Vanuatu 'Local' Limited Company

Key characteristics of a Local Company

• Local companies are used to operate, trade or hold land leases in Vanuatu.
• There is no minimum capital requirement, apart from having two subscribers for shares.
• Private companies must have at least one director who must be a Vanuatu resident.
• All companies must have a secretary.
• Companies must hold annual meetings and file annual returns.
• Audited financial statements are required if annual turnover exceeds VT 20 million.
• Every company must have Memorandum and Articles of Association.
• Annual registration fees start VT 30,000 (approx USD300) on authorised capital up to VT 35m (approx USD350,000)

To establish a company we require the following information:

• the company's name.
• purpose of the company.
• whether it is to be limited by shares, guarantee or unlimited.
• the location of the registered office (which must be in Vanuatu)
• the names, occupations, addresses and nationality of the first directors
• the names, addresses, occupations and nationality of those making the application and their relationship to the company.
• nominee shareholders can be used to hold shares on behalf of the beneficial owners.