Côte d’Ivoire and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Legalisation
- First stop
- One stamp from the Ivorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan is enough for use in the Netherlands, with the Dutch embassy left out (Netherlands Worldwide)
- Language
- French, often accepted as it is
- Register
- Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM)
- Tax treaty
- Outside the Dutch treaty list: Dutch rules apply (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- Stepping stone Economic Partnership Agreement, 2016
- Moving here
- Residence permit needed
- Notary checks
- Enhanced, with a source-of-funds note (EU high-risk list, Delegated Regulation 2016/1675)
Documents from Côte d’Ivoire
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Côte d’Ivoire.
Proof of address in Côte d’Ivoire, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a notary in Côte d’Ivoire, then have the notary’s signature legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
Legalisation. One stamp from the Ivorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan is enough for use in the Netherlands, with the Dutch embassy left out (Netherlands Worldwide).
Official page: https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/legalisation/foreign-documents/cote-divoire
Good to know. The Ivorian ministry legalises original, complete documents only, with every annex they mention (Netherlands Worldwide). Côte d’Ivoire is on the EU high-risk list, so the notary checks the source of the money.
If a company from Côte d’Ivoire becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM). Company formation goes through the One-Stop Shop of CEPICI, the investment promotion centre, at Immeuble Bellerive in Abidjan-Plateau, which hands over the documents that confirm the new company (eRegulations Côte d’Ivoire). Order a recent RCCM extract and the statutes. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Côte d’Ivoire and the EU: trade and tax
Côte d’Ivoire trades with the EU under an interim Economic Partnership Agreement. It was signed on 26 November 2008 and has applied provisionally since 3 September 2016 (EUR-Lex). Under that agreement, every import from Côte d’Ivoire enters the EU duty-free and quota-free, except arms and ammunition (European Commission).
Cocoa leads this trade. Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Ghana together supply more than 60% of EU imports of cocoa and cocoa products. A growing part leaves the country processed: 42% of Ivorian cocoa exports to the EU, against 32% in 2016. On 17 July 2026 the EU and Côte d’Ivoire started talks on a Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (European Commission).
The EU deforestation rules (EUDR) cover cocoa, coffee and wood. Large and medium-sized companies apply them from 30 December 2026. The company that first places the goods on the EU market files the due diligence statement. With your own Dutch company, you can take that role yourself and sell to European buyers from stock inside the EU.
Côte d’Ivoire is missing from the Dutch list of tax treaties (Netherlands Worldwide, updated 31 July 2025). When your Dutch company pays you a dividend in Côte d’Ivoire, the Netherlands keeps the standard 15% dividend tax.
Your next step from Côte d’Ivoire
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