Can a non-UK resident be a UK limited company director?

The company director is the person responsible for running a UK limited company. As you would expect, this comes with several responsibilities. But can someone who doesn’t live in the UK take on the role of a company director? Let’s take a look.

Who can and can’t be a director?

Anyone can be a company director, as long as they are at least 16 years old, have not been disqualified from becoming one (by a court order or by the company’s own memorandum and articles), and are not an undischarged bankrupt.

• How HMRC taxes foreign income
• Directors, shareholders, PSCs, and company secretaries – an overview
• 10 duties and responsibilities of a company director

The following does not matter:

• Place of residence (a company director can live anywhere in the world)
• Nationality
• Employment status
• Occupation

So to answer our initial question – yes, a non-UK resident can be a UK limited company director. And further to this, a non-UK resident can also become a shareholder (the owner of the company) and company secretary.

How to appoint a director at the same time as forming a company

All private companies limited by shares – the most common form of limited company – need at least one person in the director role.

If your company is not yet formed, a director appointment step will be included as part of the company formation process. It’s simply not possible to form a company without a director.
You can form your company directly with Companies House (the UK’s registrar of companies) or through a company formation agent, such as us.

We offer a range of company formation packages that simplify the process of starting a business. We also offer a dedicated Non-Residents Package for £99.99 (excluding £100 Companies House fee) for customers based outside the UK who wish to form a UK limited company. This package includes:

• Company registration in under 24 hours
• A Wise, Payoneer, or Revolut UK business bank account
• Use of our London address as your company’s registered office address (this is integral as you will need a UK address to use as your company’s registered office)
• Use of our London address as your business address (meaning you can use our address as your mailing address – we’ll then forward your mail on to you, by scan and email)
• Our premium Hassle-Free Compliance Service, including access to our Business Document Template Library, expert compliance support, and much more

How to appoint a company director in an existing company

If a company is already up and running, you can appoint the director via the ‘AP01 Appointment of director’ paper form, or use Companies House WebFiling to make the appointment online (choose the ‘Register’ option if you don’t have a WebFiling account yet).

Alternatively, you can appoint the director with our free online company manager. Companies that are formed by us are automatically set up with an account; however, you can still use the online company manager if your company wasn’t formed by us. To set yourself up with an account:

1. On the dedicated online company manager page, select ‘Click here to create an account’
2. Enter your account holder information and primary address information, agree to the terms and conditions, and then select ‘Submit Registration’

Now that your account is set up, you can import an existing company. To do this:

1. From your company dashboard, select ‘Import a Company’
2. Enter the company number and company authentication code – select ‘Search’ and then click on your company name
3. You can then import the company
4. You will then be able to access the company from the ‘My Companies’ section of your dashboard

The director addresses

When appointing a director, you will need to provide Companies House with two addresses:

Director service address (also known as the correspondence address)

This is the official address for the director, where government mail, specifically addressed to the director, will be sent. Unlike the company’s registered office, this does not need to be based in the UK.

• What is a registered office address?
• Use our London address as the service address

The service address can be a residential address, but using a residential address is not ideal as it is placed on the public register, making it susceptible to uninvited visitors and direct mail. This can be avoided by using an alternative address that you have permission to use as the service address (a number of our company formation packages come with the option to use our address as the service address).

Director home address (also known as the usual residential address)

This must be the actual residential address of the director being appointed, which can be based anywhere in the world. It will not be placed on the public register unless it is also being used as the registered office and/or the service address.

What other information is needed to appoint a company director?

As well as the addresses mentioned above, you also need to provide the following:

• Title and full name
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Occupation

This information will be placed on the public register as soon as the appointment has been confirmed.

Start your business journey today

Non-UK residents can serve as directors of UK limited companies, provided they meet the necessary eligibility criteria. It’s crucial to supply the required personal information and addresses to Companies House, and using a professional service address can help protect privacy.

At 1st Formations, we offer comprehensive company formation services and expert company secretarial support to guide you through every step of the process, whether you’re starting a new business or appointing a director to an existing one.