Official company records for Vanuatu, on demand

The Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) is the registrar for entities in Vanuatu. It maintains the registers of local and overseas companies under the Companies Act No. 25 of 2012, of international companies under the International Companies Act, CAP 222, and of business names and charitable associations, with a personal property securities registry operated as a separate system. Online searches are free, and the registry states that no logon or registered user account is needed to search the register.

For companies on the register, the registry holds details of the individuals connected to an entity, including directors and shareholders, a role search allows lookup by person, and certificates of incorporation or registration can be downloaded or emailed from search results at no charge.

International companies stand apart. Under the International Companies Act, the Register of Members is kept by the company itself, and only a member, or a person authorised by a member, may inspect it. Section 125 of the Act makes it an offence, except when required by a court, to divulge information concerning the shareholding in or beneficial ownership of shares in an international company, its management, or its business and financial affairs. Company Records resolves beneficial ownership by following the registered shareholders up the ownership chain, entity by entity, from official registry filings. The Company Records report for Vanuatu provides the certificate of incorporation, registry extract and certificate of change of name sourced from the official register.