Incorporate in Nevis. The strongest LLC asset-protection statute on earth.
A Nevis LLC shields operating assets from lawsuits, charges creditors a filing bond before they can even file suit, and taxes foreign-source income at zero. Formation takes about ten business days. No residency needed, no local directors, no public register of members.
Used by family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and professionals who need real creditor distance, not paper protection.
Why form a Nevis LLC?
Nevis did not accidentally become the go-to offshore jurisdiction for asset protection. It was engineered for it. The statute was drafted to make life miserable for plaintiff lawyers, and the courts have backed it up for twenty-plus years.
Charging order is the only remedy
Under the Nevis LLC Ordinance, the sole remedy a judgment creditor can pursue against a member’s interest is a charging order. No foreclosure. No forced dissolution. No seizure of the LLC’s assets. The creditor gets a lien on distributions, and the manager is free to make none.
US$100,000 bond before suit
A creditor who wants to sue a Nevis LLC in Nevis must post a cash bond with the Nevis courts before the case can even be filed. That bond covers the LLC’s expected legal costs. It is a deliberate speed bump, and it works. Most creditors never get past it.
Two-year statute of limitations
Fraudulent-transfer claims against a Nevis LLC must be brought within two years of the transfer, or one year of discovery, whichever is earlier. Beyond that window, the claim is dead. Compare that to the six to ten years most US states allow.
Foreign judgments not recognised
Nevis courts do not automatically recognise foreign judgments. A US plaintiff who wins in a US court cannot walk into Nevis and collect. They have to relitigate the entire case in Nevis, under Nevis law, with a Nevis attorney, and the bond posted upfront. Nobody does it.
Zero local tax on foreign income
A Nevis LLC that earns no income inside Saint Kitts and Nevis pays no local corporate tax. No VAT, no withholding, no stamp duty on distributions to foreign members. Your tax exposure stays where your tax residence is, not where the entity sits.
No public register of members
Nevis does not publish the names of LLC members or managers. The registry holds a manager’s name and registered office, nothing more. Beneficial ownership is recorded privately with the registered agent and shared only with authorities under mutual legal assistance requests.
What is included in your Nevis LLC formation
The headline price of US$2,495 covers the entire formation cycle, not just the government filing. No surprise invoices. No “advisory” line items that should have been free.
Nevis LLC vs other offshore jurisdictions
If Nevis is the asset-protection specialist, where does it sit against the other classic offshore choices? Here is the honest comparison.
| Feature | Nevis LLC | BVI BC | Cayman Islands | Belize IBC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base formation cost | US$2,495 | US$2,195 | US$4,275 | US$1,995 |
| Setup time | ~10 days | ~7-14 days | ~10-14 days | ~5-7 days |
| Tax on foreign income | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Charging order is sole remedy | Yes, statutory | No specific protection | No specific protection | No specific protection |
| Creditor bond before suit | US$100,000 | None | None | None |
| Statute of limitations (fraudulent transfer) | 2 years | 6 years | 6 years | 1 year |
| Foreign judgments recognised | No | Limited | Yes, common | Limited |
| Public member register | No | No | No | No |
| Bank account accessibility | Moderate | Good | Excellent | Moderate |
The bottom line: if banking access is your top priority, Cayman wins. If price is everything, Belize edges in. If you want the strongest legal moat between your assets and a future plaintiff, Nevis is not close. It is ahead.
How to incorporate in Nevis, step by step
Ten business days is the realistic door-to-door timeline. Here is how the process actually runs.
Name reservation and paperwork
We reserve your name of choice and submit the paperwork for the director and shareholders.
Filing and registration
Articles of organisation and operating agreement drafted and filed with the Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Certificate of formation issued within 3 to 5 business days.
Certificate and document pack
Certificate of Incorporation issued and digital document pack delivered. You now have a working Nevis LLC ready to operate.
Optional Nevis LLC add-ons
The base formation is enough for most clients. These are the extras our clients add most often.
Nominee manager
Licensed Nevis nominee manager appointed under a private mandate agreement. Your name stays off every public document.
Nominee member
Bearer-style ownership held through a declaration of trust. Full control retained, zero public disclosure.
Nevis multiform trust overlay
Layer a Nevis International Exempt Trust above the LLC for maximum asset protection. The trust owns the LLC, you are the settlor, the trustee is licensed in Nevis.
Bank Account Introduction
Warm introduction to a bank or EMI we regularly place Nevis LLCs with. Multi-currency options including offshore and EMI providers.
Annual compliance pack
Registered agent renewal, government renewal fee, registered-office address, and annual economic-substance check. Covers year two and onward.
