(NEVIS LLC & IBC FORMATION)
Nevis Company
A Nevis company — LLC or IBC — combines the $100,000 mandatory creditor bond with a three-year non-renewable charging order as the sole creditor remedy, making it one of the world’s strongest offshore entities for asset protection. Wealth Web coordinates direct, licensed Nevis registered agent relationships, formation within one to three days, and optional banking or Cook Islands Trust pairing, from $2,000.
Core Jurisdiction
Wealth Web · Nevis Company
Latitude
00.0000° N
Longitude
000.0000° W
(NEVIS LLC & IBC OVERVIEW)
A fast, fixed-fee company structure for offshore asset protection
A Nevis LLC and Nevis IBC are two of the world’s most powerful offshore company structures — with the mandatory $100,000 creditor bond, a three-year non-renewable charging order as the sole creditor remedy, and a beyond-reasonable-doubt fraudulent transfer standard.A Nevis LLC is formed under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995, strengthened by amendments in 2015 and 2017. Before a creditor can bring any claim in Nevis courts, they must post a bond of up to $100,000 — eliminating speculative litigation before it starts.Both structures can sit within a Cook Islands Trust as the operating layer — the gold standard cross-jurisdictional combination for offshore asset protection.
Governing law
Nevis LLC Ordinance 1995, amended 2015 & 2017
Entity types
LLC (asset protection) or IBC (trading, holding)
Creditor bond
$100,000 minimum before any suit can be filed
Charging order
3 years, non-renewable — sole creditor remedy
Formation time
1–3 days from KYC clearance
Best paired with
A Cook Islands Trust, for double-lock protection
General summary only. The Nevis LLC is the world’s strongest standalone offshore LLC for creditor protection. The Nevis IBC suits international trading and holding structures. Suitability depends on the client, assets, and objectives.
(WHAT IS INCLUDED)
A complete Nevis company formation service
Choose a standalone LLC, LLC + banking, or the complete LLC + Trust + Banking package
Fixed fees, inclusive of all government registration and first-year registered agent costs — no hidden costs, no surprise invoices.
Nevis LLC or IBC
$2,000
inclusive of all first-year fees · 1–3 days
A standalone Nevis LLC or IBC — the world-leading offshore creditor protection vehicle, or a traditional share company for international trading. We confirm the right entity type during your consultation. Charging order is the sole creditor remedy for the LLC, valid for three years only, with a $100,000 bond required before any creditor can file suit.
Articles of Organisation (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (IBC)
All Nevis government registration fees
First-year Nevis registered agent
Apostilled corporate documents
LLC or IBC + Banking
$3,000
inclusive of all first-year fees · 1–3 days + 4–8 weeks banking
A Nevis LLC or IBC bundled with a bank account at one of our partner institutions — offshore banks, private banks, Swiss banks, investment custodians, and EMI banking partners.
Nevis LLC or IBC — fully registered and operational
Offshore bank account at a partner institution of your choice
All company documents
All government fees and first-year agent costs
Trust + Company + Banking
$12,000
inclusive of all first-year fees · Coordinated formation timeline
The complete structure. A Cook Islands or Nevis Trust, a Cook Islands or Nevis Company (LLC or IBC), and a bank account — the strongest asset protection combination available, built on our two core jurisdictions.
Cook Islands or Nevis Trust — fully registered and operational
Cook Islands or Nevis Company (LLC or IBC) — fully registered and operational
All trust and company formation documents
All government fees and first-year trustee and agent costs
Offshore bank account at a partner institution of your choice
Every package includes drafted formation documents, apostilled copies, and direct coordination with licensed Nevis registered agents.
(NEVIS COMPANY GUIDE)
Understanding the Nevis LLC and IBC structure
How does a Nevis LLC or IBC work?
A Nevis LLC separates legal ownership of company assets from the members who own it; a Nevis IBC does the same through a traditional share structure.
The LLC is formed under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995 and owned by one or more members, who may manage the company directly or appoint a manager to handle day-to-day operations. The Operating Agreement sets out membership interests, management authority, and distribution rules.
The IBC is formed under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance and owned by shareholders who appoint directors to run the company. Both structures are registered through a licensed Nevis registered agent and can hold bank accounts, investments, and other approved assets in the company’s own name.
- Members or shareholders: own the company and hold economic and voting rights.
- Manager or directors: handle day-to-day banking, investment, and operational decisions.
- Registered agent: maintains the company’s registration and statutory records in Nevis.
- Operating Agreement or M&A: sets out governance, distributions, and member or shareholder rights.
