Running a UK limited company from overseas is entirely legal, and plenty of freelancers, consultants and contractors do it. Companies House does not care where you sleep. Everything after incorporation is where it gets fiddly: the UK address you must keep, the bank that will not open an account for a non-resident director, the tax position in the country where you actually live, and filing deadlines that arrive whether you are in Bristol or Bangkok.
Can you run a UK company from abroad?
Yes. There is no residency requirement for directors or shareholders of a UK private limited company. You need at least one director who is a natural person aged 16 or over, and the company must be registered in the UK — but you personally can be anywhere.
That said, the company stays British. It is subject to UK company law, it files accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, and it pays UK corporation tax on its profits unless a double tax treaty says otherwise. Identity verification for directors and people with significant control is now part of the process, and it can usually be done online with photo ID from wherever you happen to be. Moving abroad does not quietly remove the company from the UK system.
Sort out three addresses before you register
Addresses cause more confusion than any other part of this. Get them straight early.
- Registered office — the company's official address on the public register. It must be an "appropriate address" in the UK: a physical location where documents can be delivered and acknowledged. PO boxes are not accepted. Plenty of directors use their accountant's address or a formation agent's.
- Service address — the address published for each director instead of their home address. You can use the registered office here, which keeps your personal address off the public record. Worth doing if you move around a lot.
- Trading address — where you actually work. This can be overseas, and banks, payment providers and insurers will ask for it. Be consistent across your paperwork.
Then arrange for post to reach you. HMRC and Companies House still send letters, and a missed one can turn into a penalty. A mail-forwarding service, or a UK accountant who scans and emails, is the least stressful option.
Residency: yours, then the company's
These are two separate questions and people tend to muddle them together.
Your own tax residency
UK tax residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test: how many days you spend in the UK, whether you have a home there, where your family and your work are, and how those factors combine. Days are counted using the midnight rule, and split-year treatment can apply in the year you leave or return. If you are non-resident, you generally are not taxed on foreign income — but UK-source income, including salary for duties you physically perform in the UK, can still be taxable here.
The company's tax residency
A company incorporated in the UK is UK tax resident by default and pays corporation tax on its worldwide profits. But if the real decisions — the board-level thinking — happen abroad, another country may consider the company resident too. Double tax treaties usually resolve that by placing residence where the company is effectively managed. Separately, the country you live in may treat your activity as a permanent establishment, or expect your company to register locally and file returns there.
This is the area where paying a professional is genuinely worth it. Rules differ sharply between countries, and getting it wrong is expensive to unwind. Treat the paragraphs above as a map of the questions to ask, not as advice.
Registering the company: the sequence
- Choose and check the name. Companies House has a free name availability checker, and there are restrictions on sensitive words.
- Decide the structure: at least one director, at least one shareholder, and the share split. Keep it simple unless you have a reason not to.
- Pick a SIC code that describes what you do. It appears on the register and feeds into other systems.
- Use the model articles of association unless you need something bespoke, such as custom share rights.
- Register with Companies House, either online or through an agent. The online route is quickest.
- Register for Corporation Tax within three months of starting to trade — not of incorporating. Those two dates are often different.
- Register for VAT if your turnover crosses the threshold (currently £90,000; check, as it changes). Register for PAYE if you will pay yourself a salary.
The gap between incorporating and trading matters. A dormant company has different filing duties from a trading one, and "I haven't started yet" is not an acceptable answer if invoices have already gone out.
Business banking is the real bottleneck
This is where most overseas directors hit a wall. High street banks generally want UK residency, a UK address and a UK credit footprint, and many will decline a non
Photo: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
