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Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
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Approval or registration requiredGG
No residency or nationality requirement in company law — but acting as a director by way of business requires a fiduciary licence, which Guernsey uniquely allows an individual to hold personally.
- Residency test
- None.
- Nationality test
- None.
- Work authorisation
- A non-resident director attending board meetings requires no permit. Living and working in Guernsey is subject to population-management housing and employment controls.
- Board language
- Board process is in English.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- No statutory cap. Guernsey vehicles listed in London and reporting against the AIC Code apply that Code's expectations on tenure and board refreshment.
- Time commitment
- Fund and captive boards typically meet quarterly; London-listed vehicles carry a heavier calendar and full annual-report obligations.
- What a seat pays
- £25,000 – £55,000 a year for a non-executive director of a London-listed Guernsey vehicle; unlisted fund and captive seats sit materially below that.
- Tax on your fees
- Guernsey levies income tax at a low flat rate and the position for a non-resident director depends on where duties are performed; the director's own residence jurisdiction is usually the operative one.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Establish whether the appointment is by way of business — a single seat is different from building a practice
- 2Where it is, apply for a personal fiduciary licence or arrange to act through a licensed fiduciary firm
- 3Consent to act and appointment under the company's articles, with filing at the Guernsey Registry
- 4For a licensed entity, GFSC assessment of the individual's fitness and propriety
What actually gets in the way
- The personal fiduciary licence carries capital, insurance, reporting and conduct obligations — it is a business authorisation, not a credential
- Economic substance requirements affect where board meetings must genuinely take place for in-scope entities
- Population-management controls make relocating to Guernsey substantially harder than taking a directorship there
- For London-listed vehicles, both Guernsey requirements and the UK regime apply at once
The instruments behind these answers
- Companies (Guernsey) Law 2008 — Governs Guernsey companies and imposes no residency or nationality requirement on directors. It permits a single director for most companies and includes a solvency-based distribution regime. (States of Guernsey)
- Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors law — Makes acting as a company director by way of business a regulated fiduciary activity. Licences are available both to firms and, distinctively, to individuals in their own name as personal fiduciary licensees. (Guernsey Financial Services Commission)
- GFSC Finance Sector Code of Corporate Governance — Sets governance principles for licensed entities covering board composition, competence, conflicts, risk and business conduct, applied proportionately to the size and nature of the business. (Guernsey Financial Services Commission)
- Guernsey fund and insurance regimes — Establish registered and authorised fund classes, the Guernsey Green Fund, and one of the largest captive-insurance regimes in Europe, each with board responsibilities attached. (Guernsey Financial Services Commission)
Reviewed against primary sources in September 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.