UK Company Formation for Non-Residents

Can a non-resident own and run a UK company?

Yes. GOV.UK says directors do not have to live in the UK, but companies must have a UK registered office address. Nationality is not a condition. A director must be 16 or over and must not be disqualified or an undischarged bankrupt.

A private company needs at least one director, and at least one director must be a natural person. Shareholders and people with significant control (PSCs) can also live anywhere. One founder can be the sole director and sole shareholder.

If you live in the UK, our standard UK company formation service is the better fit. This page covers the points that matter when the founders are abroad.

Founders in Pakistan, India, Nigeria, the UAE and Bangladesh

Companies House applies the same rules whatever country you live in. The formation steps, the £100 fee and the identity checks are identical for a founder in Lahore, Bengaluru, Lagos, Dubai or Dhaka. What differs is the law at home: rules on owning a company abroad, sending money out of the country, and how your own tax authority treats income from a foreign company.

India, for example, has rules on overseas investment by residents. Check your home country's position with a local adviser before you form the company. Our founder guides cover common questions for Pakistan, India, Nigeria, the UAE and Bangladesh. If you are still choosing between countries, read UK Ltd vs US LLC or take the quiz.

What is included

• Name check and preparation of the incorporation application with model articles
• SIC code, share structure and PSC details prepared from your answers
• Submission to Companies House and tracking until registration
• Certificate of incorporation and filed documents in your client portal
• A UK registered office address, with the option to add a director service address
• Guidance on corporation tax registration and your first UK deadlines

Not included

• Identity verification. Each director verifies free through GOV.UK One Login. Borderless Filings is not an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) and cannot verify identity on your behalf.
• A bank account. We can help you prepare applications through our payment account setup service, but approval is always the provider's decision.
• Tax advice in the UK or your home country, and immigration or visa advice.

Government fees

From the Companies House fee schedule, current since 1 February 2026:

There is no extra government fee for being a non-resident. Our service fee and any address services are shown separately at checkout.

The UK addresses you need

• Registered office. Must be an appropriate physical address in the UK jurisdiction where the company is registered. PO Boxes are not accepted, and a foreign address cannot be used. It is public.
• Service address for each director. The correspondence address shown on the public register.
• Home (usual residential) address. Your address abroad. Companies House keeps it on a private register.
• Registered email address. Must be monitored. It is not published.

The registered office matters more for non-residents than for anyone else, because HMRC posts the company's Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) there. HMRC also sends the activation code for Corporation Tax online services by post, and GOV.UK says it can take 21 days if you are abroad. With our registered office service, official mail is scanned to your portal so you do not wait for international post.

Identity verification from abroad

Every director must verify their identity before the company can be registered, whatever their nationality. The free route is GOV.UK One Login, which accepts a biometric passport from any country. Biometric passports have a small rectangular chip symbol on the front cover, and an expired passport cannot be used in the app.

The GOV.UK One Login app needs an iPhone 8 or newer on iOS 16.7 or higher, or an Android phone on Android 10 or higher. You scan your passport, take a face scan and give your current address and the year you moved there. When you finish, you get a Companies House personal code, which you add to your portal so we can include it in the application.

If the app does not work for you, the other options are to verify in person at a Post Office in the UK or to use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), which may charge. We are not an ACSP. Our identity verification guide covers common problems in more detail.

How it works

1. Order and intake. Tell us the company name, activities, directors, shareholders and which UK addresses you need.
2. Identity verification. Each director verifies with GOV.UK One Login and enters their personal code in the portal.
3. Secure document upload. Upload your passport copy and proof of home address. The address provider must check who you are. See our security page for how files are protected.
4. Preparation and review. Our filing team prepares the application and sends you a summary to approve.
5. Submission. We file with Companies House and pay the £100 fee from your order.
6. Delivery. Your certificate of incorporation and filed documents appear in your portal.
7. Reminders. We add your confirmation statement, accounts and tax dates to your account.

What we need from you

• A clear color copy of each director's and shareholder's passport
• Proof of home address, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement
• Each director's Companies House personal code
• Proposed company name, a backup name and a short description of the business
• Share split between shareholders
• An email address the company will monitor

UK rules treat registered office and address providers as trust or company service providers under the Money Laundering Regulations, which is why address services ask for ID and proof of address.

Timelines

GOV.UK says an online application is usually registered within 24 hours. Our filing team starts once your intake, documents and personal codes are complete. Queries from Companies House add time, and we do not promise dates beyond what Companies House publishes. The UTR usually follows by post; if it has not arrived within 15 working days you can request it online.

UK bank and EMI accounts for non-residents

A UK company does not come with a UK bank account, and approval depends on each provider's own checks. Published eligibility at the time of checking:

• Tide. Limited company directors need a valid home address in the UK or overseas, but the phone must be registered to a UK App Store or Google Play store and you need a valid UK mobile number.
• Revolut Business. The company must be able to prove its physical presence in the UK or EEA, and the applicant must live in a supported country. For UK companies the list includes the UK, the EEA, the US, Australia, Singapore and India. Check the current list for your country.
• Wise Business. Supports limited companies but excludes some sectors, such as crypto, tobacco and adult content. Check Wise's own pages for rules on where directors live.

We can help you prepare an application, but we cannot guarantee that any bank or EMI (electronic money institution) will approve it.

VAT when the business is run from abroad

HMRC says a company incorporated in the UK would not alone constitute a UK establishment for VAT. If the business is managed from abroad, it may be a non-established taxable person (NETP). NETPs have no VAT registration threshold and must register within 30 days of the first UK taxable supply, or of expecting to make one. Whether you are established in the UK is a judgment call, so get advice. See our VAT registration threshold guide and VAT registration service.

Tax residence: get advice before you trade

Under UK law, a company incorporated in the UK is UK resident for Corporation Tax. But if the directors run the company from another country, that country may also claim it is tax resident there. Where a tax treaty treats the company as resident in the other country, UK law then treats it as non-UK resident.

Ongoing UK filings

Every UK company, active or not, files a confirmation statement at least once a year, annual accounts, and a Company Tax Return when HMRC asks for one. HMRC's free filing service for accounts and tax returns closed on 31 March 2026, so returns now go through commercial software. Our accounts and CT600 and dormant company accounts services cover this, and the UK Ltd starter bundle combines formation, both addresses and corporation tax registration.

Doing it yourself vs using us

You can register the company yourself on GOV.UK for £100, provided you have an appropriate UK address you are allowed to use as the registered office. Most non-residents do not, which is the main reason they use a formation provider. Our service puts the addresses, the application, official mail and your first deadlines in one portal. See pricing, read how it works, or start your order.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Appoint directors and a company secretary
• legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 154
• legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 155
• Companies House: Companies House fees
• GOV.UK: Set up a private limited company, register your company
• GOV.UK: Set up a private limited company, company address
• GOV.UK: Find your UTR number
• GOV.UK: Add Corporation Tax services to your business tax account
• Companies House: Verify your identity for Companies House
• GOV.UK: Proving your identity with the GOV.UK One Login app
• legislation.gov.uk: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 12
• Tide: Can I apply from abroad?
• Revolut: Eligible countries of residence for Revolut Business
• Wise: Can my business use Wise?
• HMRC: VAT Registration Manual, VATREG37150
• HMRC: VAT Registration Manual, VATREG37050
• legislation.gov.uk: Corporation Tax Act 2009, section 14
• legislation.gov.uk: Corporation Tax Act 2009, section 18
• HMRC: Closure of the service to file your company accounts and tax return

Fees, deadlines and rules on this page were last checked on 27 September 2026.