EU company formation for non-residents, set up remotely
You do not need EU citizenship, an EU address, or a plane ticket to own a European company. This page compares the usual options for a non-resident (Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia) and shows why a Latvian SIA is a strong base for a founder who keeps growing: 0% corporate tax on every euro you reinvest, a genuine EU and SEPA business account, and a register that turns a signed file around in roughly one business day.
Non-resident ownership of an EU company
No EU citizenship, no EU address, no plane ticket required.
A person who lives outside the European Union can hold 100% of the shares of an EU company and act as its director. There is no nationality test, no requirement to be an EU resident, and no obligation to appear in person at a registry counter. In Latvia the register works digitally, and with a power of attorney our team files everything for you while you stay where you are.
What you need is straightforward: a valid passport, proof of address, and a clear picture of what the company will do. Some banks ask for a short video call, or occasionally one visit, before they release an account, but the company itself is formed without you setting foot in Riga. Most of the founders we work with never relocate. They run an EU entity from home and travel only when it suits them.
What ownership looks like from abroad
A person outside the EU can hold every share, act as director, and form the company without visiting a registry counter.
Why base a company in the EU
What an EU entity gives you from the first invoice.
Sell across 450 million people
You sell into a single market of roughly 450 million people without customs friction between member states.
Invoice B2B across Europe
You invoice B2B across Europe with an intra-EU VAT number.
Standing with payment providers
You operate under GDPR and a court system that clients and payment providers already know. Stripe, PayPal and Wise work with a European entity as standard.
A real euro IBAN
A euro-denominated business account with a real IBAN and SEPA access, so supplier payments and customer collections settle the way European counterparties expect.
For anyone whose customers, suppliers or platforms sit inside the EU, that standing carries weight from the first invoice.
Which EU country a non-resident should choose
Four common candidates, compared on what decides the outcome.
The right country depends on one question: do you plan to leave profit inside the company and grow it, or take it out quickly? The table sets the four usual candidates side by side on the points that decide the outcome.
| Country | Tax while you reinvest | Tax when you distribute | Remote setup | Banking reality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia (SIA) | 0% | 20% on distribution | Yes, about 1 business day | SEPA account we open with you |
| Estonia (OU) | 0% | Rising to 28% in 2026 | Yes, via e-Residency | Traditional banks often refuse non-residents; EMI-heavy |
| Ireland (Ltd) | 12.5% on all profit, no deferral | Already taxed at 12.5% | Yes, but slower | Local substance expected |
| Lithuania (UAB) | 15% flat (5% reduced for small firms) | Already taxed | Yes | Traditional banks cautious with non-residents |
Estonia's e-Residency programme made remote administration easy and introduced the reinvestment model. Its distribution rate is rising to 28% in 2026, e-Residency is a digital ID rather than tax residency, and traditional banks there rarely take non-residents, which pushes most founders onto payment institutions. If you want the full side-by-side, our dedicated Estonia vs Latvia breakdown covers tax, banking and residency in depth.
Ireland's 12.5% applies to all trading profit with no deferral, the running cost is higher, and the tax authority expects local substance. Lithuania sits close to Latvia geographically yet taxes profit as it is earned rather than when it leaves the company. For a founder who reinvests, that timing difference compounds year after year.
Why Latvia suits founders who reinvest
Corporate tax triggers only when profit leaves the company.
Since 2018 Latvia has run a cash-flow model that is unusual in Europe: corporate income tax is triggered only when profit leaves the company. As long as you keep earnings inside the business, whether that means buying stock, hiring, marketing or building cash reserves, the rate is 0%. Tax arrives at 20% when you distribute a dividend, applied on a 20/80 basis so the effective charge on the net amount you take out is close to 25%. A company that reinvests for years and distributes only part of its profit tends to land at an overall effective rate near 15%.
The reinvestment math
If you make 100 and reinvest 100, Latvia leaves you the full 100 to compound. A 12.5% or 15% flat system takes the tax office's share before you can put the money back to work.
Over several growth years, keeping corporate tax at 0% while you scale frees up cash that a flat-rate system would take up front.
Two points a non-resident should know for 2026. First, the small-capital SIA lets you incorporate with share capital as low as EUR 1 rather than the standard EUR 2,800, which lowers the entry barrier for a first company. Second, there is an alternative distribution regime designed to make foreign tax credits easier for non-resident shareholders, and whether it helps depends on your home-country situation, which is worth confirming on a call. The full mechanics, capital options and step order live in our Latvia company formation guide.
Riga, Latvia
Setting up a Latvian SIA remotely, step by step
A predictable path you sign from home.
The SIA is Latvia's limited liability company, the local equivalent of an LLC or Ltd, and the structure chosen by more than 90% of foreign entrepreneurs here. Setting one up from abroad follows a predictable path. You need a registered address in Latvia, at least one shareholder and one director (which can be the same person, and can be you), and the share capital paid into the company account. Our turnkey SIA formation handles the drafting, filing and VAT application so your only job is to sign.
