Cape Verde EASE (ease.gov.cv): Traveler Entry, Not Company Search

TL;DR. https://ease.gov.cv is online under the name EASE, but the visible site is traveler pre-registration (entrada de viajantes / WELCOME / BIENVENUE), not a Registo Comercial company search. https://www.casadocidadao.cv is online and says only “…coming soon…”. Neither page publishes CVE extract figures, so fees in this guide are unknown rather than free; confirm at source. An account and a local ID are shown as optional because no company-search page could be reached to confirm either way. This guide does not name a replacement commercial register. The FATF country page for Cabo Verde and the Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list of 19 June 2026 both load, and Cabo Verde is not named on that monitoring list.

Who searches for Cape Verdean company information, and why it’s hard

Cape Verde is a small island-state of 500,000+ people in the Atlantic, 570 km off the coast of West Africa. Its economy is driven by tourism, remittances, and financial services. As a Portuguese-speaking ECOWAS observer state and a Lusophone country with historical ties to Portugal, Cape Verde attracts foreign buyers primarily from Portugal, Brazil, and other Lusophone markets, as well as European tourism sector investors and African regional operators.

The search challenge is primarily linguistic (Portuguese-only interfaces) and scale-related (small economy means limited digitised data available externally, and corporate structures are often small). Cape Verde has invested in e-government services, making it more accessible than many of its African peers, but the EASE portal is still developing its full capabilities.

Registry at a glance

Name: Registo Comercial (Commercial Register) is the statutory commercial register described in Cape Verdean company law. It does not appear anywhere on ease.gov.cv, as checked on 2026-09-04.

Operator: Ministry of Justice and Labour (Ministerio da Justica e Trabalho) has oversight of the commercial register. The Instituto de Gestao e Administracao Publica (IGAP) or Casa do Cidadao is the historic digital-services operator. Casa do Cidadao at https://www.casadocidadao.cv is online but shows only a “…coming soon…” message.

URL: https://ease.gov.cv, which is online under the name EASE. The visible content is traveler pre-registration, not Pesquisa / Consulta de Empresas.

What is covered: The Registo Comercial covers all commercial entities formed under Cape Verdean company law: Sociedade por Quotas (SpQ, equivalent to a private limited company), Sociedade Anonima (SA, public limited), Sociedade em Nome Colectivo (general partnership), Sociedade em Comandita (limited partnership), and sole traders (empresario em nome individual). Branches of foreign companies are also registered.

Access model: An account and a local ID are both shown as optional, because no company-search page could be reached to confirm whether either is needed. Turnaround and the behaviour of any search form are unknown for the same reason; confirm at source.

How to search

Step 1: ease.gov.cv is not a company search. The site is traveler pre-registration, and no Pesquisa / Consulta de Empresas function appears on it.

Step 2: Identifiers. NIFE (Numero de Identificacao Fiscal da Empresa) is the historic tax identifier used in Cape Verdean company paperwork. It does not appear on the EASE traveler page.

Step 3: Online results. There are no online company-search results, because no search function could be found.

Step 4: Request a certified extract. For KYC-grade verification, request a certidao de registo comercial. Options include:

• In-person at the Casa do Cidadao offices in Praia (Santiago Island, capital) or Mindelo (Sao Vicente).
• Via a local agent or law firm: Cape Verdean lawyers and commercial agents based in Praia handle extract requests for foreign clients.

Step 5: Island-specific considerations. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands with residents distributed across multiple islands. Companies registered on islands other than Santiago may have registrations held at local notary offices or courts, not only in Praia. Confirm the island of registration if the company is not Praia-based.

What you can find

A certified Registo Comercial extract for a Cape Verdean entity typically includes:

• Company name (denominacao social)
• NIFE (tax identification number)
• Legal form (SpQ, SA, branch, sole trader)
• Status: active, dissolved, or struck off
• Registered address (sede social)
• Date of incorporation
• Business activity (objeto social)
• Share capital (capital social) in Cape Verde escudos (CVE)
• Director(s)/manager(s): names and capacity
• Partners/shareholders: quota composition for SpQ entities

Financial statements and UBO data are not standard components of a commercial register extract in Cape Verde.

