EU company formation for non-residents, set up remotely
You do not need EU citizenship, an EU address, or a plane ticket to own a European company. This page compares the usual options for a non-resident (Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia) and shows why a Latvian SIA suits a founder who reinvests. Profit kept in the company carries 0% corporate tax, and the Register publishes a processing time of 1 to 3 working days for a company with one founder.
Non-resident ownership of an EU company
No EU citizenship, no EU address, no plane ticket required.
A person who lives outside the European Union can hold 100% of the shares of an EU company and act as its director. There is no nationality test, no requirement to be an EU resident, and no obligation to appear in person at a registry counter. In Latvia every founder signs the application, either online with a Latvian secure e-signature or on paper before a notary where you live. Founders can authorise another person to submit it, so our team can file the documents while you stay where you are.
What you need is straightforward: a valid passport, proof of address, and a clear picture of what the company will do. Some banks ask for a short video call, or occasionally one visit, before they release an account, but the company itself is formed without you setting foot in Riga. You do not have to move to Latvia to own the company. The tax section below explains what changes if you run it from your home country.
What ownership looks like from abroad
A person outside the EU can hold every share, act as director, and form the company without visiting a registry counter.
Why base a company in the EU
What an EU entity gives you from the first invoice.
Sell across 450 million people
You sell into a single market of roughly 450 million people without customs friction between member states.
Invoice B2B across Europe
You invoice B2B across Europe with an intra-EU VAT number.
Standing with payment providers
You operate under GDPR and a court system that clients and payment providers already know. Stripe, PayPal and Wise work with European companies, and each one runs its own onboarding checks before it accepts yours.
A euro IBAN
An EU company can apply for a euro business account with an IBAN and SEPA access, so supplier payments and customer collections settle the way European counterparties expect. The bank or payment institution decides after its own checks.
For anyone whose customers, suppliers or platforms sit inside the EU, that standing carries weight from the first invoice.
Which EU country a non-resident should choose
Four common candidates, compared on what decides the outcome.
The right country depends on one question: do you plan to leave profit inside the company and grow it, or take it out quickly? The table sets the four usual candidates side by side on the points that decide the outcome.
| Country | Tax while you reinvest | Tax when you distribute | Remote setup | Banking reality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia (SIA) | 0% | 20% on distribution | Yes, Register time 1 to 3 working days | Banks run their own checks; we prepare the file |
| Estonia (OU) | 0% | 22% on distribution | Yes, via e-Residency | Traditional banks often refuse non-residents; EMI-heavy |
| Ireland (Ltd) | 12.5% on trading profit, no deferral | Already taxed at 12.5% | Yes, but slower | Local substance expected |
| Lithuania (UAB) | 17% flat (7% reduced for small firms) | Already taxed | Yes | Traditional banks cautious with non-residents |
Estonia's e-Residency programme made remote administration easy and introduced the reinvestment model. Its distribution rate rose to 22% in 2025, e-Residency is a digital ID rather than tax residency, and traditional banks there rarely take non-residents, which pushes most founders onto payment institutions. If you want the full side-by-side, our dedicated Estonia vs Latvia breakdown covers tax, banking and residency in depth.
Ireland's 12.5% applies to all trading profit with no deferral, the running cost is higher, and the tax authority expects local substance. Lithuania sits close to Latvia geographically yet taxes profit as it is earned rather than when it leaves the company. For a founder who reinvests, that timing difference compounds year after year.
Why Latvia suits founders who reinvest
Corporate tax triggers only when profit leaves the company.
Since 2018 Latvia has run a cash-flow model that is unusual in Europe: corporate income tax is triggered only when profit leaves the company. As long as you keep earnings inside the business, whether that means buying stock, hiring, marketing or building cash reserves, the rate is 0%. Tax arrives at 20% when you distribute a dividend. It is calculated on the gross amount (the net dividend divided by 0.8), which comes to 25% of the net dividend you take out. Only the part you distribute is taxed: profit left in the company stays at 0% for as long as it stays there.
The reinvestment math
If you make 100 and reinvest 100, Latvia leaves you the full 100 to compound. A 12.5% or 17% flat system takes the tax office's share before you can put the money back to work.
Over several growth years, keeping corporate tax at 0% while you scale frees up cash that a flat-rate system would take up front.