Wealth Web coordinates entity selection, registered agent, due diligence, and formation.
Discuss your structureWho controls a Nevis LLC?
A Nevis LLC can be structured so you retain direct, practical control as manager under ordinary circumstances.
Most Nevis LLCs used for asset protection are member-managed or have the settlor appointed as manager, meaning day-to-day banking, investment, and operating decisions remain in your hands exactly as they would with any company you run personally.
What changes when a trust is added above the LLC is not day-to-day control — it is who legally holds the membership interest a creditor would need to reach. That distinction is the entire basis of the LLC-plus-trust combination described in the next tab.
- Manager authority: covers routine banking, investment, and operational decisions.
- Member rights: include distributions, voting, and amendment of the Operating Agreement.
- Trustee intervention: only becomes operative if a genuine legal threat materialises, where a trust sits above the LLC.
- Continuity planning: the Operating Agreement can define succession and emergency authority in advance.
What can be placed in a Nevis LLC?
A company becomes operational once accepted assets are properly transferred and recorded as company property.
Common assets include cash and bank deposits, investment portfolios, cryptocurrency, precious metals, and business interests. Wealth Web coordinates the bank or custodian introduction, and every institution will review the proposed assets, source of funds, and supporting documentation before an account is opened.
US real estate generally cannot be moved offshore in the conventional sense, since property remains subject to the law of the jurisdiction where it sits. The structure works most cleanly for liquid financial assets held in offshore accounts in the company’s own name.
- Cash and deposits: held through approved offshore banking arrangements.
- Investment portfolios: transferred in-kind or accepted by the bank or custodian.
- Cryptocurrency: held through institutions actively supporting digital asset custody.
- Business interests: consolidated under a single company ownership layer.
Why pair a Nevis LLC with a trust?
The short answer is control: you keep it day to day, while the structure itself is built to change hands only when it is genuinely tested.
When a Cook Islands Trust owns the Nevis LLC rather than you personally, the membership interest a creditor would need to reach sits with an independent trustee operating entirely outside US jurisdiction. Nothing changes about how you manage the LLC in ordinary circumstances — you continue as manager, handling banking and investment decisions exactly as before.
What changes is what happens under genuine legal pressure. The trust deed’s anti-duress provisions direct the trustee to decline any instruction given under compulsion, including an instruction from you if a US court has ordered you to direct a distribution. This is why the combination is described as double-lock protection: two independent jurisdictions, two independent legal barriers, working together.
- Practical control preserved: day-to-day management continues exactly as before formation.
- Membership interest relocated: held by an independent trustee, not by you personally.
- Anti-duress protection: the trustee is bound to refuse instructions given under legal compulsion.
- Two-jurisdiction barrier: a creditor must defeat both the Nevis LLC protections and the trust.
Wealth Web forms Nevis LLCs and Cook Islands Trusts together as a single, coordinated engagement.
See the Total Protection PackageWhat are the limits of Nevis company protection?
A Nevis LLC or IBC is a proactive planning structure, not a way to conceal assets or ignore existing legal obligations.
Transfers made after a claim has already arisen, while the settlor is insolvent, or with an improper purpose can still be challenged — though Nevis law requires the challenge to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, a materially higher bar than most jurisdictions. The registered agent will also require full disclosure of the people, assets, and source of funds behind the structure.
Some US courts have held that domestic foreclosure of a single-member foreign LLC’s membership interest may be possible under US law — one reason pairing the LLC with a Cook Islands Trust provides materially stronger protection than the LLC alone.
- No retroactive protection: existing or foreseeable disputes require immediate legal advice, not a same-week transfer.
- No secrecy from authorities: US tax and reporting duties continue in full regardless of structure.
- No guaranteed outcome: facts, timing, and applicable law remain decisive in any dispute.
- No substitute for compliance: the structure works alongside correct filings, not instead of them.
When should a Nevis company be established?
The strongest planning happens while finances are stable and before any specific dispute or claim exists.
Formation itself is fast — typically one to three days once KYC is cleared — but the protective value of the structure depends on establishing it well before pressure arises, not in response to an active threat.
Offshore bank account opening generally takes a further four to eight weeks, so clients planning a complete structure should expect the full engagement, from consultation to a funded, operational company, to run several weeks in total.
- Plan before pressure: do not wait until a transfer becomes urgent or contested.
- Prepare documentation early: certified passport, proof of address, and source-of-funds evidence should be current.
- Coordinate funding: decide which assets will move before formation is finalised.
