June 2024

With four offices located in the major hubs of The Bahamas [Nassau and Lyford Cay in New Providence, Freeport in Grand Bahama and Marsh Harbour in Abaco] the law firm of GrahamThompson explains why The Bahamas is such an attractive jurisdiction for those looking to relocate:

1. The Bahamas is an archipelago of 700 Islands and Cays that gained independence from the United Kingdom on 10th July, 1973.  It has a stable political environment with an unbroken record of peaceful transitions from one government to the next, unmarked by fundamental ideological shifts. Stakeholders in the international financial services sector can be assured of continuity in the major policies that affect them. It is a sovereign, independent nation.

2. The Bahamas has a centuries-old commitment to the rule of law, the guardian of which is a completely independent judiciary – independent both in constitutional theory and in actual practice; an independent judiciary whose final court of appeal - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - is physically based outside the territorial limits of The Bahamas.  This inspires confidence in stakeholders from abroad.

3. Financial services has been the second pillar of the economy of The Bahamas  for more than 85 years and the industry has accumulated knowledge and experience entrained in that record of longevity.  It is supported by specialist skills and support services for private banking, trust, estate and company administration, investment fund management, insurance, and family office administration.

4.      The Bahamas is a place of environmental enchantment with a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan society that consistently scores high on most quality-of-life indices, making it an ideal place to take up permanent residence. 

  • A luxury real estate market;
  • Internationally accredited educational institutions offering IB curriculum including, specialized athletic facilities;
  • World-class medical facilities and air ambulance service to the United States (30 minutes away);
  • Geographical proximity to North America;
  • US immigration preclearance; and
  • Direct flights to North and South America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

5. The Bahamian immigration policy is designed to attract those looking to relocate.  Upon the purchase of real estate an individual is eligible for (i) Annual Residence or a Home Owners Resident card or (ii) where the purchase price is greater than US$1M, Economic Permanent Residence.  Citizenship is available for those who have established residency for at least 10 years. If the patriarch desires to work in their own business, this is easily accommodated.

6. The Bahamas legislation for wealth management, conservation and succession planning enables truly dynastic planning across generations.  These include:-

  • Asset protection through the Fraudulent Dispositions Act, 1989 which carries a 2 year limitation period (in contrast to other offshore jurisdictions that have, for example, a 6 year limitation period);

  • The Trustee Act, 1998:

i. Enshrines settlor-dominance in relation to trusts buttressing a settlor’s estate planning objectives which can be made paramount so as to override the unanimous wishes of the beneficiaries to the contrary;

ii. Includes a no-contest or “in terrorem” clause to provide for the disqualification of beneficiaries who seek to challenge or contest a trust or the settlor’s capacity to make the trust; and

iii. Distinguishes rights of information between beneficiaries with vested interests and those who do not have vested interests with the latter group having no information rights;

  • Foundation legislation to be used as either an alternative to a trust, or as an integral part of trust structuring (and favored by civil law jurisdictions);

  • Executive Entities under the Executive Entities Act, 2011 are ideally suited to act as a trust settlor, trust protector, shareholder in a PTC, director of an underlying company in a trust structure, founder or council member in foundation structures and has the advantage of continuity of existence, anonymity and efficient diversification in comparison with the use of private individuals in the same regard;

  • Privacy for beneficial owners of companies, a secure register of which is maintained by the Attorney General’s Office; and

  • Private fund vehicles may be formed pursuant to the Investment Funds Act 2019 and often are used as the investment vehicles for family structures.