Two points a non-resident should know for 2026. First, a reduced-capital SIA can have share capital below the standard EUR 2,800, paid in cash, if every condition holds: 1 to 5 founders and shareholders, all natural persons; every board member is a shareholder; each shareholder holds only one company of this kind; at least 25% of each year's profit goes to a reserve. A company cannot be its shareholder, and if a condition stops being met, the capital must be raised to EUR 2,800 within 3 months. Second, from 2026 a company owned only by natural persons can opt to pay 15% corporate income tax on dividends plus 6% personal income tax on them. The total comes to about 20.1% of gross profit against 20% in the standard regime, so the option does not lower the tax. Whether it helps you claim a tax credit at home is a question for a tax adviser in your country. The full mechanics and step order are in our Latvia company formation guide.
Riga, Latvia
Setting up a Latvian SIA remotely, step by step
The order of the steps, and who decides each one.
The SIA is Latvia's limited liability company, the local equivalent of an LLC or Ltd. Setting one up from abroad follows a fixed order. You need a registered address in Latvia, at least one shareholder and one director (which can be the same person, and can be you), and the share capital paid in full before filing, into an account opened in the name of the company being formed. Our SIA formation service drafts the documents and files them with the VAT application. You sign them and pay in the capital.
Preparation
We collect your details and draft the founding documents. You pay the share capital in full into an account in the name of the company being formed, and the bank or payment institution decides whether to open it. You sign with a Latvian secure e-signature (eID card, eParaksts card or eParaksts Mobile) or before a notary where you live.
Filing
The signed file goes to the Register of Enterprises with the state fee. The VAT registration application can go in with it.
Company live
The SIA is registered and you receive its registration number. The Register publishes 1 to 3 working days for one founder and 3 for two or more, or 1 working day when two or more founders pay the EUR 225 fee.
VAT number
The tax authority (VID) decides on the intra-EU VAT number within 5 working days of the application. If it asks for proof that the company can carry out its declared activity, it decides within 5 working days of receiving that proof.
Those are the times the Register and VID publish, not ours, and the bank or payment institution sets its own pace for the capital account. We give you our own estimate for your case on the first call. You do not need a Latvian notary: with a Latvian secure e-signature no notary is involved, and without one a notary where you live certifies the signatures. A power of attorney to sign for you must be notarised, and foreign public documents, such as a register extract for a corporate shareholder, need an apostille and a notarised translation into Latvian. The documents come to you in Latvian and English.
Banking for non-residents
A payment institution or a local IBAN, each with its own checks.
The bank question comes before the filing: the share capital is paid into an account opened in the name of the company being formed. Each bank and payment institution sets its own conditions and runs its own checks. Wise Europe's eligibility covers companies organised in the EEA, which includes a Latvian SIA. Revolut Business also asks the company to prove a physical presence in the EEA and the applicant to live in the UK, the EEA, the US, Australia, Singapore or India. Both cover multi-currency flows and pair with Stripe or PayPal for online revenue. Our guide to Stripe reviews and closures explains what payment providers check on a European company.
If you want a local euro IBAN as well, Latvian institutions such as Citadele, BluOr or Magnetiq offer business accounts. Their onboarding tightened after 2018 and looks closely at applicants with no local footprint, which is where the preparation of the KYC file matters. We point you to the options that fit your activity, prepare the file with you and introduce you. The decision to open the account stays with the institution. Our bank account service covers what each option accepts and what documents you will need.
Tax, VAT and where you stay resident
What the 0% rate does, and what it does not.
Forming a company in Latvia does not, by itself, change where you personally pay tax. If you keep living and working in your home country, you usually remain a tax resident there, and your country may tax the company under controlled-foreign-company rules or treat it as having a taxable presence where you actually run it. The Latvian 0% on reinvested profit is real and valuable, and it sits inside a wider picture that includes your own residence and, for some structures, a substance requirement in Latvia.
On the company side, VAT registration becomes mandatory once turnover passes the EUR 50,000 threshold, and many non-residents register earlier to reclaim input VAT and invoice cleanly across the EU. The standard Latvian VAT rate is 21%. Latvia also has double-taxation treaties with many countries, which matters when you want dividends to flow to you without being taxed twice. Mapping your own case before you incorporate is what our first call is for.
