Promote:
Invest in Wallis and Futuna
A short guide for companies expanding into Wallis and Futuna: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. Wallis and Futuna at a glance
Population
11,151
The population was 11,151 at the 2023 census, the municipal population fixed by decree of December 22, 2023.
Source: Insee, Wallis and Futuna legal populations, 2023 census (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of 2023
Inflation
3.7%
Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in the twelve months to the second quarter of 2026, the statistics office reports.
Source: STSEE, consumer price index, second quarter 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of Second quarter 2026
The currency is the CFP franc, put into circulation by the IEOM and used for daily payments in Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Source: IEOM, coins and notes in circulation (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
No investment promotion agency was found; the SAEDT handles relations with businesses and the investment aid code.
Source: Prefecture, economic affairs service page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Business registration runs through four separate offices: the court registry, the company statutes registry, the Treasury and the patente register.
Source: Prefecture, business license tax (patente) page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
No list of sectors reserved for nationals was found on the pages checked.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 10, 2026
No investment zone or free zone appears in the IEOM's account of the tax regime and investment aid, or in the pages checked, so the count is zero.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 10, 2026
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in Wallis and Futuna
- Register the company statutes with the regulation service and have the notice published in the territory's official gazette.Service de la Réglementation et des ÉlectionsOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture, company declaration page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Enter the company in the commercial register at the court registry in Mata'Utu.Greffe du Tribunal de Première Instance de Mata'UtuOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture, business license tax (patente) page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Register for the patente with the contributions service, pay the due fees and keep the Treasury receipt.Service des Douanes et Contributions diversesFixed patente of 10,000 to 900,000 CFP francs plus a 30 percent chamber surchargeOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture, business license tax (patente) page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Ask the economic affairs service whether the project qualifies for the Territorial Investment Aid Code, and apply with the chamber's help.Service des Affaires Économiques, du Développement et du TourismeOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 10, 2026
Show 2 more set-up steps
- Ask the Prefect's office for work authorization for any foreign or European Union staff before they start salaried work.Administration supérieure des îles Wallis et FutunaOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Prefecture, entry and stay of foreigners page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Open a business bank account with the local bank; the chamber helps with the file.Chambre de Commerce, d'Industrie, des Métiers et de l'Agriculture de Wallis et FutunaOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 10, 2026
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with CCIMA, SAEDT and Douanes et Contributions diverses. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
- The guide lists every national body found with evidence dated 2025 or later; nine organizations qualify. Source (opens in a new tab)
Investment and business setup
Economic affairs service
SAEDT
Service des Affaires Économiques, du Développement et du Tourisme
Reviews applications to the Territorial Investment Aid Code and handles relations with businesses.
Visit SAEDT (opens in a new tab)Source: Prefecture, economic affairs service page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
- Meet requirements
Company statutes registry
SRE
Service de la Réglementation et des Élections
Registers company statutes and handles the legal notice in the territory's official gazette.
Visit SRE (opens in a new tab)Source: Prefecture, company declaration page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 1 more organization
- Get advice
State representative's office
Administration supérieure
Administration supérieure des îles Wallis et Futuna
Publishes entry, stay and work-authorization rules for foreign staff and houses the services that register companies.
Visit Administration supérieure (opens in a new tab)Source: Prefecture, entry and stay of foreigners page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs and tax service
Douanes et Contributions diverses
Service des Douanes et Contributions diverses
Clears goods at the Wallis and Futuna customs offices, collects duties and keeps the business license (patente) register.
Public finance directorate
DFIP
Direction des Finances Publiques
Collects non-tax public revenue, keeps the territory's public accounts and gives financial advice to local authorities and businesses.
Visit DFIP (opens in a new tab)Source: Prefecture, public finance directorate page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Interconsular chamber
CCIMA
Chambre de Commerce, d'Industrie, des Métiers et de l'Agriculture de Wallis et Futuna
Advises business owners on territorial aid, helps with business creation and bank accounts, and works with the New Caledonian chamber on export support.
Visit CCIMA (opens in a new tab)Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of July 10, 2026
5. Worth knowing
Very small export base
The IEOM says exports are almost nonexistent because the productive base is weak and markets are far; they covered 0.5 percent of imports in 2024.
What to do: Confirm that a buyer and a shipping route exist before you commit stock.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Public-sector economy
The IEOM says the public sector is 63 percent of declared salaried jobs and 84 percent of declared payroll, and public demand was 73 percent of GDP in 2019.
What to do: Check public budgets and project timing with local buyers before you set sales targets.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Bank access
The IEOM says account openings and loan requests remain difficult for local businesses, and the chamber helped open 29 professional accounts in 2025.
What to do: Ask the chamber about account opening before you set up payment flows.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Own tax system
The IEOM says the territory has no income tax and no tax on company profits, and customs taxes were 69 percent of 2025 tax revenue.
What to do: Confirm current customs duties and the entry tax with the customs service before you price imported equipment.
Source: IEOM, Wallis and Futuna annual economic report 2025 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
Show 1 more
Discretionary investment aid
The prefecture's 2023 note says companies have no right to aid under the Territorial Investment Aid Code, and the approval commission decides within the available budget.
What to do: Check the current terms in the territory's official gazette, and keep your patente and tax certificates current.
Sources: Prefecture, aid code information note, 2023 (in French) (opens in a new tab); Prefecture, Territorial Investment Aid Code page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of November 1, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare Wallis and Futuna with other countriesSet Wallis and Futuna beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
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Promote:Wallis and Futuna is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 1, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.