. Whether a company or document is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.
Our own work: advice on the right structure and the right service, due diligence on every member, preparing and coordinating your paperwork, and handling your incorporation, annual compliance and company changes on your behalf. Where a package includes government fees, they are set by the Nevis authorities, not by us, and are passed on at cost; where it does not, they are quoted separately before you commit.
Contact Us
Ask about Nevis
Nevis LLCs and St. Kitts companies raise particular questions about structure and ownership. Send us yours and we will answer them plainly.
Expanship is a private company, not a government agency. Submitting this form requests a consultation with our advisors; it does not place an order, start an incorporation, or create a professional relationship, and nothing we reply with is legal, tax, or financial advice.