Incorporating offshore and Legal Mumbo Jumbo
 

O Learned ones....I mean with offshore accounts
Please help me out.
I am sick n tired of being incorporated in Canada and hence left to mercy of shady billing processors for Visa.
As you know for accepting, one has to be incorporated in EU or USA.
I am thinking of getting it done in EU to finally bite the bullet.
1. Should I fold up my inc. in canada and set it up in EU?
2. Which place in EU is best, reliable, adult webmaster friendly n cheap?
3. what are possible legal n financial implications n complications I can expect?

How much is the whole deal going to cost me?
Please share any input / expreience.

For purposes of getting Visa and mastercard processing in the US, you don't just need a US based company, but actually a US based person. They are not interested in doing business with shell corporations or companies that are 99.9% offshore. I don't think a registered agent is enough to do the deal.

Setting up in the EU would appear to be an easier option at this point.

Yes Raw...infact I am not keen on incorporating in US anyways.
I will certainly go for EU

too bad its adult, its easier if its mainstream :D

:winkwink: OK... Briefly goes like this - tho there is a lot more to consider. The EU or the US is not offshore.

In reply to your points...

1. There is no reason why you should not maintain your Canadian corp - all corps can have uses. Can't see any reason, from what you have said, to close your Canadian corp.

2. The customary locations in the EU are places like Gibraltar, Cyprus or hell, the UK as a non-resident company.

3. Each jurisdiction is different so kinda hard to generalise, but since you are not really moving to an offshore area while you are resident in Canada, there are little complications. You basically (or your Canadian corp could) recieve revenue from your EU corp and taxes would be payable in Canada.

Since the reason for doing this is primarily processing capabilty, highly recommend you seek guidance from an EU processor with the aim of ensuring the formation of your corp is acceptable to the EU processor and that all VISA rulings are covered.

Only my :2 cents: - everyone is different, but I sure would have a presence in the EU right now for two reasons. First is, it is the only continent other than the US which has several operational TTP's. The second reason is there is more security in place generally, and an extension of that are business models used by a couple of main processors where webmaster funds are covered in the event of problems with a TTP. The US gave in to VISA USA rulings and offered nothing in return to USA clients (apart from charging $700 or so) - this offers no protection of client funds.

Cost... varies depending on the juridiction, how much time you spend with a lawyer, if nominee dirs are needed etc. As a rough guide, that can be anything from around $1500 to $3000'ish depending on the work you need done.

Bottom line... listen hard to an EU processor. Along with that you need to do some reading and get familiar with trading elsewhere - and, if possible, waste some time on a phone chatting with a lawyer in whatever country you want to incorporate (but have your questions worked out in advance).

That said.. it's easier than it sounds. Prob the first step is contact an EU processor and say exactly what your situation is - would recommend you contact Kristi at SegPay on this, since she will prob be able to suggest suitable formation agents/lawyers.

Thanks a lot Webby for the detailed explanations. Much appreciated

If you have questions resulting from that - fire away!

BTW.. For your purposes it may be better using Gib for your corp tho I'd listen to the suggestions from a processor. For an overview of Gib corps - check this URL...
http://www.gibraltaroffshore.com/

and, in particular, you would want a non-resident company..

http://www.gibraltaroffshore.com/gib...entcompany.htm

Bump for you.. Good luck !

great info there

anyone else from canada or us who may have incoporated in Gib.
 

anyone else from canada or us who may have incoporated in Gib.
can you please post which companies/attornies are the best?

RegUser ~ Please contact me for more details on how to get set up with a non residence corp in the EU. I have some suggestions for you.


Webby ~ :kisskiss Can you please hit me up on ICQ when you have a moment to spare?

Talk to Dan @ 365Billing...he's got the hookups.

Interconsult Group based in Jersey, Channel Islands, UK and offer Adult merchant accounts through EU Acquirers at rates of 5% upwards dependant on volume and trading history. EU corporations can be registered through offshore trust company and we can provide registered office, directors etc.

You can still maintain your non-US corporate status but only need to have a separate EU corporation to put on your web site alongside your non-US one's address.

Interconsult are fully PCI compliant and registered with VISA/MC as ISO's/MSP's and all merchant funds are held in seperate registered Escrow banks for added security.

Anything we can do to help please give me a call.

