Simple UK Limited Company formation for overseas residents.

Yes, there are no restrictions on a non-UK resident or non-British citizen setting up a business in the UK. You do not need to travel to the UK to incorporate your UK limited company as everything can now be done online. You will need to be 16 years old or over and not currently declared bankrupt and your company will require a U.K. registered office address.

To incorporate a limited company by shares, you will need the following:

• A Registered Office in the UK. We provide a London registered office and director address service
• At least 1 shareholder and 1 director (aged 16 or older). They can be the same person.
• Issued share capital: this can be as little as £1.There can be more directors and shareholders, and there is no limit to the number of shares that can be issued.

Once you’ve provided your information, it takes 1 business day to incorporate your business. Upon registration, we'll send you an electronic copy of your Incorporation Certificate, Memorandum and Articles of Association, Certificate of Good Standing and Share Certificates. Your printed company documents will be sent to you free of charge by DHL Express Worldwide Courier Service.

To incorporate your limited company as a non U.K. resident, you will need to provide:

• A business name
• Details of at least 1 company director (full name, date of birth, home address)
• Details of at least 1 company shareholder (full name and date of birth, home address)
• Certified copy of your passport and proof of address

Once we have received all your information, it will take just 1 business day to incorporate your company. It then takes 10 working days to receive your VAT registration number from Her Majesty Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Banks will require company directors/shareholders to provide a UK proof of address. If you do not reside in the UK you won’t be able to provide the required proof of UK address. However, some banks may allow you to open an account if some of the company’s shareholder(s)/director(s) are resident in UK.
You can also decide to open the business bank account of the newly incorporated U.K. limited company in your home country (i.e. in a bank located outside the U.K). If your business is looking to open a bank account overseas, you may need to confirm the company details with your local bank and will be required to provide them with a certificate of good standing.
A third option includes opening an Electronic Money account (a legal institution that has been granted authorisation by the FCA to issue electronic money). Using an Electronic Money account is fairly similar to using a conventional business account. You can make payments to other business accounts and receiving payments from clients. You will also be issued an business account number and sort code as well as a banking card. The OnlineFilings platform has a partnership with Transferwise a leading Electronic Money and business account provider. Upon registration of your limited company, you will be contacted by them to open your business bank account.

Yes, every year, the company director(s) must file the following information:

• File the company confirmation statement that confirm the details of the company are up-to-date
• File the company annual accounts

You will be reminded of your filing duty at least 4 weeks before the due date and will be able to file directly via the OnlineFilings platform.

All official letters from HMRC or Companies House will be scanned and forwarded to you straight away free of charge to avoid delay. Any other mail that we receive for you or your company, wherever you are in the World, will be sent to you via Royal Mail. The cost of forwarding your non official mail will be taken from a £20 postage deposit - this is included in the package price. When this runs out we will ask you to top it up. General business mail will be forwarded at the cost of the Royal Mail postage plus a 15% handling fee.

No, by law Companies House requires using a U.K. correspondence address to register a UK business. This address is called the registered office address. Companies House will also require to know the residential address (home address) of the director(s)/shareholder(s) living outside of the UK. While the registered office address will be made public on Companies House register, the director(s)/shareholder(s) residential address will be kept private. Most companies which do not have a physical location in the U.K. to register the business at subscribe to the service of a registered office agent.

During the company incorporation process, Companies House requires that each director of the business must include their residential address (home address) and a service address. The service address is the address where directors receive all their statutory mails (official government mail from U.K. governing agencies, such as HMRC and Companies House).
The service address is listed on the public record at Companies House. The service address must be a UK-based address. The director(s)/shareholder(s) residential address will be protected information and is not available to the public (although it is available to some public authorities).
The OnlineFilings platforms company formation packages for non-U.K. residents include the director(s)/shareholder(s) service address.

The Non-Residents Package is a company formation package, and so it does not renew, however, there are renewable services within the package: the registered office and director address services as well as the Confirmation Statement service. If you choose to renew those services, the cost will be £221.00 plus VAT per year.

As part of the anti-money laundering regulation applicable in the U.K. You will need to provide a certified copy of your passport as well as a certified copy of a proof of address (water, electricity, landline bill) dated of less than 3 months. The process will start as soon as we have received a scanned copy of your certified documents by email.

The certificate of good standing is a Companies House issued certificate that confirms the details held by the public registrar at the time of issue. It confirms that That the company has continued to exist since it was incorporated and that no action is currently being taken to remove the company from the register of companies.
The certificate of good standing is widely recognised internationally and is regularly requested by foreign organisations and banks.
To start an offshore company, open a new branch in new territory or enter into large contracts with foreign companies you may need to confirm the company details. A common solution to this is to provide them with a certificate of good standing.