Can I be the only director and shareholder?
Yes. A UK private limited company can have one shareholder who owns all the shares and also acts as the only director. That person doesn't have to live in the UK.
UK company formation for non-residents works the same way as it does for anyone else. You don't need to live in the UK or travel there. Registration with Companies House is online, directors can live outside the UK, and identity checks can be completed remotely.
What you can't skip are the rules. The company needs a physical UK registered office, and every director and every person with significant control has to verify their identity. Filing duties start once the company is registered. This page sets those out in plain terms, from current GOV.UK and Companies House guidance, and explains how Eteform handles the process.
Send us your proposed name. We'll check it's available before you pay anything.
One founder with a chip e-passport on our Starter package pays £580 in total for formation: the £450 service fee, the £30 identity check and the £100 Companies House fee.
On WhatsApp you can write to us in Arabic or English. Tell us your nationality, what the business will do and how many owners there are, and we'll send you an itemized quote.
Yes. GOV.UK states that directors do not have to live in the UK, as long as the company has a UK registered office address. The formation rules don't require British nationality or a UK visa.
The minimum is simpler than many people expect. A private company limited by shares needs at least one director aged 16 or over and at least one shareholder, and they can be the same person. So a consultant living in Jeddah can own all the shares and act as the only director. A company secretary is optional. The identity checks and filing duties further down this page still apply.
Some people can't simply be appointed. Anyone disqualified from acting as a director, or an undischarged bankrupt, needs permission from a court first.
Eteform.com Ltd is a UK company, number 09613257, incorporated on 29 May 2015, with its registered office at 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF. We work with founders who live outside the UK, and we give support in Arabic and English, including over WhatsApp.
Before you pay, we check that your company name is available and agree the SIC codes that describe what the business actually does. A company name on the register isn't the same as a trademark, so if you later want to protect the brand you trade under, we can file a UK trademark application for you.
The order of the next steps doesn't change. First, each director and PSC verifies their identity: we send a secure verification link, and you'll need your passport and a recent proof of address. Then the order is paid in full. Only after that do we prepare the IN01 incorporation form and file it with Companies House. We never file before full payment.
Identity verification typically takes about an hour. Once the file is complete, incorporation typically takes 24 to 48 business hours, depending on Companies House. GOV.UK says online registrations are usually processed within 24 hours, though Companies House can take longer if it asks for more information. These are typical times, not guarantees.
Our Starter package is £450 and includes a London registered office for the first year. Identity verification is £30 per person with a chip e-passport, or £120 per person with a passport that has no chip. The Companies House incorporation fee is £100. With chip passports, that comes to £580 for one founder and £610 for two.
Some founders need more than Starter. Founder (£650) adds a director service address in London, plus help preparing and submitting a WorldFirst business account application. WorldFirst makes its own decision, and approval isn't guaranteed. Business (£850) adds a full trading address. Premium (£1,600) adds UK phone answering in your company's name. The packages page compares them side by side, the cost page breaks down the year-one total, and the full filing path is on UK company formation.
If you're forming from a particular country, these pages cover local documents and practical points: Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For a guide written for Arabic-speaking founders, see UK Ltd for Arabs.
No. The company is registered online, and Companies House says you can use an authorised agent to verify your identity from any country. You don't need to visit at any stage.
The part that often trips people up overseas is GOV.UK One Login, which asks you to set up security codes. The text-message option needs a working UK mobile number, so an authenticator app on your phone is the practical alternative. Our identity verification guide shows each screen if you'd like to do it yourself.
It isn't a visa, and it doesn't come with a bank account. Owning or running a UK company doesn't give you the right to live or work in the UK. Banks and payment platforms run their own checks after the company is formed and make their own decisions.
The company is still a separate legal entity that can sign contracts, invoice clients and hold assets in its own name. You don't need a UK bank account to register it. From the Founder package upward, we help you prepare and submit a WorldFirst business account application once the company exists. WorldFirst decides on eligibility and approval, and we can't guarantee the outcome. Starter doesn't include this support.
Identity verification is now a legal requirement for anyone who sets up, runs, owns or controls a UK company. In practice, every director and every person with significant control (PSCs are explained below) has to prove who they are.
There are two ways to do it. The first is the free GOV.UK service, which lets you verify with an app, by answering security questions or at a Post Office. The Post Office is no help if you live overseas, so most non-residents use the app. The second is to ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) to verify you. An ACSP is an agent registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money laundering, and it may charge for the service.
Either way you end up with a Companies House personal code. The code belongs to you, not to the company. You'll need it when the company is incorporated, if you're appointed as a director of another company, and each time a confirmation statement is filed. If an ACSP verifies you, Companies House emails you the code, usually within a few hours. The public register later shows which agent did the check.
Eteform.com Ltd is a registered ACSP, supervised by HMRC for anti-money laundering (XTML00000224050), and acts as one for our clients. You can verify yourself on GOV.UK and send us your code, or let us do the check. In that case we send you a secure link and ask for your passport and a recent proof of personal address. The camera step may not work on some older phones, and a newer phone usually solves it. The steps for both routes are in the identity verification guide.
A person with significant control, or PSC, is someone who owns or controls the company. The most common example is anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights. PSCs have to be named when the company is registered, and they must verify their identity as well.
Take two partners, one in Riyadh and one in Alexandria, who split the shares 60/40 and both act as directors. Both are PSCs, and both need a personal code. Say they later bring in a friend who buys 10% and has no other say in running the business. That shareholding alone doesn't make the friend a PSC. Ownership through another company or a trust is more complicated, and there the full Companies House PSC guidance applies. Professional advice is worth getting in those cases.
