Buying through a company can make sense for succession or co-ownership, but it does not reduce the Seychelles cost of entry: a foreign-owned company is still non-Seychellois, so it needs the same Sanction permit and pays the same 12% Sanction Duty. A French SCI, in particular, is a French-law vehicle — it can help French buyers with succession and avoid indivision, but it changes nothing on the Seychelles side and adds French tax reporting (including IFI on real estate). Whether any structure is worth it is entirely case-specific and must be validated with both a French notaire and a local Seychelles lawyer before you commit.
A structure does not dodge the Sanction or the duty
The Sanction regime looks at whether the owner is Seychellois, not at whether the owner is an individual or a company. A company owned by non-Seychellois is treated as a foreign buyer: same Sanction permit (form IP/3), same 12% Sanction Duty on market value, same Designated-Area and threshold rules. Interposing an entity buys you nothing on the Seychelles cost side.
Where a company can still help
The reasons to hold via a company are succession, co-ownership and governance — for example, sharing a family asset across several owners or planning an orderly transfer — not tax arbitrage on the Seychelles purchase. Any such benefit sits in your home-country legal and tax world, not in Seychelles duty rates, and it comes with its own set-up and reporting costs.
Get it validated on both sides
Because the structure question spans two legal systems, it must be validated with a local Seychelles lawyer and your home-country adviser before you commit. Do not adopt a holding structure on the assumption it lowers Seychelles cost — it does not.
Sources
Primary and expert sources behind this answer:
- Chambers & Partners — Real Estate 2026, Seychelles ↗
- Seychelles Planning Authority — Guidance on Property Acquisition by Non-Seychellois (SPA.gov.sc, March 2025) ↗
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Figures marked as official are drawn from the Seychelles Planning Authority guidance; figures marked directional are market estimates and must be confirmed with a local notary, lawyer or tax adviser for your specific property.
Luxury buyer's agent, on the buyer's side only — Mauritius, Dubai, Marbella, Greece, the Maldives and the French Alps. Every price and every rule on this page is sourced (developers, sales offices, official EDB/MRA texts) and dated; pages are re-verified quarterly.
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