Today, Kazakhstan, being one of the leading economies of the CIS countries, ranked 28th out of 189 in the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business report became very attractive to register a new company or expand an existing business.
It is obvious that anyone interested in conducting business activities in Kazakhstan, first of all, can ask himself the following questions: «What legal instruments and structures are fixed in the legislation of the country? What steps need to be taken in the first place?»
The following article is an overview of the ten simple steps to register a company in Kazakhstan.
- Finalizing entity type
According to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreigners can establish a business in the following forms:
- LLP – Limited Liability Partnership
- JCS – Joint Stock Company
- Open Branch or Representative office
Statistics indicate that in most cases, limited liability partnerships are established to conduct private business in Kazakhstan.
- Choosing the company name
The company name of any legal entities in Kazakhstan has to be unique, there shouldn’t be any confusion between the company being registered and those that are already registered. If there is, this may result in failure to register the company and a new name will have to be chosen.
For companies owned by foreigners who choose to use a name that is in the language of the foreign owners, it is a legal requirement that a translation of that name be provided for legal purposes even though the company can continue to use the name in a foreign language.
Legal entities are also forbidden from using names that may mislead the public into believing they are affiliated with government bodies. For example, incorporating names like Kazyna cannot be used within a company name for a private business.
The names chosen should also be mindful of the culture and morals of Kazakhstan so that they do not in any way insult or demean the people and their culture.
- Choosing location
Within the business foundation documents, it is a requirement that full address is provided explaining the actual address of the company as a legal entity as well as those that make up the founding members. This is necessary for cases like tax payments and any other legal dealings with the company, there needs to be an actual street, building and office number where legal documentation can be delivered and people responsible for things like paying taxes can be found.
This location and postal address should match all documentation in relation to registration as well as operation of the company at all times and the government carries out regulatory activities to see to it that the information provided in the registration documents is what is being used during operation of the business. A business may have many branches but as a legal entity, it is expected to have one address that serves as a headquarters, so to speak.
- Prepare business foundation documents
Under normal circumstances, legal entities simply need to fill in the registration form and submit the following documents:
- Copies of identification translated into Russian and Kazakh
- Notification on the start of business activity
- Power of attorney
Note: EDS – Electronic Digital Signature usually takes 1 day to register in Public Service Center
- Getting a visa or work permit
For a foreigner to be appointed as the head of a company, for example, a CEO they will need to have a work permit or residence permit. While the law does not prohibit the appointment of a foreigner as a CEO of a legal entity, there are laws that require that any foreigner employed in Kazakhstan, must have a work permit and at the same time a new company cannot apply for a work permit which means for purposes of registration, either a national of Kazakhstan will have to be appointed CEO or the foreigner will first have to get a residence permit before the company can be registered with them as CEO.
Another option to get the C5 visa first before getting a work permit. You can learn more about visas to Kazakhstan here.
- Opening a Corporate Bank Account
In order to open a bank account in Kazakhstan, all foreigners need to present a Kazakh tax ID number or RNN number. This number can be obtained at the tax office, where you will need to present your passport and migration card. Once your tax number has been issued, you can open an account in the bank of your choosing.
Some of the most popular banks in Kazakhstan:
- Halyk Bank
- Citibank
- Sberbank Russia
- Eurasian Bank
As you can see to registrer a company in Kazakhstan might not be a very easy thing to do and if you want to do it faster and in the most efficient way you can contact us and our manager will answer all the questions and help you out with the registration process.
Leave a Reply