Liechtenstein Foundation (Stiftung) formation
Liechtenstein private-interest Stiftung filed under PGR Art. 552 et seq. EEA-aligned civil-law foundation with the TVTG (Blockchain Act 2020) token-container framework available for tokenized asset structures. Minimum CHF 30,000 endowment capital required; passed through to the foundation separately.
- Tier
- REPUTABLE
- Formation
- up to 5 business days
- KYC
- Tier 2
- Renewal
- $4999/yr
What is the Liechtenstein Foundation (Stiftung) formation and what does it cost?
EEA foundation. TVTG token-container. It is $11,599 all-in / ₿0.14571608 / 14,571,608 sats, paid in Bitcoin or USDT, and formation takes 5 business days.
- Tier
- REPUTABLE
- All-in price
- $11,599 all-in / ₿0.14571608 / 14,571,608 sats
- Year-2 renewal
- $4,999/yr
- KYC tier
- Tier 2
- Formation time
- 5 business days
- EU / FATF status
- off both EU lists, off the FATF lists
What's included
- Liechtenstein commercial-register filing fee: we file and pay it on your behalf
- Foundation deed and formation declaration (Stiftung, filed under PGR Art. 552 et seq.)
- Foundation by-laws (Beistatuten) naming the beneficiaries on the private record, not the public one
- Foundation Council appointment and provision for Year 1
- Beneficial-owner and founder identification file prepared under Liechtenstein due-diligence law
- TVTG (Blockchain Act 2020) token-container drafting where the foundation will hold tokenized assets
- First-year licensed Liechtenstein fiduciary (Treuhänder) service as the regulated trustee
- Sanctions screen on the order + Tier 2 KYC (enhanced: documented source of funds and source of wealth)
What's NOT included
- CHF 30,000 minimum endowment capital: the foundation's own capital, passed through to it at checkout; OffshoreGuy takes no cut and it is not part of our fee
- Apostille (sold separately at $189; Liechtenstein supports it, and private banks usually require it)
- Year-2+ fiduciary and commercial-register renewal ($4,999/yr)
- Bank account opening: a separate post-formation flow; Liechtenstein and Swiss private banks run 6 to 12 weeks and are the real gate
- US tax filings for US persons (a foreign foundation can trigger FBAR, Form 8938, and possibly Form 3520 and 3520-A; your responsibility, we refer you to cross-border tax counsel, we do not file them)
- Mail forwarding (we don't sell this)
We list what's not included on every product page so there are no checkout surprises.
Operator-grade use case
The EEA-aligned civil-law foundation for high-net-worth estate planning, succession, and asset separation. Reach for it when you need a self-owning legal person with no shareholders, governed by a Foundation Council and steered by private by-laws, and your counterparties or banking are EU-heavy. Liechtenstein is REPUTABLE: it is not on any EU or FATF list, so EEA and Swiss private banks, notaries, and institutional counterparties treat the Stiftung as a known, credible structure rather than something to flag.
Most appropriate for operators protecting a substantial asset base who want a top-band jurisdiction whose name reassures private banks rather than inviting extra scrutiny, families organizing succession outside probate, and operators running a tokenized-asset structure that benefits from the TVTG (Blockchain Act 2020) statutory token-container sitting alongside the standard Stiftung. The premium buys reputation and EEA acceptance, not just a filing.
Less ideal for an ordinary operating company or an asset base that does not justify a high-net-worth vehicle: formation is the top of the platform price band and the CHF 30,000 endowment is a real out-of-pocket commitment on top of the fee. If your counterparties are mostly outside the EU and cost matters more than reputational posture, the Panama Foundation is the cheaper civil-law option with comparable self-owning mechanics; for a routine operating entity, a mid-tier offshore IBC or a US LLC does the job for a fraction of the cost.
What you'll need to hand us
- Email address
- Country of residence
- Intended use statement (free-text)
- Government-issued photo ID (passport or national ID)
- Proof of address (utility bill, bank statement, or government letter, dated within 90 days)
- Source-of-funds attestation (drop-down + free text)
- Optional: PEP and adverse-media screening consent
- Everything in Tier 1
- Beneficial owner declaration for every party with 25%+ ownership
- Source-of-wealth documentation (tax return, employment letter, salary, asset proof)
- Manual enhanced-due-diligence reviewer notes from our KYC partner
Common questions
- How is this different from a Panama Foundation?
- The mechanics are similar: both are self-owning civil-law foundations with a council and private by-laws, neither is a company or a trust, and neither publishes a UBO register. The difference is reputation and price. Liechtenstein is EEA-aligned and is not on any EU or FATF list, so EEA, Swiss, and most institutional counterparties accept it without the enhanced due diligence Panama draws as an EU Annex I jurisdiction. You pay materially more for that. If your counterparties and banking are EU-heavy, Liechtenstein is the right tool; if they are mostly outside the EU and cost matters, Panama is the cheaper civil-law option.
- What is the total Year-1 cost, and what is the CHF 30,000?
- $11,599 all-in for Year 1. That covers the Liechtenstein commercial-register filing, the licensed fiduciary and Foundation Council provision for the first year, and OffshoreGuy service. Year-2 onward is $4,999/yr for the fiduciary and register renewal. Separately, the foundation must be endowed with a CHF 30,000 minimum capital. That endowment is the foundation's own capital, passed through to it at checkout; OffshoreGuy does not take a cut of it and it is not part of our fee.
- Is a Liechtenstein Foundation anonymous?
- There is no public UBO register in Liechtenstein, and your beneficiaries live in the private by-laws rather than on the public record, so beneficial ownership is not published. But the licensed fiduciary is statutorily required to identify the founder and ultimate beneficial owners under Liechtenstein due-diligence law and reports them to the authorities. Privacy from the public is real; anonymity from a regulated fiduciary or the authorities is not. Beneficial-owner identification and documented source-of-funds and source-of-wealth diligence happen at the formation stage regardless of our platform tier, and the fiduciary will not proceed without them.
- If I am a US person, does the Stiftung cut my US tax?
- No. It does not reduce your US tax, and the reporting is heavier than for an LLC. A foreign foundation can trigger foreign-trust-style reporting: FBAR, Form 8938, and possibly Form 3520 and 3520-A. Get cross-border tax counsel before forming; we form the entity and refer you to tax counsel, we do not file those returns. The structure protects and organizes assets; it is not a tax-avoidance tool. General information, not tax advice.
Operators usually pair this with
Panama Foundation
Civil-law foundation. EU Annex I: disclosed.
Apostille + Good Standing
Apostille + Good Standing for international banking.
Nominee Director / Shareholder
Annual offshore nominee service.
Cayman Foundation Company
The ownerless DAO wrapper institutional counterparties expect.