Vanuatu Types of Company:

All Vanuatu companies, other than International Companies, are governed by the Companies Act, which is itself based on the UK Uniform Companies Act 1948, which has been used as the basis for company law in most Commonwealth countries.

To establish a company requires the approval of the Minister of Finance; information to be supplied includes:

the company's name;

whether it is to be limited by shares, guarantee or unlimited;

whether it is to be a local or exempted company (see below);

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;

and details of others owning an interest in the company where the application relates to an entity wishing to conduct banking, financing or insurance business.

A company must be incorporated within six months of obtaining approval from the Minister.

updated: 16.07.07