Selling tickets for concerts, festivals or conferences in Europe brings its own VAT and withholding rules, and a single date rarely needs an EU company. Our guide for non-EU event promoters sets them out country by country.
What your setup may include
The moving parts we define around your situation.
The share capital is not a fee: it stays in your company as working capital once you are registered. The service scope depends on the founders, documents, activity, banking route and any substance requirements. We map those points on the first call and confirm the agreed scope in writing.
State registration fee
The official charge paid to the Register of Enterprises.
Share capital
EUR 2,800 for a standard SIA, or less for a reduced-capital SIA that meets all its conditions. Not a cost: it stays in the company's account.
Registered address
A professional Riga address with mail handling, usually billed yearly.
Accounting
Ongoing bookkeeping, annual accounts and monthly VAT filings.
VAT registration
Application and follow-up for your intra-EU VAT number.
Formation service
Drafting, filing, power of attorney and a single point of contact.
Because your situation, banking needs and substance level change the total, we give a written, fixed quote after a short call rather than a starting-from figure. You can request yours through our contact page.
Rules for your sector, country by country
Some activities need a licence or a filing in each country you work in, whichever company you use.
Road haulage
Licence, transport manager and financial standing where you set up, then cabotage and driver posting where you drive.
Staffing agencies
Most countries keep their own licence or register for agencies, with guarantees and sectors you cannot supply.
Posting workers
Declarations, minimum pay and the documents to keep when your staff work on a site in another country.
Import and export
EORI, customs representation and how each country lets an importer pay or defer import VAT.
Services and SaaS
The tax some European clients withhold from a foreign supplier's invoice, and how to reduce it.
Fintech licences
Payment, e-money and crypto-asset licences: which authority decides, what it costs and how long it takes.
Concerts and events
Ticket VAT, artist withholding and music licences for promoters based outside the EU.
Old town, Riga
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what non-resident founders ask most.
Yes. A non-EU resident can own 100% of an EU company and act as its director. There is no citizenship or residency requirement. In Latvia you sign with a Latvian secure e-signature or before a notary in your country, and the founders can authorise us to submit the file to the Register while you stay at home.
A Latvian reduced-capital SIA can have share capital below EUR 2,800 if its conditions hold: 1 to 5 founders and shareholders, all natural persons, every board member a shareholder, one such company per shareholder, and 25% of each year's profit kept in a reserve. Any SIA pays 0% tax on reinvested profit, which suits a founder who plans to grow. Estonia is easy for administration but its distribution tax rose to 22% in 2025, and Ireland's 12.5% applies to all trading profit with no deferral.
No. The formation can be done entirely from abroad. You sign with a Latvian secure e-signature, or a notary where you live certifies your signature, and we handle the filing in Riga. Some banks may request a short video call, and occasionally one visit before releasing an account, but you do not need to live in Latvia to own or run the SIA.
A Latvian SIA does not require a resident director; you can be the sole shareholder and director yourself. You do need a registered address in Latvia, which is included in our formation. Where your home country expects economic substance, we can add local elements such as office and staff.
You apply to the bank or payment institution, with a file we prepare together. Wise's eligibility covers companies organised in the EEA, Revolut Business also asks where the applicant lives, and if you want a local euro IBAN a Latvian institution such as Citadele, BluOr or Magnetiq can be matched to your profile. Each one runs its own KYC checks and decides whether to open the account. Plan this early: the share capital is paid before filing into an account in the name of the company being formed.
Owning a company and holding personal residency are separate things. A Latvian SIA does not automatically grant you a residence permit, though owning and managing one can support a residence application. If a European residence permit is your goal, tell us on the call and we will map the route.
e-Residency is a digital ID that makes Estonian administration convenient. It is not tax residency and does not solve banking, which has become difficult for non-residents there. Estonia's distribution tax also rose to 22% in 2025, while Latvia's stays at 20%. For anyone who reinvests, the Latvian SIA is usually the more practical EU base.
On reinvested profit, Latvia's 0% is as low as it goes: you pay nothing while earnings stay in the company. Among flat systems, Ireland's 12.5% is the headline low rate, but it taxes trading profit in the year it is earned. For a growing business, when the tax falls due matters as much as the percentage.