# Guinea-Bissau

 Country code: GW · Currency: XOF · Language: Portuguese

**Pros**
- Membership in the WAEMU zone ensuring monetary stability and a currency pegged to the Euro.
- Weak central government oversight allowing for significant de facto operational autonomy in niche markets.
- Vast untapped natural resources and coastal areas offering high-growth potential for risk-tolerant private ventures.

**Cons**
- Chronic political instability and frequent leadership changes creating a volatile environment for long-term investment.
- Systemic corruption and weak judicial enforcement necessitating high costs for protecting private property rights.
- Severe deficiencies in power, transport, and digital infrastructure requiring expensive private-sector workarounds.

Long story short: Here, the tax office has neither the means nor the will to chase you down: pay whatever you feel like declaring.

The flip side: the state itself is an empty shell, rattled by repeated coups, and checkpoints turn into bribe counters fast. The banking system, pegged to the CFA franc, stays skeletal: few banks, everything runs on cash.

Other things worth knowing: the Bijagós islands serve up stunning scenery, the fish and cashews are worth the trip, the power cuts out constantly in Bissau, and the cost of living is dirt cheap.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Guinea-Bissau** doesn't tax personal income, and nobody comes sniffing around when you settle in. No withholding, no tax return, no centre-of-vital-interests trap waiting to snap shut.

Earn what you want: the taxman here simply doesn't know your name.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | NONE | no personal income tax framework |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 183-day rule | does not exist here |  |
| Economic interest | does not exist here |  |
| Family centre | does not exist here |  |
| Habitual abode | does not exist here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Guinea-Bissau** keeps its hands off what you hold. *No capital gains tax*, no annual wealth grab, no inheritance regime.

Your portfolio compounds in peace and leaves the way it came in; nobody's standing at the door with their palm out.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | NONE | no capital gains regime |
| Dividend tax | NONE | no dividend tax |
| Interest income | NONE | no interest income tax |

**02.2 Wealth & estate**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wealth tax | NONE | no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment |
| Inheritance system | NONE | no estate tax · no heir-based duties · no succession tax framework. Wealth transfers across heir-classes are not taxed in this jurisdiction. Only standard probate / registration fees may apply. |

**02.3 Crypto**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crypto · tax regime | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 20% · Guinea-Bissau has no specific cryptocurrency legislation. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), it follows the guidelines of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which has cautioned that crypto-assets are not legal tender. In the absence of specific rules, crypto gains are subject to the general tax regime (Imposto Profissional) with a top marginal rate of 20% for individuals, while professional trading is typically taxed at the corporate income tax rate of 25%. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | TAXABLE | each swap counts as a disposal — gains realised at every trade |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: YES, BUT EXPOSED.
**Guinea-Bissau** has *no corporate income tax* but stacks the two nastiest non-fiscal frictions: *criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets (jail on the table for sloppy intra-company spending) and *public registries* (your name served up to anyone with a browser).

The sticker says zero; the exposure says otherwise, on every other axis.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | NONE | no corporate income tax framework |
| VAT standard rate | NONE | no general VAT · no consumption tax framework |

**03.2 Regime & registry**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| IP Box · Patent Box | NONE | no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules |
| Misuse of corporate assets | CRIMINAL | criminal liability · Article 891 of the OHADA Uniform Act Relating to Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups (AUSCGIE) · Guinea-Bissau is a member of OHADA, and its corporate law is governed by the Uniform Act (AUSCGIE). Under Article 891, the misuse of corporate assets (Abus de biens sociaux) is a criminal offense. The legal system follows the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity' principle, meaning the company's patrimony is strictly separate from that of its shareholders. Consequently, a sole director-shareholder can be held criminally liable for using company funds for personal expenses because such acts are deemed contrary to the company's independent 'social interest,' regardless of the shareholder's consent or the company's current solvency. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM) |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

_In this country, the most standard company form is called Sociedade por Quotas de Responsabilidade Limitada (Private Limited Liability Company (SARL)). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration Fees (CFE One-Stop Shop) | USD 316 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service (Legal and Administrative Support) | USD 1,324 |  |
| Stamp Duty (3% of Share Capital) | USD 53 |  |
| Total | USD 1,693 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Guinea-Bissau** has no treaty network at all, which buries the holding question, full stop.