What is missing

• Beneficial ownership: Cape Verde does not have a publicly accessible UBO registry as of mid-2026. FATF recommendations for beneficial ownership transparency have not yet been implemented through a public register. Beneficial-ownership information therefore comes from the counterparty itself, not from a public record.
• Financial statements: Not published via the commercial register. Cape Verdean companies file accounts with the Servico de Registo das Empresas or tax authority, but these are not routinely publicly available.
• Litigation records: Not part of the commercial register. Court records are at the Tribunal Judicial of each island.
• Offshore structures: Some Cape Verdean entities may have ownership structures passing through offshore jurisdictions; this is not visible from the commercial register.

Pricing

No CVE extract figures are published, because ease.gov.cv is a traveler portal rather than a register; the table above therefore reads unknown rather than free. Confirm at source. Banco de Cabo Verde at https://www.bcv.cv has a certificate problem that stops the site loading securely, so it was not used as a fee source.

English availability and practical access

The EASE traveler page carries Portuguese, English (WELCOME), and French (BIENVENUE) welcome text, but that is not a company search. No English interface for the commercial register could be found, and for the same reason an account and a local ID are shown as optional rather than as not needed.

Cape Verde’s relatively strong digital governance and smaller-scale economy make it more tractable than many African peers. Several Cape Verdean law firms and Portuguese-speaking consultancies (including Lisbon-based firms with Cape Verde practices) handle company verification requests.

Alternatives when the registry is limited

• In-country legal counsel: Praia-based lawyers with commercial law expertise are the most reliable route for certified extracts and supplementary checks.
• Portuguese law firm networks: Several Portuguese law firms (including Garrigues, PLMJ, and others) have Cape Verde desks and can handle verification requests.
• Banco de Cabo Verde (BCV): bcv.cv for financial sector licensing information on banks and insurance companies.
• ECOWAS Observer Status: Cape Verde is an ECOWAS observer state; regional economic integration context is useful for trade-related due diligence.
• Open Ownership: Cape Verde has not published a public beneficial ownership register as of mid-2026.

Compliance buyer notes

The FATF country page for Cabo Verde identifies Cape Verde as a member of GIABA (Inter Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa). Cabo Verde is not named on the Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list of 19 June 2026; confirm at source before relying on that. Cape Verde is generally considered one of the more stable and governance-capable small African states. It has consistently ranked as one of the better performers in African governance indices (Mo Ibrahim Index).

Key compliance considerations:

• GIABA and FATF status. The FATF country page for Cabo Verde identifies Cape Verde as a member of GIABA and links the 26 Sep 2025 follow-up on Cabo Verde’s progress in strengthening measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. Cabo Verde is not named on the Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list of 19 June 2026; confirm at source.
• Lower risk relative to peers: Cape Verde’s stable democracy, small economy, and Atlantic location remove many of the conflict and governance risks present in Sahel or Great Lakes African jurisdictions. AML/CFT risk is lower but not absent.
• Financial sector regulation: The BCV supervises Cape Verde’s banking and financial sector. For financial institution counterparties, verify BCV licensing status.
• Remittance flows: Cape Verde has a large diaspora (particularly in Portugal and the Netherlands) with material remittance flows. Businesses in the financial services sector may have exposure to remittance compliance issues.
• Tourism and real estate: Cape Verde’s tourism-driven economy means real estate and hospitality sector companies are common counterparties. These are typical AML/CFT-sensitive sectors due to large cash flows.
• No OFAC country sanctions: Cape Verde is not subject to any complete OFAC sanctions program as at the last verification date. Individual designations can still exist; confirm against the current OFAC SDN list at source.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cape Verde on the FATF grey list?

The FATF country page for Cabo Verde identifies Cape Verde as a member of GIABA, and Cabo Verde is not named on the Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list of 19 June 2026. Note the spelling: FATF files the country under Cabo Verde, and https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/detail/Cape-Verde.html does not exist. Confirm at source.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: https://ease.gov.cv, traveler pre-registration; https://www.casadocidadao.cv, coming soon; the FATF Cabo Verde country page and Increased Monitoring 19 June 2026. Sources named historically: Banco de Cabo Verde, FATF, African Development Bank. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.