Can a foreigner or non-resident open a UK limited company?

Companies House does not check where you live, only that the company has one director aged 16 or over, a registered office in the UK, and shareholders whose details go on the public register. Since ECCTA, every director and person with significant control must also complete identity verification, done directly with Companies House or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

None of this depends on immigration status. Owning and directing a UK company is a company law question, not a right-to-work question, and it does not itself give you any right to enter or work in the UK.

Incorporation is the easy part. Opening a UK business bank account, working out whether the company is taxed only in the UK or also at home, and getting the registered office and post handling right are where most overseas founders lose time.

Decide these before you file: who the UK resident contact will be for HMRC and Companies House correspondence, which bank or electronic money institution will actually accept a non-resident director, and whether central management from abroad creates a tax residence problem in your home country too.

Our fixed monthly packages for a UK limited company start at £89 plus VAT and run to £169 and £289 plus VAT as bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and reporting are added. One-off filings are sold at fixed prices, and the Companies House fees we pay for you are charged at cost with no VAT added. Overseas owners are quoted on exactly the same published prices as UK-resident clients.

Rates, thresholds and deadlines here reflect the 2026/27 UK position and current Companies House and HMRC guidance. Check GOV.UK, or ask us, before relying on them for your own company.