Setting up a UK Ltd from abroad: £100 fee, registration within 24 hours, director ID check, registered office rules, bank options, VAT and filing deadlines.
A person who lives outside the UK can own and direct a UK private limited company. The law sets no residency test for directors: GOV.UK allows directors to live abroad and requires the company to have a UK registered office address. The government fee is £100 for online incorporation, and Companies House usually registers the company within 24 hours. Before that, each director must verify their identity with Companies House, which GOV.UK One Login does free of charge with a passport from any country.
Formation is the first layer of five. The company also needs an address and email that meet Companies House rules, a bank account, a view on VAT, and an annual cycle of confirmation statement, accounts and tax return. A company incorporated in the UK is UK resident for Corporation Tax whatever the director's address. This guide lays out each layer with its official fee, deadline and source.
Last verified 2 October 2026 on the GOV.UK, Companies House, HMRC and legislation.gov.uk pages listed under Sources, and on the Tide and Wise pages cited in the bank section.
Setting up a UK Ltd from abroad? We prepare the filing, the director identity path, the registered office and email arrangements, the bank file and the VAT and accounting set-up as one plan. UK company formation → · Book a paid 30-minute consultation (USD 99, credited to the project)
| Layer | What the rules say | Official fee or time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporation | Online filing with Companies House; the company receives a certificate of incorporation | £100 online, £124 on paper, £156 for same-day service through software; usually registered within 24 hours | Companies House fees; GOV.UK |
| Directors | At least one director, aged 16 or over. Directors do not have to live in the UK | none | GOV.UK |
| Shareholders | At least one shareholder, who can also be a director | none | GOV.UK |
| Director identity | Each new director verifies identity before incorporation and holds a personal code | GOV.UK One Login is free; an authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) is the paid route | GOV.UK |
| Registered office | A physical UK address that qualifies as an appropriate address; no PO Box | provider fees, no official tariff | GOV.UK |
| Registered email | A registered email address that Companies House uses and does not publish | none | GOV.UK |
| Confirmation statement | At least once a year | £50 online, £110 on paper | Companies House fees; GOV.UK |
| Annual accounts | First accounts 21 months after registration, later ones 9 months after the financial year end | late filing: £150 to £1,500, doubled after two late years in a row | GOV.UK |
| Corporation Tax | A company incorporated in the UK is UK resident for Corporation Tax. The Company Tax Return is due 12 months after the accounting period ends, the tax 9 months and 1 day after | 19% up to £50,000 of profit, 25% above £250,000, marginal relief between | CTA 2009 s.14; GOV.UK |
| VAT | Depends on UK establishment and UK taxable sales | threshold £90,000 for a UK-established company | UK Ltd VAT guide |
New directors have had to verify their identity before they can incorporate a company or take an appointment since 18 November 2025. Existing directors confirm their verification when they file their next confirmation statement, within a 12-month transition period that started on the same date. People with significant control (PSCs) verify on a date that falls within those 12 months. Acting as a director without verification becomes an offence once the director duties start.
GOV.UK describes two routes:
After verification you receive a personal code from Companies House. You may need it to register the company, and a company with more than one director needs each director's code. Companies House uses the code to link the verified person to each role.
The registered office has to be a physical address in the UK, in the same country the company is registered in. It has to be an appropriate address: someone acting for the company is made aware of any post, and the sender can get confirmation of delivery. A Royal Mail PO Box, and similar services from other companies, no longer qualify. The address of an accountant or solicitor can serve as the registered office when it meets the same requirements. A company that fails to maintain a qualifying address can be struck off.
The company also gives Companies House a registered email address. It is not published on the public register, Companies House may use it to contact the company, and the company has to read what arrives there.
Directors give a service address, which is public. A director can ask Companies House to remove a home address from the register.
A company incorporated in the United Kingdom is UK resident for the purposes of the Corporation Tax Acts, and an alternative place of residence given by another rule of law does not change that (Corporation Tax Act 2009, section 14). Rates for the current regime, in force since 1 April 2023: 19% on profits up to £50,000, 25% on profits above £250,000, and marginal relief on profits between the two. The company pays Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after its accounting period ends and files the Company Tax Return within 12 months.
