Where to Set Up an Offshore Company: 8 Jurisdictions Compared

Choose the jurisdiction that fits what the company will actually do, not the one with the lowest headline cost. For a holding or investment vehicle, the BVI and the Cayman Islands are often used; for an operating business with staff in Asia, Singapore, Hong Kong or Labuan; for a Middle East presence, a UAE free zone. In every case, compare five things: government fees, tax (where the company is formed and where its owners live), local requirements, economic substance rules and who can see the owners. The table below sets out the official figures for eight jurisdictions founders commonly ask us about.

What should you compare before choosing a jurisdiction?

Start from the business, then check the rules:

1. Purpose. Holding shares, trading, holding IP, running a licensed business or raising funds each point to different places. A company that needs a licence usually has to be formed where the licence is issued.
2. Banking and counterparties. Banks and payment providers decide whom they accept; a jurisdiction your bank or customers are comfortable with matters more than a lower fee.
3. Tax at both ends. A low rate where the company is formed can be undone by the owners’ home country. Taiwan’s controlled foreign company (CFC) rules, for example, tax a resident company’s or individual’s share of profits in a controlled company in a low-tax jurisdiction unless it has real operations there or its profits are below a set threshold (see below).
4. Substance. Holding, finance, IP, headquarters and distribution activities trigger economic substance requirements in the BVI, the Cayman Islands and Belize; in Seychelles, Labuan and the UAE substance affects tax. See our guide to economic substance requirements.
5. Ongoing duties and reputation. Annual fees, returns, beneficial-ownership filings, and whether the jurisdiction is on the EU’s tax lists. As of the Council’s conclusions of 9 October 2026, the BVI is in Annex II (commitments under review), not on the Annex I list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (Council of the EU).

How do the BVI, Cayman, Seychelles, Belize, UAE, Labuan, Singapore and Hong Kong compare?

Government fees only (checked 28 October 2026); registered agent, office and service fees are extra. Fees rise with share capital or authorised shares where noted.

Jurisdiction	Company	Government fees: setup / annual	Local requirement	Tax
British Virgin Islands	BVI business company	US$550 / US$550 (up to 50,000 authorised shares; US$1,350 above)	Registered agent and office in the BVI	Exempt from the Income Tax Ordinance (Act s.242)
Cayman Islands	Exempted company	CI$700 / CI$925 (capital up to CI$42,000; higher bands up to CI$2,568 / CI$2,793)	Registered office in the Islands	No corporation, capital gains, payroll, property or withholding taxes
Seychelles	International business company	US$130 / US$140	Registered agent in Seychelles	Territorial; covered companies’ foreign passive income taxed without substance
Belize	Company under the Belize Companies Act 2022	US$150 / US$250 through a registered agent (share capital up to 50,000)	Registered agent in Belize	Old IBC exemption abolished
UAE (Dubai Development Authority free zone)	FZ-LLC	Registration AED 3,500 + licence fee by activity (most AED 15,000) / licence fee from AED 15,000 a year	Office in the zone; director and general manager; AED 10,000 minimum capital	0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above; 0% on qualifying income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person with adequate substance
Labuan (Malaysia)	Labuan company	From US$300 (by paid-up capital) + US$30 name / US$1,000 (from 1 July 2026)	Formed through a licensed Labuan trust company	3% of trading profits if substance is met, 24% if not
Singapore	Private limited company	S$15 name + S$300 / S$60 annual return	At least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore	17% on chargeable income, with exemptions
Hong Kong	Private company limited by shares	HK$1,545 (electronic) / HK$105 annual return if on time, plus business registration	Company secretary ordinarily resident in Hong Kong (or a Hong Kong body corporate)	Profits tax 8.25% on the first HK$2 million, 16.5% above; foreign-sourced profits generally not taxed

Sources for the tax column: BVI Act, Cayman General Registry, Seychelles Revenue Commission, UAE corporate tax and Art. 18, Labuan Business Activity Tax Act, IRAS, Inland Revenue Department. Local requirements: ACRA (Singapore directors), Companies Registry (Hong Kong secretary). Our full comparison, with our own prices, is on the offshore entity page.

Are offshore companies tax-free?

Not automatically. The BVI and the Cayman Islands do not tax companies, but several places that older guides called tax-free have changed:

• Belize. The IBC tax regime was abolished by the International Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2018, with transitional savings that ended on 30 June 2021, and the Belize Companies Act 2022 then repealed and replaced the International Business Companies Act. Do not assume a Belize company is tax-free; we could not confirm the current tax rates from an official source.
• Seychelles. Seychelles taxes Seychelles-source income, and since 16 September 2021 it taxes the foreign passive income of covered companies that lack economic substance (Seychelles Revenue Commission).
• UAE. Corporate tax applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above (UAE Government). A free-zone company keeps 0% on qualifying income only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person that “maintains adequate substance in the State” (Art. 18).
• Labuan. Trading profits are taxed at 3%, or 24% if the company does not meet the substance requirements (Labuan Business Activity Tax Act, s.2B and s.4).
• Samoa. The Samoa International Finance Authority announced on 18 February 2026 that the Miscellaneous (Removal of Tax Exemption for International Companies) Amendment Act 2026 was enacted in January 2026.

