British Virgin Islands

At a Glance

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a small group of islands in the Caribbean Sea located 60 miles east of Puerto Rico.

• Population: approximately 24,500 (2009 est) consisting of a mixture of British, Spanish, Dutch, Amerindian and Caribbean racial types; prevailing cultural influence is American

• Official language: English

• Currency: US dollar although banks maintain accounts in sterling as well. There are no exchange controls

• Legal/Government: self-governing since the 1967; dependent territory of the British Crown; to a limited extent relies on UK statutes on international matters; legal system based on English Common Law; Policies and legislation are developed in close consultation with the private sector. Offshore business can be carried out in a tax-free environment.

• Major industries: tourism and offshore financial operations. (Minor industries include fishing, rum distilling, construction and charter yacht)

• Principal offshore activities: trust management, mutual funds and captive insurance. (Banking has not been encouraged, as an apparently successful defence against money laundering).

The BVI financial services industry enjoys the advantages of having responsibility for its internal self-government, while maintaining the political and economic stability associated with being a British Overseas Territory.

There is no doubt that the BVI is an attractive offshore destination benefiting from stability, high levels of privacy, good reputation, flexible legislation, English language, etc.

There have been well over 400,000 active companies incorporated in the BVI at the end of 2008, including more than 550 Limited Partnerships. There were 9000 new incorporations in the final quarter of 2008.

To find out more about any aspect of incorporating within the BVI, contact us.