Setting up a Ltd company in the UK — same-day registration, strong payment infrastructure

Yes. Setting up a company in the UK has no citizenship or residency requirement. Directors and shareholders don't need to live in the UK; the company can be formed and run entirely from abroad. However, all directors and persons with significant control must complete Companies House identity verification.

The Private Limited Company, or Ltd for short. Shareholders' liability is limited to their shares, it can be formed by a single person, and its annual obligations are predictable. An LLP, by contrast, suits partnership-based professional groups; a PLC is for publicly listed companies and isn't suitable for small businesses.

Yes. The same person can be the sole shareholder and sole director. Appointing a company secretary isn't mandatory for Ltd companies. This is the most common setup for solo consultants, developers, and e-commerce entrepreneurs.

No. There's no statutory minimum capital for Ltd companies; a company can be formed with a single £1 share. In practice, round numbers like 100 or 1,000 shares are preferred, since it makes future division easier if you're planning to bring in a shareholder or transfer shares later.

Companies House registration is usually completed the same day once your documents and identity verification are ready. What actually determines the timeline isn't the registration itself, but two other things: the directors' identity verification beforehand and the bank account opening afterward. A realistic total timeline, for an application with verification already done, is 1 business day — or 2–4 weeks including the account.

The name can't be identical or too similar to an existing company's, and it must end with 'limited' or 'ltd'. Sensitive words such as 'bank', 'royal', or 'institute' need separate permission. Registering the name on the companies register doesn't give you trademark protection — you need to register your trademark separately.

Yes. The company must have a registered address in the UK that qualifies as an 'appropriate address' able to actually accept service. PO box addresses alone aren't accepted. A registered email address for correspondence with Companies House must also be provided.

Companies with no activity and no debts can apply for voluntary strike-off; the process takes a few months. Before closing, you need to file final accounts, close the VAT and PAYE registrations, and empty the bank account balance — any money left in the account after the company is struck off passes to the Crown.

It's a requirement introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA 2023) to confirm the real identity of anyone who runs or controls a company. As of 18 November 2025 it applies to all directors and persons with significant control (PSCs); it makes no difference whether or not they live in the UK.

No. Directors appointed after 18 November 2025 must complete identity verification and obtain their personal code before the appointment. Without this code, the appointment application isn't considered valid, so a new company can't be registered either.

There are three routes: online verification via GOV.UK One Login, in-person verification at a Post Office branch in the UK offering this service, or verification through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). For people living abroad, going through an ACSP is usually the most practical route.

Yes. Directors and PSCs appointed before 18 November 2025 get a transition period; verification is tied to the company's next annual confirmation statement date. The transition period ends on 18 November 2026, but most companies end up having to verify before that date because of their confirmation statement.

Directors without verification can't file the annual confirmation statement and can't be appointed to new companies. Companies House treats this as an offence; fines, director disqualification, and the company being struck off the register can all follow. No extra time is granted beyond the end of the transition period.

Yes. The Companies House register is public: the company name, registered address, director names, month and year of birth, shareholding structure, and financial filings can all be viewed by anyone, free of charge. That's why it matters not to use your home address as the registered address — a service address is used instead.

Traditional high-street banks often require a branch interview or UK residency from directors living abroad. E-money institutions like Wise, Revolut Business, and Tide, by contrast, offer fast, fully remote account opening; in practice, most companies formed from Turkey take this route.

Yes, and this is the UK's strongest point. Stripe, PayPal, Paddle, Payoneer, and similar providers support UK companies directly, with high acceptance rates. That said, every provider runs its own compliance review, so your website, product descriptions, and refund policy need to be consistent.

You can wire funds to your foreign-currency account in Turkey through payment institutions. The critical issue here isn't technical — it's tax-related: whether the payment from the company to you is salary, a profit distribution, or a loan needs to be defined upfront, and your declaration obligation in Turkey needs to be planned accordingly.

A rejection is recorded against you and makes a second application to the same institution harder. That's why, before applying, we prepare your activity description, website, evidence of customers, and expected transaction volume, and choose the institution to match your profile. If you're rejected, we redirect you to an alternative institution.

Corporate tax isn't a single flat rate. The small profits rate of 19% applies to profit up to £50,000, and the main rate of 25% applies above £250,000. Profit between the two thresholds gets marginal relief, so the effective rate ends up somewhere between 19% and 25%.

VAT registration isn't mandatory unless your taxable turnover exceeds the annual VAT registration threshold (£90,000). You can register voluntarily below the threshold, and companies that want to reclaim input VAT or care about corporate-customer perception often choose to do so. The standard VAT rate is 20%.

Every year, annual accounts and a confirmation statement are filed with Companies House, and a corporation tax return (CT600) is filed with HMRC. If VAT-registered, periodic VAT returns are added, and if there's staff, PAYE submissions too. Even companies with no activity must file dormant accounts.

Filings are submitted in English through HMRC's and Companies House's electronic systems; Making Tax Digital rules require compliant software for certain filings. Your accountant in Turkey can't use these systems. You send over the documents, a UK-based accountant handles the bookkeeping and filing, and we provide the coordination and reporting in Turkish.

Yes. Even if no transactions have taken place, the company must file dormant accounts and a confirmation statement. The most common mistake is a company that's set up and forgotten, failing to file, racking up penalties, and leaving a negative mark against the director.

Yes, but the UK is now outside the EU. Your EU customers see you as a third-country supplier; selling goods brings customs declarations and import VAT into play. For services, the reverse-charge mechanism generally applies instead. If your customer base is EU-heavy, an EU company like a Hungarian one should be considered as a comparison.

Yes. A UK company can sell through Amazon UK, Etsy, eBay, and its own store; access to payment infrastructure is easy. If products are held in warehouses in EU countries, additional VAT registration and local filing obligations can arise in those countries.

If you'll be importing or exporting physical goods through the UK, you need an EORI number starting with GB. Companies that sell only digital services don't need an EORI number. If you're also shipping goods to the EU, an EU EORI number can come into play as well.

The company owner or director can live in Turkey and run operations remotely. However, if the company's actual place of management ends up being in Turkey — with staff and an office there — it can create a risk of the company also being treated as a taxpayer in Turkey. This is something to assess before the structure is set up.

A person who is a full taxpayer in Turkey must declare any profit distribution received from a foreign company there. Controlled foreign company rules can also, under certain conditions, lead to the earnings being taxed in Turkey. The double-taxation treaty between Turkey and the UK is taken into account in this assessment.

No. Being a company owner or director doesn't grant the right to work or reside in the UK. Anyone who wants to live in the UK must apply separately for the appropriate visa category; company ownership alone isn't sufficient grounds for that application.