Seychelles Company Registration

Which register a Seychelles IBC actually sits on

The company you register here is an International Business Company under the International Business Companies Act 2016, supervised by the Financial Services Authority, and used to hold assets or trade outside Seychelles. For the statutory forms it can take, the name rules and what the Act requires of it, see what a Seychelles IBC is, in full.

The detail that trips people up is which authority holds the register. Under section 2 of the Act, the Registrar of International Business Companies is the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Authority. So your IBC sits on the FSA’s register. The Seychelles Business Register at registry.gov.sc is the domestic register, and it currently ranks first in the United Kingdom for this search. Two different registers, two different purposes.

You will also see “Seychelles LLC” sold as a separate product. It is not one. Section 25(1)(b) of the Act permits “LLC” as a name suffix alongside “Limited”, “Corporation” and the rest. A Seychelles LLC and a Seychelles IBC are the same company with a different ending on the name.

The things that decide your cost and your date

• The government fee is US$130 to incorporate and $140 a year, fixed by the Second Schedule and unaffected by your authorised capital.
• An IBC is registered with the Financial Services Authority, not the Seychelles Business Register at registry.gov.sc, which is the domestic register.
• Only a licensed Seychelles registered agent may file. There is no self-filing route at any price.
• The Act sets no statutory processing deadline. Document completeness and due diligence set your date, not the Registrar.
• The annual return is repealed, but the accounting-records and financial-summary duties are real, owed to your agent, and carry a US$10,000 penalty.

Documents you need to send, and what you get back

What you send, for every director, shareholder and beneficial owner:

• A notarised or certified true copy of the passport, certified within the last three months, for every director, shareholder and beneficial owner.
• Certified proof of residential address, in English, showing a physical address: a bank statement, bank reference letter, utility bill or driving licence. Post office boxes are not accepted.
• A tax identification number, for every director, shareholder and beneficial owner.
• For a corporate shareholder, certified copies of its certificate of incorporation, its constitution, its register of directors, and its register of members or beneficial owners.

The three-month certification window and the exclusion of post office boxes are standard registered agent practice rather than requirements written into the Act. They are the two details that send applications back, so check them before you send anything.

What you get back:

• Certificate of incorporation
• Memorandum and articles of association
• Register of members
• Register of directors
• Register of beneficial owners
• Share certificates
• First resolution of the subscriber and director consents
• Declaration of beneficial ownership

Why a licensed registered agent is not optional

There is no self-filing route in Seychelles at any price. Section 9(2) says an application to incorporate may only be filed by the proposed registered agent. Section 164(1) and 164(2) require a company to have, at all times, a registered agent in Seychelles licensed under the International Corporate Service Providers Act. Section 164(4) requires essentially every document a company files with the Registrar to be filed by that agent.

So your decision is which agent to appoint, not whether to appoint one.

The switching cost nobody publishes. Changing registered agent costs $50 to file. But two separate rules sit behind that fee. Under section 169(4A) your existing agent may decline to give consent if the company is not compliant with its obligations on accounting records, the register of members and the register of directors, or with its obligations under the Beneficial Ownership Act. Under section 169(4B), if the agent consents anyway, it must tell the Registrar and your incoming agent about those non-compliances within 14 days of the change, and failing to do so carries a penalty of up to $10,000 under section 169(7). Either way the non-compliance follows you. In practice your compliance record is what makes you portable.

We do not publish a lawyer’s fee or an agent’s market rate for Seychelles, because no registry, regulator or government publishes either and we will not print a number we cannot source.

Frequently asked questions

Is Seychelles a tax haven?

No, not in the sense the term is usually meant. Seychelles operates a territorial business tax regime: Seychelles-source income is taxed at 15% up to SCR 1,000,000 and 25% above, and income sourced outside Seychelles falls outside the charge, with an economic substance test on passive income from non-residents since 16 September 2021. It is not on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, and not on EU Annex I or Annex II, having come off the Annex II state-of-play list on 17 February 2026. It exchanges information under the Common Reporting Standard, FATCA, country-by-country reporting and exchange of information on request. The accurate description is a low-tax jurisdiction that reports.

How much does it cost to register a company in Seychelles?

The government fee is US$130 to incorporate and $140 on each anniversary, and it does not vary with authorised capital. On top of that sit the registered agent and registered office charge and our service fee, which are not yet published. Figures of US$100 and US$150 circulate widely for the government fee, including on agents' own sites, and neither appears in the Second Schedule of the Act. See the cost table for the full ladder.

How long does it take to register a company in Seychelles?

Expect a few business days from the point your documents are complete. The Act sets no statutory day count: section 10(1) requires the Registrar to act upon receipt of the filed documents. What moves your date is name availability, how complete your first document set is, and whether a corporate shareholder is involved. The register of directors is then filed within 30 days of the first appointment, so the certificate is not the final step.

Can a foreigner start a business in Seychelles?

Yes. A non-resident can own 100% of a Seychelles IBC, with one director and one shareholder who may be the same person, of any nationality, with no residence requirement and no visit to Seychelles. The filing itself must be made by a licensed registered agent under section 9(2). Doing business inside Seychelles is a different question, with local tax consequences and a different licensing path.

Does a Seychelles IBC have to file accounts or an annual return?

There is no annual return, because section 171 is repealed, and filing financial statements with the Registrar is optional under section 350, with no audit requirement. But reliable accounting records are mandatory under section 174, an annual financial summary must be kept at the registered office in Seychelles within six months of the financial year end under section 175(1B)(a) unless section 175(1A) carves the company out as both a holding company and not a large company, in which case only the lodging duty applies, records held abroad must be lodged there at least twice a year, and everything is retained for seven years. Penalties reach US$10,000 on the company and $10,000 on a director who knowingly permits the breach. The obligation is owed to your registered agent, not to the Registrar.

Is the owner of a Seychelles company public?

The register of members is kept at the registered office. The register of directors is filed with the Registrar but is not public: section 152(5) permits disclosure only by court order, when compelled by law, to the registered agent, or to a person the agent or a director authorises. Beneficial ownership is held under the Beneficial Ownership Act 2020. Since 11 July 2025 a nominee member must declare its nominee status and its nominator's identity to the company within 21 days, and the register of members must record it. Nominees are a governance arrangement, not concealment: regulators, banks and tax authorities still see the beneficial owner.

Do I have to declare a Seychelles company in my own country?

Yes, and the answer depends on where you are resident. United States persons look at Form 5471, FBAR and Form 8938, and the controlled-foreign-corporation rules. United Kingdom residents look at HMRC reporting and the controlled foreign companies rules. Indian residents are making a capital-account transaction under FEMA, using the Liberalised Remittance Scheme or the Overseas Direct Investment route, and remain taxable in India on global income if resident. Seychelles reports under the Common Reporting Standard regardless.