Every dividend in or out eats the statutory withholding at full rate, and no domestic regime can patch a hole that sits on the source side. Don't park a holding here.

**04.1 Substance & exemptions**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Territorial · individuals | WORLDWIDE | worldwide income taxation regardless of source |
| Territorial · corporates | WORLDWIDE | worldwide corporate taxation |
| Participation exemption | NONE | no dividend participation exemption regime |
| CFC rules | NONE | no controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope |

**04.2 Withholding tax · non-resident**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WHT · dividends | NONE | no withholding on outbound dividends |
| WHT · interest | NONE | no withholding on outbound interest |
| WHT · royalties | NONE | no withholding on outbound royalties |
| Tax-haven WHT | NONE | no punitive rate on record |

**04.3 Treaty network**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treaties signed | 0 | active |
| Treaties pending | — | in negotiation |

## Easy to come and go?

Long story short: SOME.
**Guinea-Bissau** taxes your worldwide income while you're resident, but at least the exit is free: *no exit tax* on the way out.

Leaving costs you paperwork, not money; your unrealised gains walk out the door with you, untouched.

**05.1 Exit & dual nationality**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exit tax | NONE | no triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism |
| Dual citizenship | ALLOWED | naturalised citizens may keep their existing nationality |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 10 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | 3 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | 1 gen | available path to naturalisation |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **Guinea-Bissau**: it has signed *few exchange frameworks*.

But the *corporate registries are public*: your shareholdings and directorships are one search away for anyone curious. Invisible from abroad, on display at home.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 0/9 active**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | None | — |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | None | — |
| BEPS | None | — |
| MAAC | None | — |
| GLOBAL FORUM | None | — |
| EOIR | None | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**Guinea-Bissau** sits on no major blacklist, though it's *outside* the FATF club.

Some counterparties will run a bit of extra due diligence out of habit, but there's no formal stigma: you won't get hassled for dealing with it.

**Blacklist exposure — Clear everywhere**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EMBARGO | Clear | un / us / eu sanctions |
| FATF | Clear | grey / black list |
| EU | Clear | non-cooperative list |
| FRANCE | Clear | ETNC list |
| SPAIN | Clear | tax-haven list |
| PORTUGAL | Clear | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Clear | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: NO.
Press freedom in **Guinea-Bissau** is *locked down* (RSF rank **\#110**). Independent media and civic space operate under pressure (when they operate at all), and that kind of grip usually spills over into economic life too.

Small mercy: crypto isn't formally banned.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 110/180 | score 51 · ↓ 18 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

NONE

no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Guinea-Bissau**. *Stripe* won't onboard you, so card payments mean a foreign structure or a local processor with its own rules. *Amazon* doesn't deliver either.

Some secondary services run (**3/11**), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.

**Accept payments — 1/6 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe | Not available | card payments |
| PayPal | Not available | wallet payments |
| Adyen | Not available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | Available | merchant of record |

**Bank and move money — 1/3 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wise | Available | multi-currency |
| Revolut | Not available | personal banking |
| Revolut Business | Not available | business banking |

**Buy and sell on Amazon — 1/2 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon | Not available | consumer delivery |
| Amazon Seller | Available | marketplace selling |

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Guinea-Bissau. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Réunion RE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/re) [   French Guiana GF  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gf) [   Martinique MQ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mq)

  NOTABLY MORE FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, higher total score.

 [   Cambodia KH  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/kh) [   Peru PE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/pe) [   Cape Verde CV  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/cv)

  NOTABLY LESS FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, lower total score.

 [   St. Vincent & Grenadines VC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vc) [   Tuvalu TV  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/tv) [   Dominica DM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/dm)