For founders and companies outside the UK
UK company formation for non-UK residents
Form a UK limited company without living in the UK or traveling there. We verify your identity remotely as a Companies House-authorized agent, provide the UK registered office, file the incorporation, and prepare the company so a bank will actually open its account.
A partner replies within one business day. No obligation.
- Any nationality
- 1 director
- Enough to start
- £1
- Once verified
- 24 hours
- Withheld on dividends abroad
- 0%
Can you form a UK company if you don't live in the UK?
Yes. UK company law sets no nationality or residence requirement for directors or shareholders. What it does require is short, but each item has to be right.
What you need
- At least one director who is an individual aged 16 or over. They can live in any country.
- At least one shareholder, a person or a company, based anywhere in the world.
- A UK registered office: a real address in the UK where official mail is received. A PO box does not qualify.
- A registered email address for Companies House correspondence.
- Identity verification for every director and every person with significant control (anyone owning or controlling more than 25%). Mandatory since November 18, 2025.
- A description of what the company will do, and its share structure.
What you do not need
- UK citizenship, a UK visa, or UK residence.
- To travel to the UK at any point.
- A UK-resident director.
- A UK bank account before the company is formed.
- Large share capital. It buys no credibility, and unpaid capital is a debt the shareholder owes.
Where non-residents get stuck
The online form takes minutes. These three steps are where founders abroad lose weeks.
Identity verification
GOV.UK One Login expects a passport it can read and a UK credit history. Most people outside the UK have neither.
How we handle it
As an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, we verify you in a guided remote session that accepts a wider range of documents, and confirm it to Companies House ourselves.
Registered office
Since March 2024 it must be a real UK address where documents are received and dealt with.
How we handle it
We provide a compliant UK registered office and service address, and handle official mail so no letter from Companies House or HMRC goes unread.
Bank account
UK high-street banks usually expect a UK-resident director, so a company run entirely from abroad is normally declined.
How we handle it
We prepare the company to be banked, with verified officers, a clear ownership file and source-of-funds evidence, and point you to providers that accept non-resident owners. No firm can guarantee an account.
What's included
A written quote before we start, covering everything below. The Companies House filing fee is shown separately, at cost.
Structure advice before anything is filed
Who should hold the shares, how many to issue, which classes, and who counts as a person with significant control. Changing these later costs far more than getting them right now.
Remote identity verification
For every director and person with significant control, by us as a registered ACSP. Each person receives the Companies House personal code the law now requires.
Incorporation with Companies House
We prepare and file the application, articles of association and share structure, then send you the certificate of incorporation and the company records.
UK registered office and service address
A compliant UK address for the company and its directors, with official mail handled and passed on to you.
Bank-ready file
The ownership, identity and source-of-funds documents a bank or payment provider asks for, assembled once and kept current.
Your first-year compliance calendar
Corporation tax registration with HMRC and the dates of your first confirmation statement, accounts and tax return, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
No charge for the initial inquiry.
How it works
Tell us about the company
Your country, what the company will do, who will own and run it, and when you need it. It takes two minutes, and no documents are needed yet.
Written quote and plan
A partner reviews it and replies within one business day with the recommended structure, what is included, and the cost.
Identity verification
Each director and person with significant control verifies remotely through a secure, guided session.
Incorporation
We file with Companies House. Registration is usually confirmed within 24 hours of a complete application.
Ready to operate
You receive the company records, the bank-ready file and your compliance calendar. If you want us to keep the company compliant from there, we can.
After incorporation: the dates that matter
A UK company files on fixed deadlines from the day it exists, whether or not it trades. These are the first ones.
- Within 3 months of starting business
Register for corporation tax
Tell HMRC the company has started trading.
- Each year from incorporation
Confirmation statement
Confirms the company details at Companies House. Due within 14 days after each anniversary of incorporation.
- 21 months after incorporation
First annual accounts
Filed with Companies House. After that, within 9 months of each financial year end.
