Foreign Ownership and Director Requirements by Country
Every jurisdiction on this page lets a foreign national own a company. What differs is whether the company also needs someone resident on the board or in a statutory officer role, which is the requirement that decides whether you can run the company entirely from abroad or have to appoint somebody locally. This table sets out both, for 55 jurisdictions, with the company form used in each.
Foreign ownership and resident-officer requirements compared
Sorted alphabetically. The middle column answers the question people actually ask: can a non-resident hold all the shares and be the only director, or does the law require a resident on the board?
| Jurisdiction | Company form | 100% foreign ownership | Resident director or officer required | What is required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | IBC (International Business Corporation), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Austria | GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Bahamas | IBC (International Business Company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Belgium | BV/SRL (Besloten Vennootschap / Société à Responsabilité Limitée), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Belize | BC (Belize Business Company, formerly IBC), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| British Virgin Islands | BC (BVI Business Company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Bulgaria | OOD / EOOD (дружество с ограничена отговорност), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Canada | Corporation (Inc. / Corp. / Ltd. under the CBCA or a provincial statute), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | Federal CBCA requires 25% Canadian-resident directors (one if the board has fewer than four members); Ontario, BC and Alberta impose no director residency requirement |
| Cayman Islands | Exempted Company (Companies Act, 2025 Revision), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Croatia | d.o.o. (društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Cyprus | Ltd (private company limited by shares under the Companies Law, Cap. 113), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Czech Republic | s.r.o. (společnost s ručením omezeným), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Denmark | ApS (anpartsselskab), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Estonia | OÜ (osaühing), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Finland | Oy (osakeyhtiö), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least one board member, or the managing director if one is appointed, must be EEA-resident; PRH can grant a derogation |
| France | SAS (société par actions simplifiée) or SARL (société à responsabilité limitée), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Georgia | შპს / ShPS (shezghuduli pasukhismgeblobis sazogadoeba), the Georgian limited liability company, equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Germany | GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Gibraltar | Ltd (private company limited by shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Greece | IKE (Ιδιωτική Κεφαλαιουχική Εταιρεία, Private Capital Company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Guernsey | Company limited by shares (Ltd / ARL), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Hong Kong | Private company limited by shares (Ltd), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | company secretary ordinarily resident in Hong Kong (no residency requirement for directors themselves) |
| Hungary | Kft. (korlátolt felelősségű társaság), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Iceland | ehf. (einkahlutafélag), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least half of the ehf. directors resident in Iceland; EEA/EFTA residents exempt and OECD-country citizens obtain a ministerial exemption |
| Ireland | LTD (Private Company Limited by Shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least one EEA-resident director, or a two-year €25,000 Section 137 bond instead |
| Isle of Man | 2006 Act Company (New Manx Vehicle, private company limited by shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Italy | S.r.l. (società a responsabilità limitata), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Jersey | Ltd / ARL (private company limited by shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Latvia | SIA (Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Liechtenstein | GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company; AG (Aktiengesellschaft) for larger structures | Yes | Yes | at least one qualified Liechtenstein-resident director on the governing body, in practice a licensed Treuhänder |
| Lithuania | UAB (uždaroji akcinė bendrovė), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Luxembourg | SARL (société à responsabilité limitée), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Malta | Ltd (private limited liability company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Marshall Islands | NRDC (Non-Resident Domestic Corporation), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Mauritius | Ltd (private company limited by shares under the Companies Act 2001), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company; GBC and AC are its FSC-licensed variants | Yes | Yes | two Mauritius-resident directors for a Global Business Company (GBC) only; a Domestic Company or Authorised Company can have a single non-resident director |
| Netherlands | BV (Besloten Vennootschap), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Nevis | Nevis LLC (Limited Liability Company under the Nevis LLC Ordinance 1995), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company; the NBC (Nevis Business Corporation) is the share-based alternative | Yes | No | None |
| Panama | S.A. (Sociedad Anónima), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Poland | sp. z o.o. (spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Portugal | Lda (Sociedade por Quotas, Limitada), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Romania | SRL (societate cu răspundere limitată), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Saudi Arabia | LLC (Sharikat That Mas'uliyah Mahduda, limited liability company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | a resident General Manager holding an Iqama |
| Serbia | d.o.o. (društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Seychelles | IBC (International Business Company under the IBC Act 2016), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Singapore | Pte Ltd (Private Company Limited by Shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore; the company secretary must also be ordinarily resident in Singapore |
| Slovakia | s.r.o. (spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Slovenia | d.o.o. (družba z omejeno odgovornostjo), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| South Africa | (Pty) Ltd (Proprietary Limited, private company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Spain | SL (sociedad de responsabilidad limitada), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| Sweden | AB (aktiebolag), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least one authorised signatory (managing director, board member, or special signatory) resident in the EEA |
| Switzerland | GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | Yes | at least one director or authorised signatory domiciled in Switzerland |
| Turkey | Ltd. Şti. (Limited Şirket), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| United Arab Emirates | LLC (limited liability company; FZ-LLC in free zones), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| United Kingdom | Ltd (private company limited by shares), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
| United States | LLC (limited liability company), equivalent of an LLC / private limited company | Yes | No | None |
What a resident-director requirement actually means
A resident-director rule does not stop a foreigner owning the company. It means the board, or a named statutory officer, must include somebody living in the country or in a defined region such as the European Economic Area. The company is still yours. What changes is that you either move someone there, appoint a professional resident director, or use the statutory alternative where one exists, such as a bond.
Three things are commonly mistaken for this rule and are not it. A registered office is an address obligation, not a person. A registered agent in an offshore jurisdiction is a licensed filing intermediary, not a director. And a local bank asking for a resident signatory is a commercial policy of that bank, not company law.
How to read the ownership column
Yes means the jurisdiction’s own company law sets no citizenship or residency condition on shareholders, so a non-resident can hold every share. Sector rules can still apply on top: regulated activities such as banking, insurance, gaming and defence carry their own approvals almost everywhere, and a handful of countries reserve specific sectors for nationals.
Sources and method
Every row is taken from the corresponding country page on this site, each of which is maintained by a named specialist and carries its own last-reviewed date. Where a page does not state a rule, the cell reads Not stated rather than being filled by inference. Follow the jurisdiction link for the statute, the registry and the filing detail behind each answer.
Last verified September 2026 across 55 jurisdiction pages.