FATCA / CRS reporting assist
If the LLC has reportable controllers or account activity, we handle the tax-authority filings through our registered agent.
Nevis LLC: frequently asked questions
If you are researching whether to incorporate in Nevis, these are the questions we hear most often on strategy calls.
How long does it take to incorporate in Nevis?
About ten business days from the moment KYC clears to the moment the certificate of formation is issued. The registry itself processes filings in three to five business days. Name reservation and KYC take care of the rest of the timeline.
Do I need to visit Nevis to form the LLC?
No. Everything is handled remotely. KYC documents are uploaded, operating agreements signed electronically or couriered for wet-ink signatures where required, and the certificate of formation is delivered digitally as part of your document pack.
Does a Nevis LLC have to pay tax?
In Nevis, no. A Nevis LLC that earns no local Nevis income pays zero Nevis corporate tax. But that only settles Nevis. If you are a tax resident anywhere else, that country will decide whether the LLC is look-through, CFC, or opaque for its purposes. US citizens in particular need to plan for CFC and disregarded-entity treatment with a qualified tax adviser.
Is a Nevis LLC recognised in the United States?
Yes. A Nevis LLC is a foreign limited liability company and the IRS treats it as a foreign entity under the check-the-box regulations. It can elect to be taxed as a disregarded entity, partnership, or corporation. Banking and contracting work normally. What is not recognised automatically is a US court judgment against the LLC in Nevis itself.
Can I open a bank account for a Nevis company?
Yes. Nevis LLCs bank regularly with Caribbean, European, and Asian banks, plus a growing number of EMIs. Our formation package includes one bank introduction. High-volume clients typically add a second or third introduction to diversify. Expect full KYC including source of funds, business plan, and occasionally a video call with the bank.
Is a Nevis LLC the same as a Nevis IBC?
No. Nevis has two offshore entity types. A Nevis Business Corporation (BC) is share-based and closer to a traditional offshore company. A Nevis LLC is member-based and modelled on the US LLC. The LLC is the one with charging-order protection written into the statute. For asset protection, the LLC wins every time.
What are the annual renewal costs for a Nevis LLC?
Plan on US$1,395 per year from year two onward. That covers registered agent, registered office, the government annual fee, and an economic-substance status check. Nominee services, multiple bank accounts, and filings for FATCA or CRS come on top if required.
Does Nevis comply with CRS and FATCA?
Yes. Nevis signed the OECD Common Reporting Standard multilateral agreement and has a FATCA IGA with the United States. Reportable account information flows to the respective tax authorities. Privacy in Nevis is about keeping your affairs out of public registers and off creditor radar, not about hiding from tax authorities. Those two are different problems.
Can I hold real estate in a Nevis LLC?
You can, and clients regularly do. Real estate held by a Nevis LLC gets the same charging-order treatment as any other asset inside the entity. For US real estate specifically, a common structure is a US state LLC that is wholly owned by a Nevis LLC, which is in turn owned by a Nevis trust. That stack keeps domestic operating reality separate from offshore protection.
What happens to my Nevis LLC if Nevis changes its laws?
The Nevis LLC Ordinance has been amended several times since 1995 and each amendment has strengthened, not weakened, asset protection. Nevis competes for formation business and the statute is the product. If the worst happened, a Nevis LLC can be redomiciled to another asset-protection jurisdiction (Cook Islands, Belize, or Anguilla) without dissolution. The entity continues, the protection follows.
How does charging-order protection actually work?
A charging order is a lien on a member’s distributions. When a creditor wins a judgment and tries to collect against your LLC membership interest, the only thing they get is the right to receive distributions if the LLC makes any. The manager is under no duty to distribute. The creditor cannot force distributions, cannot vote the membership interest, and cannot seize LLC assets. Many creditors walk away because they get nothing but a tax bill on “phantom income” they never received.
Is forming a Nevis company legal?
Fully legal. A Nevis LLC is a compliant offshore entity as long as you report ownership correctly in your country of tax residence (FBAR and Form 5471 for US persons, controlled-foreign-company reporting in most other jurisdictions) and pay tax where you are due. Asset protection and tax compliance are separate disciplines. We handle the formation. Your tax adviser handles the reporting. Together, legal and clean.
Ready to form your Nevis LLC?
Ten business days, fixed US$2,495, everything included. Or book a strategy call first and we will pressure-test the structure against your actual situation before you commit.
Sources and references
- Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission, Official Regulator Portal
- Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Official Government Portal
- Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, 2017 (as amended), filed with the Nevis Island Administration.
- OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, Peer Review Reports
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, FATCA Model 1B IGA with the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.