Starting a business in Ukraine requires some preparation and knowledge of the legal framework, especially for a foreigner. Find out more about how to register a company for a resident of the country and what you need to do

Legal advice on starting a business in Ukraine

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Starting a business in Ukraine by foreign nationals requires not only painstaking work with documents, but also compliance with all legal regulations, as even a minor mistake can result in a fine. At the same time, special attention is required both for the actual opening of a business and for preliminary preparation.

Read more about the peculiarities and benefits of starting a business in Ukraine here.

Preliminary preparation for business registration in Ukraine

Before starting the procedure for registering a company in Ukraine, foreigners need to determine the scope of their business, how many employees they will have, future partners and foreign economic activity. Thinking about these aspects in advance, you need to decide which organizational and legal form of ownership is better to register. 

Since it will be difficult to do this on your own, we recommend that you contact a specialist. A lawyer will inform you about the registration procedure and the specifics of doing business, help you choose the best option for the taxation system based on the planned types of economic activity, estimated income and turnover, and the number of employees.

After that, you need to decide on the name of the company, the types of activities according to the Classifier of Economic Activities, and whether the director will be a citizen of Ukraine or a resident.

The key feature of starting a business by a foreigner in Ukraine is that the founder who intends to hold the position of director of the company is obliged to obtain a work permit.

A foreigner can obtain an employment permit in person or through an authorized representative at the Main Departments of the State Tax Service of Ukraine in the regions and the city of Kyiv. Documents issued in accordance with the legislation of a foreign country must be legalized (consular legalization or apostille). A foreigner will need to hire a qualified translator, as knowledge of the Ukrainian language is a necessary part of the execution of documents.

The signing of documents and state registration, if all the documents are available, takes quite a bit of time. Depending on the form of company registration, the law provides for different packages of documents.

How to register a legal entity in Ukraine?

For a legal entity, you need to prepare the following list of documents:

▶︎ a copy of the passport with a translation into Ukrainian;

▶︎ TIN of the director;

▶︎ notarized copies of the charter of a non-resident legal entity, documents on registration and authorization of an official;

▶︎ power of attorney, certified by a notary, on granting the right to conduct other registration operations;

▶︎ documentary evidence of the legal address.

Other documents may also be required for registration as provided by law.

State registration of legal entities during martial law is subject to the provisions of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 209 dated March 06, 2022 "Some issues of state registration and functioning of unified and state registers held by the Ministry of Justice under martial law".

Thus, state registration, except for state registration, which is carried out automatically in accordance with the law, is carried out exclusively by

– state registrars;

– officials of the Ministry of Justice and its territorial bodies;

– notaries included in the list of notaries approved by the Ministry of Justice who perform notarial acts in relation to valuable property under martial law;

– by public and private bailiffs in accordance with the powers defined by law, the list of which is notified in writing by the Ministry of Justice to the technical administrator of the State Register of Rights.

It is also possible to submit documents in electronic form and register a legal entity online.

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How can a foreigner register a sole proprietorship in Ukraine?

In order to register a sole proprietorship, a resident must submit to the state registration authorities:

▶︎ a copy of the taxpayer's card;

▶︎ passport and a notarized translation of the passport into Ukrainian

▶︎ confirmation that the foreigner has legal grounds for staying in Ukraine;

▶︎ a document confirming payment of state duties.

In addition to the above documents, the applicant must fill out a standardized application form.

Can I be refused to start a business in Ukraine?

Sometimes a foreigner may face the fact that government agencies refuse to register a company. There are several reasons for this: incorrect filling out of the registration card, incomplete package of documents, no legal basis for staying in the country, lack of TIN or payment of state fees.

Self-registration of an enterprise in Ukraine is a rather complicated process for foreigners, as not everyone knows the intricacies of Ukrainian legislation. And if in doubt, it is better to entrust this issue to the professionals of Visit Ukraine, who will help you resolve all issues quickly and efficiently, regardless of whether a foreign citizen is in Ukraine or not. To do this, it is enough to issue a power of attorney to our lawyer.

To order a consultation on business registration in Ukraine or full legal support, please follow the link.

We remind you! An identification code is an important document, because without it, it is impossible to buy real estate, open a bank account, and register a business. Read more about how to obtain an identification code for a foreigner and what you need to do in our previous article.

Want to know more? Read the latest news and useful materials about Ukraine and the world in the News section.

Ihor Usyk is the Head of Legal Department at Visit Ukraine

If you want to start your own business in Ukraine, you can get advice from my colleagues.
Professionals in the field of business law will help with all the nuances and problems.

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