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Overview
There is a unique type of license called Financial Service Provider or FSP in New Zealand, which is considered a well-reputed onshore jurisdiction, therefore, it is not blacklisted by any country around the world or any foreign financial institution. Moreover, it is a member state of the OECD and WTO.
Timeframe: within 3 months
Minimum paid up capital: is set on case-by-case basis
Overview
In order to apply for FSP license, a company must be registered within New Zealand as this option is not available for foreign legal entities. Nevertheless, there are no restriction on the residence or citizenship of company’s directors or shareholders.
FSP license allows a licensee to perform the following key financial activities:
- ▪ Portfolio Management on behalf of third parties
- ▪ Provision of credit under a credit contract
- ▪ Foreign currency exchange
Recently, the Financial Markets Authority or FMA and the Registrar of Companies have implemented New significant requirements for a licensee to have a mandatory local office and to be actually physically present at the business address. In other words, physical office with an employee is required and it must be the place of carrying out commercial activity. In order for a company to comply with the requirement, the officials of the FMA shall face no troubles while inspecting the business address and making enquiries of management of the company or its employees in the event that a complaint is received.
Offshorelicense is able to provide full compliance with the legal requirements implemented by the FMA, making the process of obtaining the FSP license easy and within the shortest time possible. The support of Offshorelicense team ensures successful registration and a continued compliance with all directives.
Comprehensive Guide to Company Incorporation
General information
Company structure
- ▪ At least 1 shareholder (natural persons and legal entities allowed, no restrictions with regards to citizenship or residence)
- ▪ At least 1 director (natural persons only, at least one local director or a resident of any enforcement country, who is a director of a company registered in that enforcement country)
Taxation
- ▪ 28% corporate income tax rate
- ▪ 15% Goods and Services Tax rate (GST, similar to VAT), not applied to residential rents and financial services
- ▪ Around 40 Double Taxation Avoidance (DTA) agreements signed
Accounting & Audit
- ▪ Accounting year starts on the 1st day of April
- ▪ Annual Returns must be filed to the Companies Office
- ▪ Annual audit is mandatory
Secretary – Required
Registered Agent – Required
Registered office – Required
Company name
- ▪ Language: Any
- ▪ Letters: From Roman alphabet
- ▪ Names having royal, national, international, and commercial or other significance are prohibited
- ▪ Names that are misleading or deceptive are prohibited
- ▪ Identical or almost identical names are prohibited
- ▪ Offensive names are prohibited
- ▪ An only suffix “Limited” is allowed. After incorporation, the suffix “Ltd” can be used everywhere
- ▪ The following abbreviations whenever they appear in a name are allowed: “&” for “and”; “no” for “number”; “co” or “coy” for “company”; “N.Z.” or “NZ” for “New Zealand”; “Bros” for “Brothers”
In order to obtain a license, the following steps will be carried out:
- ▪ Incorporation of a local legal entity
- ▪ Preparation of application forms
- ▪ Initiation of the license obtaining process
- ▪ Application is being processed and conditional approval is granted by the FMA
- ▪ Provision of proof of local presence
In order to obtain license, Offshorelicense will fill all necessary application forms and also acquire apostilled corporate documents.
For that reason, please provide us with the following documents.
For each beneficial owner, shareholder, director, authorized signatory and secretary:
▪A notarized copy of valid passport
▪Notarized proof of residential address (utility bill or bank statement)
▪Bank reference letter
▪CV
▪Lawyer/CA reference letter
For directors and shareholders:
- ▪Educational qualification certificate
For shareholders:
- ▪Bank balance confirmation
N.B.
- ▪If documents are not in English language or language of particular country, then they must be accompanied by a notarized translation.
- ▪Please ensure that notarization is in English language if not then please provide with notarized English translation.
- ▪When Shareholders are legal entities, it is required to provide apostilled set of corporate documents and certificate of Good Standing.
Additional documents may be requested by the regulatory authority or local Bank at any point to certify specific information.