Will your home country tax the company’s profits? Taiwan’s CFC rules

It may. Many countries tax residents on profits kept in a company they control in a low-tax jurisdiction. Taiwan does this through its controlled foreign company (CFC) rules: a Taiwanese company or individual that controls a company in a low-tax jurisdiction must include its share of that company’s annual profits in its own income, even if no dividend is paid.

• When it started. For companies, from the 2023 tax year; for individuals, from 1 January 2023, both under an Executive Yuan order of 14 January 2022 (Income Tax Act history, Income Basic Tax Act history).
• What counts as a CFC. A related enterprise in a low-tax jurisdiction in which the Taiwanese company or individual and its related parties directly or indirectly hold 50% or more of the shares or capital, or over which they have significant influence (Income Tax Act, Art. 43-3; Income Basic Tax Act, Art. 12-1).
• What counts as low-tax. A statutory corporate income tax rate (or a substantially similar tax) of no more than 70% of Taiwan’s 20% rate, that is 14% (Income Tax Act, Art. 5), or taxing only domestic-source income. Where a special rate applies to a particular zone or type of company, that rate is the test; the Ministry of Finance publishes a reference list (company CFC regulations, Art. 4).
• Two exceptions. Real operations: a fixed place of business with employees actually running the business where the company is registered, and investment income, dividends, interest, royalties, rental income and gains on asset sales together below 10% of revenue. Or profits of an individual CFC of NT$7 million or less for the year; but if the CFCs held directly by the same Taiwanese company (for individuals, the same tax household) that lack real operations together make more than NT$7 million, each profitable one is included (same regulations, Art. 5; the individual regulations, Art. 5, are the same).
• Companies recognise their share of the profits, by shareholding and holding period, as investment income in that year; dividends later received are not taxed again to the extent already recognised (Income Tax Act, Art. 43-3).
• Individuals who, together with their spouse and relatives within the second degree, directly hold 10% or more of a CFC include their share of its profits in their basic income under the alternative minimum tax; a household whose total for the year is below NT$1 million is exempt (Income Basic Tax Act, Art. 12-1; individual CFC regulations, Art. 2 and 8).

Several jurisdictions in the table above may fall within the low-tax definition by their rate or the way they tax, so Taiwanese owners should check the CFC rules before forming the company. Ask a tax adviser where you live before you choose; our accounting and taxation service covers bookkeeping and filings for the company.

Can the owners of an offshore company stay anonymous?

No. Every jurisdiction in the table requires the beneficial owners to be identified and recorded, and access is generally limited to authorities and, in some places, people with a legitimate interest:

• BVI. A new company files its beneficial-ownership particulars with the Registrar within 30 days of incorporation (S.I. 59 of 2024, reg. 17). It also files an annual financial return with its registered agent within nine months of its year end (Act No. 6 of 2022, s.98A). The 2025 claim that BVI companies have “no reporting requirements” was wrong.
• Cayman Islands. The corporate services provider keeps the beneficial-ownership register and makes it searchable by the competent authority (Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act).
• Seychelles. Beneficial-ownership information goes into a national database (Beneficial Ownership Act).
• Singapore collects registrable-controller information in a central register that helps law enforcement and is not public (ACRA); Hong Kong companies keep a significant controllers register that law enforcement officers can inspect on demand (Companies Registry).

Confidentiality from the public is not the same as confidentiality from authorities, banks or tax administrations, and an offshore company should not be set up on that assumption.

How long does it take to register an offshore company?

Registries publish these service standards; agent due diligence and bank accounts take longer and are not included:

Jurisdiction	Registry time
British Virgin Islands	Within one working day of a complete application (FSC user guide, older guidance)
Cayman Islands	3–5 business days; express within 24 hours (General Registry)
Seychelles	1–2 hours for an IBC (FSA service standards)
Belize	No official processing time published
UAE (Dubai Development Authority)	Provisional approval 10 working days, then registration 2 working days (DDA)
Hong Kong	Electronic certificate normally within 1 hour; paper within 4 working days (Companies Registry)

What about Samoa?

We have left Samoa out of the comparison. Its tax exemption for international companies was removed by an Act enacted in January 2026 (announced by the Samoa International Finance Authority on 18 February 2026), and we could not confirm the Act’s start date, the annual fee or the current substance rules from official sources. Samoa is not on the EU’s Annex I list as of 9 October 2026. Our former article on Samoa and Seychelles now redirects here; its claims of “no corporate tax” and confidentiality “against unwarranted scrutiny” no longer apply.

Frequently asked questions

Are offshore companies legal?

Yes. Forming a company in another jurisdiction is lawful. What matters is that it is used for real business, its owners are declared where required, and it meets the tax and reporting rules where it is formed and where its owners live.

Can I open a bank account for an offshore company?

Possibly, but no one can promise it. Banks and payment providers make their own decisions, usually based on where the business operates, who owns it and how clearly that is documented.

What does it cost each year to keep an offshore company?

The government’s annual fee (from the table) plus the registered agent’s and office fees, any annual return or accounts, and economic substance filings where they apply. Our prices are on the offshore entity page.