- Review existing obligations: creditors, guarantees, and disputes must be disclosed to the registered agent.
What tax and reporting obligations apply?
Offshore does not mean unreported. Obligations depend on the members, assets, and countries involved.
The Nevis registered agent and any bank or custodian will complete KYC and beneficial-ownership checks as standard practice. Home-country tax, foreign-entity, foreign-account, and asset-reporting rules continue to apply regardless of where the company is formed.
US persons typically file Form 5471 annually for the company and FBAR for offshore accounts, alongside Form 8938 under FATCA where applicable. These obligations are non-negotiable, and every structure Wealth Web forms is built for full home-country compliance from day one.
- Form 5471: annual US reporting for foreign corporations and certain LLCs.
- FBAR: applies to offshore bank and financial accounts held by the company.
- Form 8938: may apply under FATCA depending on account values and filing status.
- Professional advice: should be obtained before formation and before assets are funded.
Who may consider a Nevis company?
The structure is generally considered by people with meaningful assets, genuine cross-border needs, and a long-term planning horizon.
Potential users include business owners, professionals with elevated litigation exposure, international families, and individuals seeking offshore banking access that has become difficult to obtain directly as an individual since FATCA. The benefits should justify the formation cost and ongoing administration.
It is less suitable where the asset base is modest, the purpose is short term, or the client is unwilling to complete the disclosure a licensed registered agent and bank will require as standard practice.
- Business owners: separating personal wealth from operating and litigation risk.
- Professionals: in fields with elevated liability exposure seeking standalone protection.
- International families: coordinating cross-border banking and succession planning.
- Clients seeking Total Protection: through a combined trust, company, and banking structure.
We compare your objectives, assets, and timing before recommending LLC, IBC, or a paired structure.
Book a consultation(WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE WEALTH WEB)
Nevis company formation with cross-jurisdiction perspective
Wealth Web coordinates Nevis LLCs, IBCs, and Cook Islands Trusts as a single engagement. We are not a referral service — we manage the entire formation process directly and pass on the best available pricing.
Direct registered agent relationships
We work with direct, licensed Nevis registered agent relationships — not a referral intermediary — the same team that forms Cook Islands LLCs, BVI companies, and offshore structures across 20+ jurisdictions.
First-hand jurisdictional knowledge
Our Nevis LLC and IBC specialists have first-hand jurisdictional knowledge, not generic offshore formation scripts.
Fixed-fee formation
All government fees and first-year agent costs are included in the price — no hidden costs, no surprise invoices.
Commonly paired with a trust
We form Nevis LLCs and Cook Islands Trusts in the same engagement — the two most commonly paired offshore structures.
Full compliance from day one
Optional legal and tax advisory ensures full home-country compliance — every structure is built to be reported correctly, not hidden.
(WHO SHOULD FORM A NEVIS COMPANY?)
A strong fit for creditor protection, banking access, and international business
A Nevis company suits clients seeking standalone offshore creditor protection, individuals needing offshore banking access, and international business owners. For the deepest protection, pair the LLC with a Cook Islands Trust as the owning structure.
Standalone protection, banking access, and business use
A Nevis company is most compelling for clients wanting genuine offshore creditor protection, banking access, or an international operating entity.
Clients seeking standalone offshore creditor protection without the full cost of a trust
Individuals needing offshore banking access unavailable to individuals post-FATCA
International business owners with clients or revenue across multiple countries
Clients building a multi-jurisdictional structure with a Cook Islands Trust above
When standalone LLC protection isn’t enough
The Nevis LLC alone provides genuine, powerful protection — but for the deepest available protection, it should sit inside a Cook Islands Trust.
Some US courts have allowed domestic foreclosure of single-member foreign LLC interests
A standalone LLC membership interest remains held in your own name
A Cook Islands Trust places that membership interest beyond US creditor enforcement entirely
The Trust + LLC combination is the gold standard for offshore asset protection
For the deepest available protection, pair your Nevis LLC with a Cook Islands Trust as the owning structure — the two most commonly paired offshore structures.
(TOTAL PROTECTION PACKAGE)
The Nevis Total Protection Package
A company on paper does nothing — the structure only works once funded and operational. We manage the bank introduction process, matching your entity profile to institutions actively onboarding Nevis entities. Account opening typically takes four to eight weeks.
- Nevis registered agent application coordinated from start to finish
- Trustee, registration and third-party costs itemised in the written quote
- Nevis-compliant formation documents and operating agreement prepared where required
- Structure registered and prepared to receive trustee-approved assets
(NEVIS COMPANY EXPERTISE)
Meet our company formation specialists
John Evans
Forbes Business Council Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
More than two decades of experience across offshore banking, asset protection, international companies and trusts.
