Company formation in The Bahamas

Important: a non-resident's right to own the company does not automatically grant a right to live, work or manage it from that country. Immigration, work permits, substance, effective management and tax residence are assessed separately.

• —International holding, trade and investment structures with a licensed FCSP and a documented commercial purpose.
• —Local business in The Bahamas after reviewing ownership approvals, business licensing, exchange control and permits.
• —Specialist wealth, partnership or segregated-asset structures with regulated advisers.

• —An International Business Company (IBC) limited by shares, the principal international corporate form.
• —A domestic company under the Companies Act for a business with a local operating model and permissions.
• —An Exempted Limited Partnership and a registered foreign company/branch for partnership structures or the presence of an existing overseas company.
• —A Foundation, Segregated Accounts Company and Private Trust Company, specialist structures requiring separate legal/regulatory review.

• —An IBC is incorporated by a licensed bank/trust company or FCSP; the provider is checked in the Securities Commission register.
• —A Bahamian registered agent and registered office, constitutional documents and current director/shareholder records are mandatory.
• —A wholly non-resident IBC operating only with non-residents is analysed for non-resident exchange-control designation; local activity requires different treatment.
• —Beneficial owners are disclosed to the licensed provider and under the statutory BO regime; nominee roles do not remove natural-person tracing.
• —Banking, trust, fund, securities, insurance and other regulated activity requires separate licensing and substance.

• —A passport or other acceptable ID for every founder, director, manager, signatory and ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).
• —Proof of residential address and tax residence; the registrar, agent, bank or other reviewer sets the document-validity period.
• —A transparent ownership chart through to natural persons and, for a corporate participant, registry documents, good standing and authorised resolutions.
• —A description of the product, markets, counterparties, expected turnover, source of funds and source of wealth, supported by evidence.
• —The name, company type, authorised shares/capital, directors, shareholders, registered agent and business description.
• —The Memorandum and Articles, initial resolutions, registers and provider declarations/consents.
• —For exchange control/local operations, ownership details, investment amount, source of capital, premises, licences and projected activity.

1. 01Determine the international or local operating model and select an IBC, domestic company, partnership or branch.
2. 02Verify the FCSP licence, complete provider KYC and agree BO, governance, capital and registered-office service.
3. 03The provider files the constitutional documents and, after incorporation, establishes registers, resolutions and the corporate pack.
4. 04Confirm exchange-control designation, accounting/BO duties, tax/business licensing and sector approval according to operations.
5. 05A bank account is reviewed separately after a full onboarding pack and is not part of the incorporation certificate.

• —Tax outcomes depend on local/international activity, form, business licensing, payroll, property, withholding and the rules of owner/management jurisdictions.
• —Non-resident exchange-control designation is not an exemption from tax in other jurisdictions and does not replace economic-substance analysis.
• —International groups separately review global-minimum-tax, FATCA/CRS and country-by-country duties when the relevant criteria are met.

General overview, not personal tax or legal advice. Rules are rechecked before filing.

• —Central Bank guidance requires disclosure of purpose/scope, source of funds, expected payments/balances and UBO identity/status.
• —A bank commonly requests the certificate, constitutional documents, good standing, an applicable business licence, contracts and financial projections/statements.
• —Official research recognises possible business-account-opening delays; neither the FCSP nor incorporation can guarantee approval.

• —The registry/government fee and renewal of the licensed registered agent/registered office.
• —Accounting records are maintained as prescribed by law together with required declarations/notifications.
• —Beneficial-ownership records and provider KYC are updated on changes and within prescribed reporting periods.
• —Business-licence, tax, economic-substance, regulatory, payroll and exchange-control reporting applies according to status and activity.

• —An incorrect resident/non-resident designation or local operations through an IBC may create exchange-control, licensing and tax breaches.
• —Using wealth, foundation or trust structures without regulated advice increases legal, succession, tax and banking risk.
• —Incorporation does not conceal ownership or disapply AML/KYC. Registered agents, registries, tax authorities and financial institutions may obtain and verify UBO information.
• —The place of incorporation does not automatically determine tax residence. Effective management, permanent establishment, CFC, withholding and the owners' personal residence require separate analysis.
• —Company registration does not grant a regulated-activity licence, immigration status or a bank account.

• —Verification of the Bahamian FCSP licence, coordination of IBC/domestic filing and exchange-control/business-licence analysis.
• —Comparison of entity forms, ownership structure, tax links and substance requirements before filing.
• —Coordination of the registered agent, notary or local representative, translations, apostille and the complete corporate file.
• —Preparation of a bank-ready KYB data room and responses to legitimate compliance requests; approval and timing remain with the bank or EMI.
• —Accountant hand-off and creation of an annual-return, BO, tax, licence and substance compliance calendar.

The exact Basic scope and all exclusions are listed in the pricing section above. Non-standard structures and external costs are agreed before payment.

Requirements checked on August 9, 2026. Before filing, we recheck rules, forms, fees and restrictions with the registration authority.