Jurisdiction for business immigration: selection criteria

"Business abroad" sounds prestigious. One immediately starts imagining millions of dollars and a luxurious life. In fact, things turn out in various ways, and the success of the future enterprise largely depends on the right jurisdiction.

The goals of business immigration

To determine the country to expand your business in, you first need to analyze its needs, objectives and specifics.

If the main goal of business immigration in 2020 is to obtain a residence permit abroad, it is worth paying attention to countries that are now actively developing and attracting investors. Usually they offer loyal conditions for investment, tax benefits and an accelerated procedure for processing documents.

Business development in the long term will require serious investments from the owner, and not only financial ones. For business immigration, in this case, the jurisdiction from the onshoring list (FATF, European Union or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries) will be suitable. A company registered in this economic zone will enjoy credibility with competitors and counterparties and will attract large investors.

If the company only opens a representative office for one or more international transactions, an offshore economic zone is preferable. It is easy and inexpensive to register a business offshore, and you can avoid paying taxes when executing a contract.

What to pay attention to when choosing a jurisdiction for business immigration

• Tax system;
• Counteragents;
• The procedure of registration, opening a transactional business account and maintenance costs of the company;
• Reputation.

Entrepreneurs, when choosing a jurisdiction for business immigration, first need to study information on the existence of agreements between the country of residence and the future place of business, excluding double taxation; it is important to find out whether the selected jurisdiction complies with EU tax directives, and analyze income tax rates.

The next step will be to study the base of existing and planned counterparties. It is worth thinking about their actual location and territorial remoteness and assessing how convenient and expedient it will be to interact with them from the selected point in the world. In addition, it is necessary to analyze the competitors' market and the specifics of the legislation regulating business activity in the country.

The third criterion for analysis is the cost of registration and the conclusion of the contract for banking services. They vary significantly from country to country, as do the requirements for their owners. It also happens that the price of subsequent service and audit significantly exceeds the initial costs; hence it is worth paying attention to this at the time of the choice of the jurisdiction for business immigration.

The fact that the chosen jurisdiction is not on the "blacklist" of the European Union or large Asian countries is also very important. The participants of the "blacklist", at first glance, are very attractive. They offer favorable tax and business conditions, but companies registered there are usually subject to frequent additional checks by the regulatory authorities.

Popular Countries for Business Immigration 2020

Latvia is considered to be the most convenient country for business immigration to the CIS, it provides favorable starting conditions. The United Kingdom, Canada and the United States place greater demands on entrepreneurs seeking to do business in their territory, but there are also many more prospects for development. It is quite expensive to occupy a worthy place in the economies of Austria and Cyprus, but these countries do not require permanent residence on their territory. IT-OFFSHORE specialists will make sure to explain all the details of the upcoming business immigration and help make the right choices.