- 12 months after each accounting period
Corporation tax return
Filed with HMRC. The tax itself is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the period ends.
We can take these on for you. See UK tax and accounting for non-UK residents.
A UK company is not a tax-free wrapper
A company incorporated in the UK is UK tax resident from the day it is formed, wherever its owners live, and pays UK corporation tax on its profits: 19% on profits up to £50,000, rising to 25% on profits above £250,000. Dividends paid to shareholders outside the UK carry no UK withholding tax.
Your home country may also treat the company as its own if the real decisions are made there, under a test such as central management and control or place of effective management, and may tax you on what it earns through its controlled foreign company rules. We plan for both sides before the company is formed and work alongside your local adviser.
Who handles your company
You deal with named, qualified people at a regulated UK firm. Everything below can be checked on the public registers.
Ruairi Laughlin-McCannPartner · BSc, MA, ACG, HDip, APA (Pensions)
Leads company structuring and formation for founders entering the UK from abroad.
Lee FoxHead of Corporate Services · M.C.M.I.
Runs corporate services: identity verification, Companies House filings and the registered office.
Verify us on the public registers
- Legal entity
- Boru Global (UK) Limited, registered in England & Wales (No. 14435343)
- Companies House
- Authorised Corporate Service Provider, Agent No. AP000267 (GOV.UK register)
- Anti-money laundering
- Supervised by HMRC, Reg. No. XCML00000187357
- Data protection
- Registered with the ICO, Ref. ZB534745
- Office
- 23-24 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6HE
Further reading
Our full analysis of the points this page summarizes.
Get your written quote
Tell us a little about the company. A partner reviews it personally and replies within one business day with the recommended structure and the cost.
It helps to include
- Your country of residence
- What the company will do
- Who will own it and who will run it
- Whether you need a UK bank account
- When you need the company
Reply within one business day. No documents needed yet.
Everything you share is kept confidential and used only to respond to your inquiry. We never ask for identity documents through this form; they are collected later through a secure channel.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner own and run a UK company?
Yes. UK company law sets no nationality or residence requirement for the directors or shareholders of a private limited company. You need at least one director who is an individual aged 16 or over, a UK registered office, and identity verification for every director and person with significant control.
Do I need to travel to the UK?
No. Identity verification, signing and filing are all done remotely, from wherever you are.
How long does it take?
Once every director and person with significant control is verified and the details are agreed, Companies House usually registers an online application within 24 hours. Most of the elapsed time is in verification and agreeing the structure, which takes a few business days when documents are ready.
How much does it cost?
Companies House charges £100 for an online incorporation (since February 1, 2026). Our fee depends on how many people need verifying and which services you choose, and is quoted in writing before we start. There is no charge for the initial inquiry.
Can you open a UK bank account for the company?
We prepare the company to be banked and point you to providers that accept non-resident owners, but the decision always sits with the bank. UK high-street banks usually expect a UK-resident director, so most non-resident-owned companies start with a regulated electronic money institution. An e-money account is safeguarded under FCA rules rather than covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which matters for large balances.
Do I need a UK director?
Not legally. A UK company can be run entirely by directors who live abroad. Some banks prefer a UK-resident director, but adding one can change where the company is treated as managed for tax, so it should be decided together with the tax position, not only to open an account.
Will the company pay tax in the UK?
Yes. A company incorporated in the UK is UK tax resident and pays corporation tax on its profits, currently 19% to 25% depending on the level of profit. If it is managed from another country, that country may also claim it as resident, and a tax treaty decides. We set this out for your situation before you commit.
What happens after the company is formed?
Every UK company files a confirmation statement each year, annual accounts with Companies House, and a corporation tax return with HMRC, on fixed deadlines whether or not it trades. We can take that on for you as part of our UK tax and accounting service, or hand everything over to your own adviser.
This page gives general information about UK company formation. It is not tax or legal advice for any individual situation. Figures and rules are as of October 4, 2026.
Already have a UK company? UK tax and accounting for non-UK residents