Can a foreigner incorporate a company in Singapore?

Starting a business in Singapore is much simpler than you would have thought. Since you have all the important prerequisite documents, you can finish it in one day. The country enjoys immense popularity as a major international center for foreign investment and organizations.

Incorporating a company in Singapore can be quite straightforward for a foreigner; You just need to know the requirements to be aware of and do some reading to get a better idea of ​​the whole process. In this article, we will give you an overview of the requirements for you to set up a company in Singapore. In summary, these are the stipulated requirements:

Singapore company incorporation requirements

• Minimum 1 shareholder

• 1 resident manager

• 1 business secretary

• Minimum paid-up capital of S$1

• A local registered office address

Appointment of a director

It is a requirement for foreigners to appoint a minimum of 1 local resident director to establish their new business in Singapore. A resident director is defined as a Singapore citizen, Singapore permanent resident or a person who has been issued an EntrePass (Entrepreneur Pass), Employment Pass or Dependent Pass.

This person must be over 18 years of age and must have no prior undischarged bankruptcy records. Shareholders must also pass a resolution to supplement the local director.

You will also need to hire a Singapore registered registration/incorporation agent to register your company, as foreigners cannot self-register their company in Singapore.

Here are some of the options for your local director:

• If you I don’t want to moveseek and hire a local/resident nominee director to do the onboarding

• If you want to move to singaporeHire a registered registration agent, eg Sprout Asia, to incorporate your company first while applying for an Employment Pass/ EntrePass.

Other business registration requirements

Before registering, you will need to get your business name approved by ACRA.

Next, the following set of documents needs to be prepared:

• Signed consent to act as director for each director

• Signed consent to act as company secretary by company secretary

• Identification details and residential address of each shareholder and officer of the company

• Constitution of the company

Once these incorporation documents have been prepared, you can officially register your company with ACRA. The registration process is done online and takes less than an hour. An award will be given at the end of the process.

If the application is successful, ACRA will send you an email with the Certificate confirming the incorporation of your company. You can also purchase its printed version for a fee.

Typical cost of starting a business

The cost of using an introducing agent in Singapore also includes ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) fees such as:

• Company name application: S$15 (reserved for 60 days and additional fees may apply)

• Company registration fee: S$300