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Seychelles AML and KYC Requirements for Company Owners
Seychelles KYC requirements for IBC owners: the documents we ask for, why the AML Act makes them mandatory, when source of wealth applies, and the 7-year rule.
Licensed auditor & chartered accountant · 6 years of experience in offshore accounting
Before a Seychelles IBC is registered, every director, shareholder and beneficial owner behind it is identified and verified, because Seychelles anti-money laundering law requires it. In this post, we’ll walk you through the documents we ask for, why the AML/CFT Act makes them mandatory, when extra checks apply, and what you owe once the company exists.
Quick Summary
Licensed corporate service providers are reporting entities under the AML/CFT Act 2020, so they must identify and verify every owner before or during onboarding and cannot take the client on if that fails.
The standard file is a certified passport copy and proof of address under 3 months old for each director, shareholder and beneficial owner, plus a business description and source of funds.
Copies should be certified by a notary, diplomatic official or equivalent independent professional, and documents not in English need a certified translation.
Politically exposed persons and higher-risk profiles face enhanced checks, including evidence of source of wealth.
Beneficial owners, meaning anyone with 10% or more of the shares or voting rights or control by other means, are filed with the FIU’s non-public database, and changes must reach the company within 14 days.
Providers keep KYC records for at least 7 years.
Why Your Provider Needs Your Passport
A Seychelles IBC can only be formed through a provider licensed under the International Corporate Service Providers Act, and every such licensee is a reporting entity under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act 2020. According to the Financial Intelligence Unit, that means carrying out customer due diligence, monitoring customer transactions and reporting suspicious activity.
Section 35 requires the provider to verify each customer from reliable, independent sources, take reasonable, risk-based measures to verify each beneficial owner, and understand the purpose of the business relationship. Section 39 says this happens before or during onboarding, and section 43 says that if it cannot be done, the provider must not take the client on. So when Seychelles company formation starts with a request for your passport, the provider is meeting a legal duty. Section 47 then requires those records to be kept for at least 7 years.
KYC Documents Checklist for a Seychelles IBC
These are the documents we ask for on every IBC formation:
Document | Who provides it | What it must show |
|---|---|---|
Certified passport copy | Every director, shareholder and beneficial owner | A valid passport, certified as a true copy |
Proof of residential address | Every director, shareholder and beneficial owner | Your name and home address, dated within the last 3 months |
Business activity description | The applicant | What the company will sell, to whom, and in which countries |
Beneficial owner details | The applicant | Every person with 10% or more of the shares or voting rights, and anyone controlling the company by other means |
Source of funds | The applicant | Where the money the company starts with comes from |
Proposed company names | The applicant | 1 to 3 options that meet the Seychelles company name rules |
For proof of address, the FIU’s AML/CFT guidelines point to a recent utility bill, telephone bill, bank statement or insurance document showing your residential address, so a PO box will not do.
How KYC Documents Are Certified and Translated
Because the whole process runs remotely, certification does the job an in-person meeting would. The FIU’s June 2015 guidelines recommend that copies be certified by a notary, a diplomatic official or an equivalent independent professional, and that any document not in English come with a properly certified translation.
The AML/CFT Regulations 2020 treat remote relationships without proper safeguards as higher risk, and certified copies are one of those safeguards. An uncertified scan, an expired passport or an old utility bill sends a file back for a second round, which is one of the most avoidable Seychelles company formation mistakes.
Extra Documents When a Company Is the Shareholder
Corporate shareholders are allowed in a Seychelles IBC. When the client is a company, section 35(4) of the AML/CFT Act requires the provider to take reasonable measures to verify:
the company’s name, legal form and proof that it exists
the documents that set its powers, and the names of its senior managers
its registered office address, and its main place of business if different
that the person acting for it is authorised to do so
In practice, that means certified copies of the company’s certificate of incorporation, constitution and list of directors, in English or with a certified translation. The individuals who ultimately own or control that company then go through the same personal KYC as everyone else.
Beneficial Owners: Who Counts and What Gets Filed
A beneficial owner is a natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company, directly or indirectly. Under the Beneficial Ownership Regulations 2020, that means anyone with 10% or more of the shares or voting rights, anyone who can appoint or remove most of the board, and anyone controlling the company by other means.
Every IBC keeps a register of beneficial owners at its resident agent’s office, under section 5 of the Beneficial Ownership Act 2020, and the particulars go to the database run by the Financial Intelligence Unit.
