Nevis
Robust asset-protection LLCs and multiform foundations.
Nevis is the reference jurisdiction for asset-protection LLCs and multiform foundations. The Nevis LLC statute is drafted to defeat creditor claims: a two-year statute of limitations on fraudulent-transfer challenges, a bond requirement for foreign creditors, and charging orders as the sole remedy — all designed to make attacking a Nevis LLC uneconomic.
It is not a jurisdiction for operating businesses. It is an asset-protection wrapper, used inside a broader structure that handles the operating, banking and tax functions elsewhere.
Where Nevis fits
- Asset protection LLCs
- Foundations
- Trusts
Banking landscape
Nevis banking is limited and specialised. Most Nevis-structured assets are held through the LLC or foundation and banked elsewhere — Switzerland, the UAE, Singapore.
Tax & reporting
0% corporate tax on Nevis LLCs and foundations. No capital gains, no withholding. Tax outcomes for the owner depend entirely on the owner's residency and the structure's overall design.
Substance & register visibility
Nevis has adopted OECD-standard economic-substance requirements for relevant activities. Pure holding and asset-protection structures face a reduced test. Substance is coordinated with the operating jurisdictions in the broader structure.
When to pick this jurisdiction
Pick Nevis inside a broader asset-protection strategy for HNW individuals with genuine litigation risk — post-exit founders, physicians, real estate developers, and families with contested succession. It is the wrapper, not the whole structure.
Written up as a comparative shortlist.
Every Nevis recommendation is delivered as a comparative memorandum — substance defensibility, banking access, treaty coverage, register visibility, cost to maintain and reputational risk — so the client can see the trade-offs before committing.
Considering Nevis? Get a written comparison first.
Answer six questions and a director will come back with a shortlist, indicative costs and banking route.
Questions we hear on every Nevis intake.
- Are Nevis LLCs recognised in US courts?
- US courts will generally recognise the Nevis LLC as a legal entity, but Nevis courts apply the Nevis charging-order-only rule. Enforcement requires litigating in Nevis — which is the point.
- How is a Nevis multiform foundation different from a trust?
- The multiform foundation can elect to be treated as a trust, company, partnership or ordinary foundation for legal purposes — providing flexibility across common-law and civil-law jurisdictions.
- Is Nevis on any blacklist?
- Nevis is a compliant jurisdiction, participates in CRS and TIEA arrangements with major economies, and is not on the OECD or FATF blacklists.
More Caribbean jurisdictions & related insights
Every engagement begins with a twenty-minute director-led call. Fixed fees, in writing, before any work begins.