How to Register a Company in the UK as a Non-UK Resident?

Are you wondering how to register a company in the UK when you are not a UK resident? Well, with BusinAssist, setting up a UK company is a fast, simple, and completely online process (You can register a company via paper forms if you prefer). We provide UK Ltd Company Formation for UK and non-UK residents starting from only £0.99, including VAT and one-off fee.

The great news is that anyone can set up a UK-limited company, no matter where they live. Yes, a non-resident can set up a UK company. You don’t need to be a UK resident to register a limited company with Companies House. The only thing you need to register a UK company is a UK registered office address, which can be the address of a friend or family member or a virtual office address.

Today, in this blog, BusinAssist will give you all the essential information about how a company is formed, along with the details of how to start a business in the UK as a foreigner. So, let’s get started now!

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How to Form a UK Company as a Non-UK Resident?

If you choose BusinAssist as your company formation partner in the UK, we can help you form a company in the following simple ways:

Step 1. Choose a valid company name

Before you can start a business in the UK as a non-UK resident, you must first decide on a name for your company. A good and well-thought business name can become a well-known brand in the future. However, the name must be unique and cannot be the same as that of other businesses registered with Companies House. So, if you have one in mind, you can enter a name here to see if it is available to take.

This system will compare any name you enter to Companies House’s Index of Company Names. The results are quick, so you will know immediately if the name is available or if you need to change it. Additionally, you will receive a warning if any ‘sensitive’ words or phrases are used in the name.

Step 2. Choose the suitable company formation package in the UK

Clients who reside outside the UK can also take advantage of our company formation services. Company Formation in the UK costs £0.99 (our fee) plus a £50.00 Companies House fee. At the checkout, you can add protection insurance for just £2.99. So that, if your application is rejected (due to incomplete documents or a sensitive name), you can have the right to apply again for free.

What’s more? The certificate of incorporation, Articles of Association, Memorandum, and initial shareholder statement will be certified by a UK solicitor as true copies and scanned for you. The originals can be posted to you via courier. If you order now, you will get a discount of 20% on the base price of £99.99.

Step 3. Give ID proof and other documents

If your package has any address services, like the registered office, we have to ask you for proof of ID and address by law. It’s an easy process and won’t take much time. We’ll contact you when this is needed.

Step 4. Company Formation process

Now, how to register a company in UK? Here, you have to appoint the director (the person who will manage the company), shareholder (the person who will own the company) and person with significant control (the person who will have the final say over the company). You only need one person to set up a company, so that person can take all of the roles. Or they can be divided among different people.

You will have to provide basic personal information to make the necessary appointments, including residential addresses—it’s okay if these are not in the UK.

The only address that has to be in the UK is the registered office. If you have chosen a package with our registered office service, you can use our address at the appropriate stage of the company formation process.

Step 5. Decide about the company shares

When you add your shareholder(s) you will need to give information about their shares. This will include:

Type of shares
Number of shares
Value of shares

These shares show the ownership of the non-resident UK company. For example:

1 shareholder with 1 share – they own 100% of the company
2 shareholders with 1 share each, with the same value – they both own 50% of the company
10 shareholders with 1 share each, with the same value – they all own 10% of the company

How you divide your shares is your choice. We suggest keeping things simple at this stage and giving a low number of shares with a low nominal value. It’s much easier to add new shares later than it is to take them away.

How many shares should I give when setting up a company?

You should know that shareholders are responsible for the value of shares that they have. If you give a shareholder £10,000 worth of shares, and the company was to have problems, this is the amount they may have to pay.

How to register a company in the UK if you don’t have funds to make company shares? Our company formation plan allows you to inject 100 x £0.01 shares during incorporation. This means you need just £1 extra to provide shares!

Step 6. The memorandum and articles of association

You will come to a step that involves the memorandum and articles of association. These documents define how the company will operate.

A standard set of memorandum and articles are part of your package – these will work for most companies. You can make and upload your own documents, but this can be a difficult process and may risk your company formation application.

Step 7. Review the application and keep a copy

The final step is to double-check all of the information you have provided. If you made any errors, go back and fix them. If everything is correct, you can submit your application.

As soon as your non-resident UK company is incorporated, we will send you an email. It may take as little as three working hours, though the precise time frame varies based on the volume of work at Companies House.

FAQs

Q: What are the fundamental requirements for a foreign resident to establish a company in the United Kingdom?
Ans: A fundamental requirement for a non-UK resident to set up a UK limited company is that it should have at least one director who is 16 or over. The company should also have a UK-registered office address). These are the only basic requirements for an overseas resident to set up a UK company.

Q: Do I need to travel to the UK to register my new UK company?
Ans: No. BusinAssist makes it easy to start a business in the UK as a foreigner or non-resident. You can set up your UK limited company from any part of the world.T here is no need for you to be in the UK. You also don’t need to be a UK citizen or resident to start your new UK business.

Q: Is a director of a UK company allowed to reside overseas?
Ans: The director of a UK limited company can reside anywhere in the world. He doesn’t need to reside in the UK. The director can live anywhere they want outside the UK, as long as your UK non-resident company has a UK-registered office address. BusinAssist offers international packages, including a UK-registered office address.

Q: Can an offshore company own a UK company?
Ans: An offshore company is a company that is not registered in the UK, so an offshore company can do business in the UK and set up subsidiaries in the UK, but it cannot have a UK company. If you have an offshore company, you can register a company as a non-UK national separately.

Q: Is it mandatory to have a business bank account to operate my business?
Ans: There is no legal obligation for a UK company to have a business bank account in the UK. You may prefer to use a bank account in your place to manage your business transactions. This could be a personal bank account, too. However, we recommend opening a business bank account in the UK to gain the confidence of customers and suppliers and to separate your company finances from your personal finances.

Wrapping Up:

Now, that you know how to register a company in UK as a non-resident of UK, are you ready to launch your company? Forming a UK Limited Company is very easy with BusinAssist.

We have simplified and streamlined everything for you, so you don’t need to worry about anything. You can start a business in the UK as a foreigner in no time, even if you have no experience.

Your company will have 100 shares, each worth £0.01. This means that you only need to invest £1 in your company to make it official and legal. You will be the owner of your company and have full control over it.

However, before you fill out the form below, please make sure that the following assumptions apply to you. These are based on our experience with most of the companies that we form. If any of these are not true for you, please contact us and we will send you a different form. The assumptions are as follows:

All Directors are individuals, not other companies.
All Directors are also Shareholders of the company.
All Directors have the same address as the company’s registered address.
Each Director owns at least 26% of the shares issued.

There you have it, everything you need to know about how a company is formed. Contact us today to explore more options and our services on company formation!

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How to Form a UK Company as a Non-UK Resident? – A Complete Guide