Svalbard is a group of islands with a total area of 621 km² (three large, seven medium and small) between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole. It is one of the northernmost settlements in the world. The alternative name for the archipelago is Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The main feature of jurisdiction is the legal status of a Free trade zone.
The economy of Svalbard and Norway as a whole is based on the mining (coal), R&D and polar tourism.
The administrative center of the islands is based in Longyearbyen. The population is up to 3 thousand people.
Norway has 82 DTAs. As Svalbard has a large Russian-speaking population, they do not need a visa. It also makes it easier for Slavs to do business by removing the language barrier, although the official language of jurisdiction is Norwegian.
It will be profitable to register a company in Svalbard in the following areas: service sector, hospitality, IT and research, as well as education.
Business advantages
Firstly, the country's government guarantees investors a number of preferences.
Svalbard ranked 21st in the ease of starting a business according to the results of a rating study Doing Business. At the same time, Norway is among the 10 countries where it is easiest to open a business and ranked 13th in registering a property. Norway has a very good system for resolving insolvency issues (5th place in the world). Also, Norway is one of the 3 most reliable jurisdictions in the enforcing contracts.
The economy of Norway is one of the most developed and stable in the world.
An important advantage of the jurisdiction is that it is possible to register a company in Svalbard remotely. To learn more, please ask for a qualified advice from YB Case team.
Legal forms
The most profitable option according to the taxation conditions will be to register a Free Zone LLC in the Svalbard.
Standard LLC (Tax Resident LLC), PLC, representative office (RO) and fund (F) are also available.
Registration requirements
If you are intended to register a Norwegian company, then you must abide by the following conditions:
- A unique company name that specifies the legal form;
- At least 1 shareholder of any nationality (company or individual), that can own all the shares;
- At least 2 directors (at least one of them must be Norwegian),
- Share capital: from 3 200 euros for all LLCs and 11 000 euros for a branch;
- The presence of a secretary and a registered office is not required;
- Annual financial reporting and audit are required.
Registering a company in Svalbard and opening a corporate account with Norwegian bank will take about 5-6 weeks.
Tax rates
When planning to set up a company in Svalbard, it is important to consider that the taxes are quite high in this region:
|
Tax Resident LLC |
LLC for financial activities |
Free Zone LLC |
PLC |
RO |
F |
|
|
Corporate income tax |
22% |
25% |
16% |
22% |
22% |
- |
|
VAT |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
- |
|
WHT on dividends |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
|
WHT on royalties |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
YB Case specialists will help you to register a company in Norway remotely. In order to learn more about setting up a business in this jurisdiction you can ask for an appointment with YB Case experts.
YB Case specialists will provide legal assistance in registering a company in Norway remotely:
- BNP Paribas;
- Citibank;
- Bank Norwegian;
- DNB;
- Instabank.