Preparation
We collect your details, draft the articles of association and prepare the power of attorney. You sign digitally from home.
Filing
The complete file goes to the Register of Enterprises and the share capital is deposited.
Company live
The SIA is registered. You receive your registration number and certified articles.
VAT number
Intra-EU VAT number issued by the tax authority so you can invoice across the Union.
The register itself can clear a clean file in one to three working days. From first call to a company that can trade, bank and invoice, plan for about three weeks once banking and VAT are folded in. No Latvian notary is required, and the documents come to you in Latvian and English.
Banking for non-residents
A fast payment institution or a local IBAN, both opened with you.
Opening a business account is straightforward for most founders. Payment institutions such as Wise and Revolut Business open remotely in a few days, cover multi-currency flows and pair with Stripe or PayPal for online revenue. For many founders that is enough to start invoicing and getting paid.
If you want a local euro IBAN as well, Latvian institutions such as Citadele, BluOr or Magnetiq open genuine business accounts. Their onboarding tightened after 2018 and looks closely at applicants with no local footprint, which is where our preparation of the KYC file matters. We point you to the option that fits your activity, prepare the application so it goes through cleanly, and stay with you through the process. Our bank account service covers what each option accepts and what documents you will need.
Tax, VAT and where you stay resident
What the 0% rate does, and what it does not.
Forming a company in Latvia does not, by itself, change where you personally pay tax. If you keep living and working in your home country, you usually remain a tax resident there, and your country may tax the company under controlled-foreign-company rules or treat it as having a taxable presence where you actually run it. The Latvian 0% on reinvested profit is real and valuable, and it sits inside a wider picture that includes your own residence and, for some structures, a substance requirement in Latvia.
On the company side, VAT registration becomes mandatory once turnover passes the EUR 40,000 threshold, and many non-residents register earlier to reclaim input VAT and invoice cleanly across the EU. The standard Latvian VAT rate is 21%. Latvia also has more than 80 double-taxation treaties, which matters when you want dividends to flow to you without being taxed twice. Mapping your own case before you incorporate is what our first call is for.
What it costs
The structure of what a non-resident pays.
Here is what a non-resident pays, laid out by line. The share capital is not a fee: it stays in your company as working capital once you are registered. The rest depends on the package and whether you add substance or extra banking support, so the exact figure comes with your quote.
State registration fee
The official charge paid to the Register of Enterprises.
Share capital
EUR 1 for a small-capital SIA, or EUR 2,800 standard. Not a cost: it remains your money.
Registered address
A professional Riga address with mail handling, usually billed yearly.
Accounting
Ongoing bookkeeping, annual accounts and monthly VAT filings.
VAT registration
Application and follow-up for your intra-EU VAT number.
Formation service
Drafting, filing, power of attorney and a single point of contact.
Because your situation, banking needs and substance level change the total, we give a written, fixed quote after a short call rather than a starting-from figure. You can request yours through our contact page.
Old town, Riga
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what non-resident founders ask most.
Yes. A non-EU resident can own 100% of an EU company and act as its director. There is no citizenship or residency requirement. In Latvia the process runs digitally, so with a power of attorney we register the company while you stay in your home country.
A Latvian small-capital SIA can be formed with EUR 1 of share capital, which keeps the entry barrier low, while its 0% tax on reinvested profit suits a founder who plans to grow. Estonia is easy for administration but its distribution tax is rising to 28% in 2026, and Ireland's 12.5% applies to all profit with no deferral.
No. The formation is fully remote. You sign the documents digitally and we handle the filing in Riga. Some banks may request a short video call, and occasionally one visit before releasing an account, but you do not need to live in Latvia to own or run the SIA.
A Latvian SIA does not require a resident director; you can be the sole shareholder and director yourself. You do need a registered address in Latvia, which is included in our formation. Where your home country expects economic substance, we can add local elements such as office and staff.
You open it with our help. Payment institutions such as Wise and Revolut Business open remotely in a few days, and if you want a local euro IBAN a Latvian institution such as Citadele, BluOr or Magnetiq can be matched to your profile. We guide you through the KYC process to a working euro IBAN with SEPA access.
Owning a company and holding personal residency are separate things. A Latvian SIA does not automatically grant you a residence permit, though owning and managing one can support a residence application. If a European residence permit is your goal, tell us on the call and we will map the route.
e-Residency is a digital ID that makes Estonian administration convenient. It is not tax residency and does not solve banking, which has become difficult for non-residents there. Estonia's distribution tax is also climbing to 28% in 2026, while Latvia's stays at 20%. For anyone who reinvests, the Latvian SIA is usually the more practical EU base.
On reinvested profit, Latvia's 0% is as low as it goes: you pay nothing while earnings stay in the company. Among flat systems, Ireland's 12.5% is the headline low rate, but it taxes all profit immediately. What matters for a growing business is when the tax falls due, not only the percentage.