Foundations are the latest addition to the Seychelles portfolio of financial services products. The Seychelles Foundation is a separate legal entity. Once the founder transfers assets to a foundation, those assets become the sole property of that foundation with full legal and beneficial title and do not form part of the founder’s personal estate.

The assets of a Seychelles Foundation cannot include any immovable property in Seychelles. The foundation may however hold interests in Seychelles IBCs, Limited Partnerships and Seychelles licensed mutual funds. It may also hold an interest or entitlement as a beneficiary under a Seychelles Trust or another Seychelles Foundation.

A Seychelles Foundation may be used for a host of purposes, but it is not intended to engage in commercial activities on a daily basis. However, there are no restrictions on the trading activities of companies wholly or partly owned by the Foundation.

The beneficiaries of a foundation have no legal or beneficial interest in the foundation’s assets and these do not become the assets of a beneficiary unless distributed in accordance with the Foundation Charter or Regulations.

It is permissible for a foundation to appoint a protector, whose role it is to oversee the administration of the foundation by the Foundation Council. A founder, beneficiary or councilor may be appointed as a protector, provided that the protector is not the sole councilor or sole beneficiary. The Foundation Council must consist of one or more persons which may include body corporates. An application to register a Foundation with SIBA must be made through a locally licensed foundation service provider.

Key features of Seychelles Foundations:

• The Foundation Charter establishes the Foundation and administrative provisions may be extended by regulations which are not available for public inspection.
• Nominee founders are permitted
• No requirement to state the name of any beneficiaries in the Foundation Charter
• A foundation must have initial assets of a value of not less than US$1
• A foreign foundation may be continued in the Seychelles

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COI strongly recommends that each potential user of its services seek tax and legal advice before deciding on implementing a solution employing international financial structures. COI will not be liable for any damages, costs and expenses resulting from or incurred as a result of any action taken or omitted based upon any such information provided by COI.