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	Cayman Islands Central America & Caribbean	Bahamas Central America & Caribbean	British Virgin Islands Central America & Caribbean
Overview	The Cayman Islands is an established offshore financial centre and a long-standing jurisdiction for fund, family-office, and holding structures. Bordercase coordinates with licensed Caymanian partners.	The Bahamas is a Caribbean jurisdiction with structured residency routes including the Economic Permanent Residence and an active fund / family-office sector. Bordercase coordinates with licensed Bahamian partners.	The British Virgin Islands is a long-standing jurisdiction for BVI Business Companies used in international structures. Substance and reporting have tightened materially. Bordercase coordinates with licensed BVI partners.
Best for	Funds Holding structures HNW English admin	HNW Funds Family offices English admin	Holding structures International funds English admin
Currency	KYD	BSD	USD
Language	English	English	English
Time zone	UTC-5	UTC-5	UTC-4
EU member	No	No	No
Schengen	No	No	No
Residency	Cayman Islands residency routes: Certificate of Permanent Residence for Persons of Independent Means - qualifying investment Residency Certificate (Substantial Business Presence) - operating a qualifying business Work permits for employer-sponsored roles Family routes	Bahamian residency routes: Economic Permanent Residence - qualifying property investment Annual residence permits for HNW Work permits - employer-sponsored Family routes	BVI presence options: Work permits - employer-sponsored Residency for HNW under specific programmes Limited tourist / business visit arrangements
Company setup	Exempted Companies, LLCs, and partnerships are widely used in fund and holding structures. Economic substance rules apply to relevant activities.	IBCs (International Business Companies) are widely used; substance and reporting are now real. Funds and family-office structures are common.	BVI Business Companies (BVI BC) are the standard structure. Economic substance applies to relevant activities; UBO reporting is mandatory.
Banking	Banking is mature but selective. Source-of-funds documentation is central. Bordercase coordinates introductions through current partners.	Banking is selective and source-of-funds focused. Bordercase coordinates introductions through current partners.	Banking access has tightened materially; EMIs are common supplements. Bordercase coordinates introductions for cross-border cases.
Family	Family inclusion is supported on most residency routes. International schools are concentrated on Grand Cayman.	Family inclusion is supported on most routes. International schools are concentrated on New Providence.	Family inclusion follows the main route. International schools are limited.
Risks	Risks Bordercase watches for in the Cayman Islands: Economic substance reporting and audit Reputational handling around offshore structures KYC tightening across the industry	Risks Bordercase watches for in the Bahamas: Economic substance reporting Property due diligence Reputational handling around offshore structures	Risks Bordercase watches for in the BVI: Economic substance reporting UBO disclosure and beneficial ownership reform Reputational handling around offshore structures
Documents	Typical Cayman documents: Passport Source-of-funds evidence Health and police clearances Apostilled foreign documents Family certificates for dependents	Typical Bahamian documents: Passport Source-of-funds evidence Health and police clearances Apostilled foreign documents	Typical BVI documents: Passport Source-of-funds evidence KYC for all UBOs Apostilled foreign documents

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