A Toronto software contractor billing US clients, a Vancouver ecommerce seller with provincial customers, and a Montreal consultant working only for overseas businesses may all consider a UK private limited company. A Toronto invoice, a Vancouver provincial sale and a Montreal overseas retainer are not the same file. The UK certificate can sign and bill. It does not answer the Canadian registration or tax question by itself. It does not create a federal or provincial Canadian corporation, does not replace extraprovincial or extra-territorial registration where you carry on business in a province, and does not by itself settle where the company is taxed when decisions or work take place in Canada. Eteform asks which province you live in, where the board would actually meet, who the clients are and how the money moves. See the current packages and identity verification before you pay. This is general information, not a personal Canadian tax opinion.
Can you form a UK Ltd from Canada?
Yes. You can form a UK Limited company from Canada remotely through an ACSP. The price on this page is From £450 + £100. The Companies House fee stays separate from the service fee. Filing is usually within 24–48 UK business hours after a complete file; that is a typical window, not a guaranteed registration time.
Government of Canada guidance contrasts federal name protection and carrying on business across Canada with provincial or territorial choices. None of those paths is created by a UK certificate.
Corporations Canada notes that “conducting business” typically includes having an address, post office box or phone number there, or offering services or products—and that rules and fees differ by registrar.
A UK company operating locally is often treated as a foreign or extraprovincial corporation; Ontario, for example, has a distinct extra-provincial corporations path.
Forming a UK Ltd for overseas contracts does not, by itself, mean every Canadian-resident founder must complete extraprovincial registration—ask a Canadian adviser about your actual local operations. Provincial or municipal licences likewise vary by place and activity and are outside this UK package.
Passport names and SIN: keep them distinct
Enter your name exactly as on the Latin-script data page of your issued passport. Compare it with the machine-readable zone. Flag differences with provincial ID or bank statements early; never edit a document image to force a match.
A Social Insurance Number (SIN) is for employment, tax and benefit programs in Canada. It is not a passport substitute for Companies House. Treat it as sensitive: do not send it unless a legitimate Canadian process specifically requires it.
UK formation and ACSP checks use passport evidence—we do not treat a SIN as compulsory for those UK steps.
Corporate tax residence and personal residence — separate questions
Corporations incorporated in Canada after April 26, 1965 are generally deemed resident under subsection 250(4).
Foreign-incorporated companies may still be resident under common-law principles if their central management and control is exercised in Canada—usually where the board actually meets and decides, not merely where articles say control should sit.
Living in Canada as a founder or director does not automatically make every UK company a Canadian-resident corporation.
Dual residence may engage tax treaties and subsection 250(5); the UK–Canada tax treaty collection has residence and PE rules, but this page does not decide your outcome.
Personal tax residence is separate—review the company facts with an independent Canadian tax adviser before you incorporate.
GST/HST: place of supply and registration
Whether GST/HST applies depends on the supply, the place-of-supply rules and whether the supplier must register—not on invoices merely issuing from a UK Ltd.
Do not assume every cross-border invoice is outside GST/HST, and do not quote a rate or small-supplier threshold from memory—confirm current CRA materials with your adviser. Any GST/HST registration is outside this UK package.
Directors, UK registered office and work rights
A director may live in Toronto or Vancouver. UK guidance does not require a UK home. The company still needs a real UK registered office.
Living in Canada is not a Companies House condition. A UK company does not create Canadian permanent residence or a right to work, and a directorship grants no UK visa.
British public documents go through the FCDO legalisation service—a UK certificate route, not a Canadian apostille. For Canadian documents, competent authorities are split by document type and issuer. The [HCCH Canada Art.
6 notice](https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=1199) lists Global Affairs Canada and designated provincial authorities: British Columbia (Ministry of the Attorney General), Alberta (Ministry of Justice), Saskatchewan (Ministry of Justice and Attorney General), Ontario (Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement) and Quebec (Minister of Justice)—not a single “Ministry of Apostille.” Global Affairs Canada explains that some provinces issue apostilles for documents from their jurisdiction; send the document to the correct authority (use British Columbia only when that document routes there).
Confirm the recipient and issuer first. Authentication confirms a signature or seal, not the content.
Identity verification for Companies House
Companies House requires directors and people with significant control (PSCs) to verify their identity. Link the verified identity to each relevant role; verifying as a director does not replace a separate PSC linkage where that role applies.
Not every shareholder is automatically a PSC. An authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) can verify people in any country. Eteform supports that route for all nationalities, including passports without a chip, subject to document checks—approval is not guaranteed. A SIN is not accepted as a passport substitute.
Banking: help with the application, not a guarantee
If your package includes WorldFirst, the help is preparing and sending that application. WorldFirst decides eligibility, currencies and routes, and it may ask for more papers or refuse. Canadian residence is not an account promise. The current packages show what is included.
Hypothetical example (fictitious)
Sam, an imaginary UX contractor in Toronto, wants to bill European agencies through a UK Ltd while living in Ontario.
Before incorporating, Sam asks a Canadian accountant about corporate residence risk from decisions made in Toronto, whether any federal, Ontario extraprovincial or municipal licence step fits the local facts, and how GST/HST place-of-supply rules treat Canadian versus overseas clients—then chooses between a UK Ltd, a federal or Ontario corporation, or another path.
Sam is not a client, and this sketch is not a promised Canadian result.
Talk to us before you pay
Tell us the province, the activity, whether clients are in Canada or abroad, and how you expect to be paid. We will explain the UK steps and where a Canadian adviser still has to answer. See the current packages. WhatsApp: +44 7418 316616 — Contact Eteform
FAQs for UK formation from Canada
If I run my UK Ltd from Toronto, is the company taxed in Canada?
It might be, depending on the facts. CRA looks at deemed residence for Canadian-incorporated companies and at central management and control for others. A founder living in Canada does not automatically make every UK company a Canadian-resident corporation. Get independent Canadian tax advice before you incorporate.
Is a federal corporation the same as a provincial one?
No. Federal incorporation is with Corporations Canada; provincial or territorial incorporation uses that jurisdiction’s registrar. A UK Ltd is neither.
If I form a UK Ltd, do I still need extraprovincial registration?
Possibly, if you will carry on business in a province or territory under that jurisdiction’s rules. Forming a UK Ltd for overseas work does not by itself answer it—ask a Canadian adviser about your facts.
Can I use my SIN instead of my passport for Companies House?
No. Use the Latin-script passport name and passport evidence. A SIN is for Canadian employment, tax and benefits programs; it is not a passport substitute, and we do not treat it as compulsory for UK formation checks.
Do Canadian documents for the UK still need embassy legalisation?
For covered public documents after 11 January 2024, an apostille from the correct Canadian competent authority (Global Affairs Canada or the designated provincial authority for that document) replaces consular legalisation. UK documents use the FCDO service. Confirm the recipient and issuer first.
Does the package guarantee a WorldFirst account?
No. Where WorldFirst is in your package, we help with the application. The provider decides eligibility and available services. Check the current packages for what is included.
