On 1 May 2019, the Minister for Finance signed new regulations allowing investment funds to redomicile to Ireland from the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Jersey and Guernsey.
The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 previously provided for the migration of investment companies to and from Ireland, however this was not carried over into the Companies Act 2014. New regulations signed into law by the Minister for Finance have re-instated the previous provisions for investment companies and extends same to ICAVs. The 'relevant jurisdictions' from and to which investment companies and ICAVs can migrate are:
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Jersey
- Bermuda
- Guernsey
The Procedure
A foreign investment company wishing to redomicile to Ireland will simply apply to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) to be registered as a company by way of continuation. This is achieved by lodging an application form, together with several documents, including a statutory declaration of the directors confirming certain facts about the status of the migrating company. The company must also be authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) to carry on business as an investment company in Ireland.
An investment company wishing to redomicile to Ireland as an ICAV will apply directly to the Central Bank to be registered as an ICAV by way of continuation. The process is the same as that involving the CRO. The investment company will also need to receive the appropriate authorisation from the Central Bank.
Advantages
The regime has many advantages for investment companies wishing to redomicile, including:
- The existing identity of the investment company is retained
- Existing contractual arrangements are unaffected, and the investment company retains its track record and listing history, and
- The legal framework enhances the efficiency of the process to re-domicile funds to Ireland
If you would like more information, or to discuss how you can avail of the redomiciliation process, please contact a member of our Investment Funds team.
The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.
