No sales pitch: when registering a company abroad yourself genuinely works, and when it bites — banking, tax, and timelines. DIY vs consultant, the real cost of mistakes against fees, and what a consultant does that a portal cannot.
"Why pay a consultant when a portal costs $200?" is a fair question with a fair answer: sometimes there is nothing to pay for. But "register a company" and "get a working, bankable, tax-clean business abroad" are two different jobs, and the gap is paid in lost weeks and rejections. This is an honest, non-sales comparison.
The Russian-language edition is the canonical version; this English summary mirrors its structure.
DIY is rational for typical cases: a simple US LLC for a non-resident via a portal (Stripe Atlas, Firstbase, doola), a UK Ltd, a basic Estonian OÜ — standard jurisdiction, standard form, no licensing, single owner, and you handle banking yourself. It bites when the bank rejects you after registration, when the portal sold the wrong jurisdiction for your model, when compliance gaps appear (BOI, economic substance, annual filings), or when you stay tax-resident at home and fall under CFC rules. See Non-resident banking.
Compare the fee not against the portal but against the cost of a likely mistake: a dead unbankable company, re-registration in the right jurisdiction, compliance penalties, or CFC tax at home. A consultant designs a working structure for your model — jurisdiction by fit not price, a banking strategy before registration, a substance/compliance map, two-country tax coordination, and one accountable contact. Try the jurisdiction finder and Relocating a business out of the CIS.
See the full Russian guide for the cost table and the honest decision checklist.
INNOVA CG works one-desk, one-named-partner — and will tell you honestly if a portal already covers your case.
This material is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Accurate as of the publication date.
