Setting Up An Offshore Company Quick Start Guide

When deciding on what type of offshore business you would like to open, one of the first decision you will have to make is what type of business you are going to open. There are 2 main types of offshore corporations you can open including Limited Liability IBCs and International Business Companies. A wide variety of jurisdictions are also adopting original legislation which allows people to replace the International Business Corporation with a simple Corporation Business.

The question becomes are you interested in creating a basic company or a complete one. Basic companies do not have as many of the benefits that their larger brother's do. Basic companies are geared more towards individuals or small business owners where only one person will be in charge of the company and it's holdings. The trade off is this type of company does not have as many benefits as a complete company does.

There are more requirements involved in setting up a complete offshore company and also, in general, many more people involved in the process. A well executed plan to incorporate your company is required in order to ensure your company assets are protected and the services of a lawyer in the jurisdiction you are incorporating in is highly suggested.

If you have an existing business that you would like to transfer to an offshore business, there are many offshore jurisdictions that will allow you to merge businesses or relocate them. When merging one business with another, you will most definitely have to hire a third party firm to help assist you, as there are often contractual difficulties that these firms can help you to overcome, however some offshore jurisdictions do not have this problem because they now allow companies to form a complete new entity during the merger, rather than one company simply taking over another company.

You will need to decide exactly what you want your offshore incorporation to do for you. Typically, one of the best ways to determine just how and what type of company you should set up is to consult with a firm that specialized in helping individuals and corporations set up offshore company incorporations. There are many of these firms available, and you should certainly research each one before you make a choice and hire a firm.

Using an lawyer to set up your offshore company has many benefits such as; attorney client privilege , connections in the industry and company incorporation experience. Watch out for scams where websites will purport to be law firms but are in actual fact nothing more than shell websites that will sell your personal details to anyone who will pay. These types of sites are rampant in every industry, not just offshore company formation, so watch out.

If you have no experience at all and are looking to learn how to set up an offshore company, it will certainly be the best option for you to hire one of these firms. The initial cost of doing so may seem extreme at first, but it will help to ensure that opening your offshore incorporation will be successful.