This Singapore Company Formation Service RSS feed is published by Charlie Paule.
May 23rd, 2012
How Do Foreigners Register a Company in Singapore?
Considerations for foreigners when registering a Singapore company
Foreigners wishing to open a Singapore company, must take into consideration the following points:
*You must engage a professional firm to register a Singapore company. Singapore law does not allow foreign individuals or entities to self-register a company.
*There is no requirement for you to obtain any special Singapore visa if you merely want to incorporate a private limited company but have no plans to relocate to Singapore. You are free to operate your company from overseas as well as free to visit Singapore on a visitor visa whenever required to attend to company matters on a short-term basis. But keep in mind that in such cases, you will need to find a local resident director since each company must have at least one local director. Professional service firms offering Singapore incorporation services often offer the services of a local nominee director for this purpose.
*If you plan to relocate to Singapore to operate your company, you are required to obtain an Employment Pass or Entrepreneur Pass type of work pass. Once you have obtained your work permit, you can act as the local resident director.
The basic steps are as below:
Get company name approval
Your company incorporation agent will prepare and submit all the necessary documentation for registering your Singapore company so you dont have to worry. Just for your reference, to register a Singapore company, the following information needs to be submitted to the registrar of companies (ACRA):
Memorandum and Articles of Association
The time taken for company registration depends on two factors:
The company name approval takes only 2-3 hours unless there is some conflict with an existing name or the name has some sensitive words in it. Once the company name is approved and the signed documents are ready, the Singapore company can normally be registered in 1 day.
If you are signing the company registration documents overseas, you will need to factor in the time it takes to courier the documents back to Singapore.
After the company registration, the bank accounts opening can take from 2-3 days to 1-2 weeks depending on a) the bank you choose; and b) whether you are in Singapore to sign the account opening documents; and c) the level of due diligence conducted by the bank.
If you are a foreign entrepreneur and need to relocate to Singapore to run your company, you will need to apply for EntrePass or Employment Pass.
*All company incorporation formalities (as well as work permit formalities, if applicable) can be handled without your having to visit Singapore. The only exception may be the bank account opening, depending on the bank you choose.
Singapore Company Incorporation Procedure and Timeline
Prepare registration documents
Client to sign company registration documents
Register company
Open bank account
Statutory Declaration of Compliance
Particulars of Shareholders, Directors, Secretaries, etc.
Certificate of Identity
Situation of Registered Office/Office Hrs at Time of Registration
Consent to Act as Director and Statement of Non-disqualification to Act as Director
A Consent to Act as Secretary
a) the company name approval and
b) whether you will be signing the documents in Singapore or overseas.