The register is not public. The company’s directors and members can inspect it, each beneficial owner can see their own entry, and only designated Seychelles authorities, such as the FIU, FSA, police and Seychelles Revenue Commission, can search the database. Those authorities can share information with foreign counterparts, including tax authorities, only on a formal request.
A new or changed beneficial owner must notify the company in writing within 14 days, and the company updates its register within 14 days of receiving the declaration (section 10).
Source of Funds vs Source of Wealth
Source of funds is where the money for this company comes from, such as savings, the sale of an asset, business revenue or an investor. Source of wealth is how you built your overall wealth, such as a career, a business you own or an inheritance.
Every client explains source of funds. Source of wealth is a legal requirement for politically exposed persons under section 36, and a provider can ask for it in any other higher-risk case, along with documents that back it up.
Enhanced Due Diligence: PEPs and Higher-Risk Profiles
Section 36 defines a politically exposed person as anyone who holds, or has held in the last 3 years, a prominent public function in any country or an international organisation, plus their immediate family and close associates. Prominent functions include heads of state and government, ministers, senior government and judicial officials, ambassadors, senior military officers, central bank board members and senior party officials.
A PEP can still own a Seychelles company. The provider needs senior management approval first, evidence of source of wealth and source of funds, and closer ongoing monitoring.
Other files get enhanced checks because of what the AML/CFT Regulations 2020 list as risk factors:
links to countries that do not fully apply FATF standards
nominee directors or nominee shareholders
ownership structures that are unusually complex for the business
cash-intensive businesses
remote onboarding without proper safeguards
How KYC Affects the Formation Timeline
Once KYC is approved, most IBCs are registered within 1-3 business days. Review moves fastest when the file is complete and correctly certified, and enhanced checks take longer because they depend on the extra evidence arriving.
The company documents you receive at incorporation use the names verified at this stage, so fix any spelling differences between your passport and the application before you submit.
Your AML Obligations After Incorporation
KYC does not end at incorporation. Section 35 of the AML/CFT Act requires providers to monitor every business relationship on an ongoing basis, which means your details have to stay current:
Tell your provider when a director, shareholder, beneficial owner or the business activity changes.
Beneficial owners notify the company of any change within 14 days (section 10 of the Beneficial Ownership Act).
Nominee shareholders give the company a declaration of their status and nominator within 21 days of appointment (section 104 of the IBC Act).
The Seychelles Revenue Commission, the FSA and the Registrar can request the company’s records, and they must be produced within the time set (section 173 of the IBC Act).
Our annual compliance service keeps these filings and updates on schedule.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Penalties fall on the company and on its directors personally:
Failure | Company | Directors |
|---|---|---|
Register of directors not kept accurate and up to date | Up to US$10,000 | Up to US$10,000 if they knowingly allow it |
Register of directors not filed with the Registrar on time | Up to US$5,000 | Up to US$5,000 if they knowingly allow it |
Records not produced when the SRC, FSA or Registrar asks | Up to US$5,000 | Up to US$5,000 if they knowingly allow it |
Register of beneficial owners not kept accurate and up to date | Up to SCR50,000 per failure | Up to SCR50,000 per contravention |
The first three come from sections 150, 152 and 173 of the International Business Companies Act 2016, and the last from section 5 of the Beneficial Ownership Act.
FAQ
Is Seychelles on the FATF grey list?
No. Seychelles is on neither the FATF’s list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring nor its call-for-action list, as of the 19 June 2026 update. The EU also removed Seychelles from Annex II of its tax list on 17 February 2026.
Do KYC documents need to be notarised?
They need to be certified, and a notary is one option. The FIU’s guidelines recommend certification by a notary, a diplomatic official or an equivalent independent professional, and translations of documents not in English must be certified too.
Can KYC be done remotely?
Yes. The whole process runs remotely using certified copies, with no need to visit Seychelles. Remote onboarding is allowed as long as safeguards such as certification are in place.
How often do I need to update my KYC?
Monitoring under the AML/CFT Act is ongoing, so your provider will ask for updates during periodic reviews and whenever something changes. Report a new director, shareholder, beneficial owner or business activity straight away, and make sure any beneficial ownership change reaches the company within 14 days.
Does a nominee keep my name out of KYC?
No. A nominee changes who holds the shares or the directorship on paper, not who gets verified. The register of members records a nominee’s status and the identity of the person they act for, the beneficial owner behind the arrangement is filed with the FIU, and the AML/CFT Regulations treat nominee arrangements as a higher-risk factor.