The country where the director lives applies its own rules to a company managed from there. A UK Ltd run from another country can end up with a tax question in both countries, so take advice in the director's country before the company starts trading. Tax residency: how it is determined is the INNOVA guide for that question.
VAT turns on whether the company is UK-established and where its customers are. HMRC's VAT Registration Manual states that a third-party UK address or a company incorporated in the UK does not by itself create a UK establishment, and that a registered, serviced or virtual office does not create one either. A UK-established company registers once UK taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. A company with no UK establishment is a non-established taxable person and registers from its first UK taxable supply. The decision table, the exceptions and the invoicing rules are in the UK Ltd VAT registration guide.
No official tariff exists here. Each provider publishes its own eligibility and decides case by case, so the table quotes the provider's own pages.
| Provider | What its page says | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Tide | Directors of a limited company need to be registered with Companies House and have a valid home address in the UK or overseas. Applicants are 18 or over, take a selfie for identity, and need a UK mobile phone number and a device registered to a UK app store | company documents, proof of identity, address and business |
| Wise Business | A range of UK business types, limited companies included, subject to eligibility checks, verification and its acceptable-use rules. It may also support UK businesses with overseas owners, provided the business and the account representative complete the required checks | photo ID and proof of address for the account representative, and sometimes proof of trading address |
Wise Business restricts some industries and transaction types under its acceptable-use policy. Whether a provider accepts the company rests with the provider, and a Companies House registration does not change that. For a business with a larger flow of funds, or one in a regulated activity, the bank file matters more than the form: who owns the company, where the money comes from, what the company does and where. Business bank account by country compares the options across the UK, Estonia, Canada, the UAE and the US.
In the United Kingdom, INNOVA delivers company formation and accounting together with partner firms supervised under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. For a company run from abroad we prepare the director identity path, the registered office and email, the bank file, the VAT position and the accounting calendar. The fee is fixed once we have scoped the task, and the published "from" prices are on INNOVA pricing. Government fees, registered office provider fees, ACSP fees and bank charges are separate lines in the quote.
UK company formation · UK accounting and VAT for non-residents · UK business banking
Yes. GOV.UK allows directors to live abroad and requires the company to have a UK registered office address. Each director must be at least 16 and must verify their identity with Companies House.
The Companies House fee is £100 for online incorporation, £124 on paper, and £156 for same-day incorporation through software. The annual confirmation statement fee is £50 online. A registered office provider, an identity verification provider and the bank charge their own fees.
GOV.UK says the company is usually registered within 24 hours of an online application, and Companies House notes it can take longer for a complex one. Identity verification for each director comes first.
Yes. New directors verify before incorporating a company or accepting an appointment. GOV.UK One Login is free and accepts a biometric passport from any country. An authorised corporate service provider can verify you for a fee.
The address has to be a physical UK address that qualifies as an appropriate address: post reaches someone acting for the company and delivery can be confirmed. A Royal Mail PO Box does not qualify. An accountant's or solicitor's address works when it meets the same requirements.
A company incorporated in the UK is UK resident for Corporation Tax. The rates are 19% on profits up to £50,000, 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief between. The director's own country may also apply its rules to a company managed from there.
Only when its UK taxable sales pass £90,000 in a rolling 12 months for a UK-established company, or from the first UK taxable sale for a company with no UK establishment. Services sold to business clients outside the UK are generally outside the scope of UK VAT. The full decision table is in the VAT guide.
Tell us where the director lives, what the company sells and where the clients are. We return the plan for the five layers with the fees listed line by line. UK company formation → · Contact us
Related: UK Ltd VAT registration, UK Ltd vs LLP, Companies House identity checks for foreign directors.
Sources (checked 2 October 2026):
For information only; checked against the official pages above on 2 October 2026. Whether a bank or provider accepts a company is the provider's decision. Companies House and HMRC set fees, forms and deadlines, and they change.
This material is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Accurate as of the publication date.