Regards

Vince

Thanks everyone

keep on posting good stuff guys
thanks in advance

bump for all

SENDING you an email Vince

It's usually "pay now or pay later".

Cheap as in cheap to setup, or cheap as in low taxes?

never heard from you Vince.....................

Seriously doubt you want to hear from Vince :)

If you want corp services - get a reputable lawyer or established formation agent services.

If you want processing, get a processor who can tell your their actual address - other than that of their registered agent or a maildrop. We have been here before RegUser?? :winkwink:

You rock :winkwink: :thumbsup

Some good info you have there and here is a little addition:

These guys can set up a Gibraltar company.
http://www.fletcherkennedy.com/incor...gibraltar.html
They can set up your offshore bank account in various countries too.

Good luck

man take a week trip to Vegas and get it done while having a good time. :thumbsup They have service that get a office and everything.

Nevada? Why would a Canadian webmaster who wants to set up offshore want to form a corp in the US and then have to comply with US law and VISA US regulations?

Sure... this may be fine for US citizens where there is little benefit (unless it's well thought out) of being offshore, but sure not for folks from other countries.

Nice one Greg :thumbsup

Sounds like a good contact point for anyone who needs a UK company in particular.

One thing to always note... and this depends on your country of citizenship/residency. If you want a real offshore, - ie not just a corp in the EU where you can show a presence, it is better to deal with lawyers/formation agents who are not in the same jurisdiction - but preferably operational in the jurisdiction of the offshore of your choice.

In the instance of the UK, a number of offshore lawyers are not actually resident or operating from mainland UK, but from eg.. Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. The reasons for this are kinda basic - the UK (mainland) is not an offshore and legal advisors can have their offices searched and have client data retrieved at the whim of any revenue or related agency - which is not exactly helpful to their clients even tho they may be totally legitimate in their business dealings.

Offshore and onshore are like oil and water - ya never mix jurisdictions :)

webby...do you have an ICQ i could reach you at?

if so, send it to germ at germie dot net please.

Yes webby
you are right...we have been here before.
i thought incoprporation in EU will fix it but w/o a principal residing there, it is going to be of little use

exactly my thoughts
i am not comfortable with the way things are in US these days

Thanks for all the great information.
Looks like I to am headed to the EU.

Webby, is there anyway to contact you? My contact info is in sig if you can email me or ICQ me.

Sounds like you need nominee dirs RegUser - they would in fact be the legal prinicpals although you may have a complete POA (Power of Attorney) over the company and be the controller of eg bank accounts and operational activities of the corp.

It's prob worth checking with processors as to their exact requirements to enable them to ensure your corp is fully compliant with any card company rulings - then work towards a corp scenario which will match these rulings.

Sure.. can see an obstacle course if you don't happen to possess an EU passport, but this is prob just a matter of working with two people, - your nominee and your processor/s. There are a fair number of Canadian webmasters already with corps in the EU and working with EU processors.

Just hit me up on 8-027-309 germ :thumbsup

You should incentivise holistic initiatives, which will help you cultivate user-centric functionalities which work together to orchestrate end-to-end infrastructures.

Hitting you up :thumbsup

Webby is the P1MP when it comes to offshoring and should i say Real Estate :winkwink:

Hey Webby
o how do go about "Sounds like you need nominee dirs RegUser - they would in fact be the legal prinicpals although you may have a complete POA (Power of Attorney) over the company and be the controller of eg bank accounts and operational activities of the corp.
"
know of any org that can furnish nomineed dir. and incorporate at the same time?

How's your travelling going? :winkwink: Hit up when ya got a moment man.

Sure... almost any lawyer will do this RegUser. Many corps come with a standard package which includes nominee dirs.

It's best to contact a few and ask your list of questions and say what you need - it's also a kinda education process and very useful to know exactly what they can offer.

All our corps have nominees, not that they are really needed, but handy to have folks who can be a legal reference point.


PS... Add this... it's also prob relevant to work with an EU processor on this and make sure your corp complies with any rulings to ease the way for your processor.

Reguser:

And here's a few lawyers/formation agents to start the ball rolling:

http://www.gibraltarlaw.com

http://www.offshoregibraltar.com

http://www.gibraltarcompanies.gi

Suggest you also contact SegPay who may be able to guide you as regards compliancy on the card company side and form your corp with their advice in mind.

thanks pal. much appreciated