Every UK company needs a registered office, and you can't use your home address abroad. GOV.UK sets out what the address must be:
PO Boxes are no longer allowed, and a company without a valid registered office can be struck off. The address is public on the register, so many founders prefer not to use a personal one.
If you use our London registered office, Companies House and HMRC letters are received there and shared with you digitally. That matters because HMRC sends your company's tax reference by post. Scanning or forwarding other mail is a separate service. The address is included for the first year. From the second year you can renew it with us or appoint a different UK address, but the company must always have one.
Directors also have to give a service address for correspondence, and that appears on the public register too. If you don't want your own address to show there, the Founder package and above include a director service address in London.
When you register online, the company is usually set up for Corporation Tax at the same time, unless it's going to be dormant. HMRC then posts a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) to the registered office. When the company starts doing business, you use that UTR to add Corporation Tax services to the company's business tax account. GOV.UK counts buying, selling, advertising, renting property and employing someone as doing business.
A company tax return is still due even if the company makes a loss or owes nothing.
A UK-incorporated company is, with certain exceptions, UK resident for tax purposes wherever its directors live. That is HMRC's guidance. How you're taxed personally on money you take out depends on the rules where you live, so speak to a tax adviser in your own country before you start paying yourself.
VAT is a separate registration with HMRC and isn't part of forming the company. You might need it later, if your turnover reaches the threshold or a customer or platform asks for a VAT number. HMRC decides whether to register you.
These deadlines apply in exactly the same way when the directors live abroad.
The confirmation statement confirms that the information Companies House holds about your company is correct. You file at least one every 12 months, with the first period counted from the date of incorporation, and you have up to 14 days after the period ends. Companies House charges £50 to file it online. A company can't file its confirmation statement unless all of its directors have verified their identity, so verification isn't something you do once and forget.
The first annual accounts are due at Companies House 21 months after the company is registered. After that, accounts are due 9 months after the end of each financial year. Any Corporation Tax owed is payable 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period, and the tax return is due 12 months after it ends.
Directors can hire an accountant for all of this, but GOV.UK is clear that they stay legally responsible for the company's records and accounts. Our annual compliance page covers how we help with the confirmation statement and with dormant accounts if the company hasn't started trading.
The certificate of incorporation and your core company documents arrive digitally in your client area and by email. HMRC's UTR letter follows by post to the registered office, usually about 15 days after incorporation. If you're on Founder or above, this is also when work on the WorldFirst application begins. Within the first year, plan for the first confirmation statement, your accounts and what happens to the registered office after year one. We itemize the cost of any of these for you before you commit.
No single company is the best UK company formation service for non-residents. A good one is careful with your file and open about what it costs. Companies House itself suggests checking an agent's reputation and experience before choosing one. Before you pay anyone, it's worth asking a few questions:
Yes. A UK private limited company can have one shareholder who owns all the shares and also acts as the only director. That person doesn't have to live in the UK.
A valid passport or other accepted ID for each person who must be verified, a recent proof of personal address, an available English company name and a short description of what the company will do. The registered office is included in our packages.
No. It's common. The documents we ask for depend on both your nationality and your country of residence, so tell us both when you order.
No. The registered office has to be a physical address in the UK, in the same nation the company is registered in. Every Eteform package includes a London registered office for the first year.
£580 is the formation total for one founder with a chip e-passport on Starter: the £450 package with a London registered office for the first year, the £30 identity check and the £100 Companies House fee. It doesn't cover optional extras or filings that fall due later, such as the confirmation statement.
A card processing fee may be added at checkout, and you'll see it before you pay. Ask us on WhatsApp for an itemized quote that fits your case.
That depends on your setup. Expect the Companies House fee for the confirmation statement, your annual accounts and a UK registered office address, whether you renew ours or use another. We itemize our part before you commit.
No. A bank account isn't part of Companies House registration. It comes afterwards. From the Founder package upward, we help you with a WorldFirst business account application once the company is formed. WorldFirst makes its own decision, and approval isn't guaranteed.
No. Forming or owning a UK company is a registration with the company register, not an immigration application.
Yes. The GOV.UK app route works best with a chipped passport. If yours has no chip, Eteform can carry out the identity check for you as an ACSP using your passport and proof of address. Verification for a passport without a chip is £120 per person.
The camera step may not work on some older phones, and trying again on a newer phone usually fixes it. If it still doesn't work, message us on WhatsApp and we'll help you finish the check.
Identity verification typically takes about an hour. Once the file is complete and paid, incorporation typically takes 24 to 48 business hours, depending on Companies House. GOV.UK says online registrations are usually processed within 24 hours. These are typical times, not guarantees.
Your certificate of incorporation and core company documents, sent digitally to your client area and by email. HMRC posts the company's UTR to the registered office.
Missing the verification requirements can be an offence, and the person involved may face prosecution and a fine, or a financial penalty. A company also can't file its confirmation statement until all of its directors are verified.
With certain exceptions, a UK-incorporated company is treated as UK resident for tax, so the company itself deals with Corporation Tax in the UK. Your personal tax on salary or dividends depends on where you live, so get local advice.
More in FAQ.
Send us your proposed name. We'll check it's available before you pay anything.
With a chip e-passport, one founder on Starter pays £580 in total for formation. Payment comes after identity verification and before we file. If anything is unclear, ask us on WhatsApp before you pay.