Melanie Tetuaiteroi
Sales Assistant
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Supports client onboarding, communications, documentation and operational coordination, backed by fiduciary administration experience.
(FORMATION PROCESS)
01
Initial consultation
We discuss your objectives, the right entity type — LLC or IBC — whether a Cook Islands Trust should sit above it, and your home-country tax position.
02
Confirm structure and complete KYC
We confirm the entity type, check name availability, and provide a tailored KYC checklist — certified passport, proof of address, and source of funds.
03
Draft, sign, and register
We prepare your Articles of Organisation or Incorporation, file with the Nevis Registry, and pay all government fees. Formation completes within one to three days.
04
Receive documents and open banking
You receive your complete corporate document pack, ready for bank account opening. We manage the bank introduction through to an active, funded offshore account.
(NEVIS COMPANY INSIGHTS)
Nevis Company Insights
Recent Articles
Explore our latest insights, practical guides and updates on international wealth structuring.
Tax, Compliance & Regulation12 min read
China’s 2026 Offshore Trust Tax Rules: What Singapore Based Wealth Holders Need to Know
Jurisdiction Guides12 min read
The Cook Islands Financial Services Industry, Part 1: Critical Analysis
Asset Protection25 min read
Asset Protection for US Persons
International Banking & Investment12 min read
Offshore Banking & International Structuring Guide
Offshore Companies12 min read
Gold, Silver & Precious Metals in Offshore Wealth Structuring
Offshore Trusts15 min read
Cook Islands & Offshore Trusts for Asset Protection: The Complete Guide
Asset Protection13 min read
Offshore Asset Protection Strategies: Costs, Jurisdictions & Structures
Asset Protection7 min read
Cook Islands Asset Protection Trust with Enhanced Protector and IP Governance
(ABOUT NEVIS COMPANIES)
What is a Nevis company?
A Nevis LLC and Nevis IBC are two of the world’s most powerful offshore company structures — with the mandatory $100,000 creditor bond, a three-year non-renewable charging order as the sole creditor remedy, and a beyond-reasonable-doubt fraudulent transfer standard that make Nevis uniquely effective for asset protection.
A Nevis LLC is formed under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995, strengthened by amendments in 2015 and 2017 specifically to reinforce its creditor protection provisions. The Ordinance draws on Nevis’s own International Business Corporation Ordinance 1984 experience and adapts it to a member-managed structure, giving Nevis two distinct but complementary company vehicles under one regulatory framework. Both are registered through the Nevis registered agent system and administered under the Confidential Relationships Act, which imposes professional confidentiality obligations on anyone who deals with information about Nevis companies and trusts.
The Nevis LLC’s defining feature is the combination of the $100,000 creditor bond with the exclusive charging order remedy. Before a creditor can bring any claim in Nevis courts — whether to challenge a charging order or attempt to pierce the corporate veil — they must first post a bond with the Nevis High Court, typically set at $100,000 or more. This single requirement eliminates the great majority of speculative litigation before a case is even filed, because most creditors with ordinary commercial judgments will not commit six figures to pursue a remedy that, even if successful, entitles them to nothing more than a non-renewable three-year charging order with no power to force distributions or compel a wind-up.
Why pair a Nevis LLC with a trust? The short answer is control. A Nevis LLC can be structured as member-managed, meaning you retain direct, day-to-day authority over banking, investment, and operating decisions in ordinary circumstances — nothing changes about how you run the entity day to day. What changes is who holds the membership interest itself. When a Cook Islands Trust owns the Nevis LLC rather than you personally, the interest a creditor would need to reach sits with an independent trustee operating entirely outside US jurisdiction. You continue managing the LLC exactly as before; the trustee’s protective authority only becomes operative if a genuine legal threat materialises, at which point the trust deed’s anti-duress provisions direct the trustee to decline any instruction given under compulsion. This is why the LLC-plus-trust combination is described as “double-lock” protection — you keep practical control under normal conditions, while the structure itself is built to change hands the moment it is tested.
Both structures can sit within a Cook Islands Trust as the operating layer — the gold standard cross-jurisdictional combination for offshore asset protection.
(NEVIS COMPANY QUESTIONS)
Common questions about Nevis companies
(CONTACT US)
Speak to a specialist. Let’s build your structure.
Book a confidential, no-obligation consultation with a senior member of our team to discuss your objectives and the services we have available.
