Modern Kazakhstan is a promising country in terms of business development in different directions. The attractiveness for foreign investors is explained by the flexible policy of the state, the goal of which is to create a developed country with an open market economy. Besides, all kinds of support from the government make doing business in Kazakhstan comfortable. Read on how to register a company in Kazakhstan for a foreigner.
Step one: choose the legal entity
The first step on this path in any country is the study of legislation. According to it, foreign citizens who have not received a residence permit in the republic do not have the right to conduct business in the status of individual entrepreneurs. That is, if you are a citizen of another country or a stateless person, then your way of starting a business is through the formation of a legal entity.
This provision of the law was introduced on August 3, 2009, and previously, foreigners were encouraged to conduct business as individual entrepreneurs by the state. The requirement of the law does not apply to citizens of the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan.
So, you need to register a legal entity, then you need to decide on the legal form of the organization – it can be a joint-stock company or a limited liability company. The second option, by the way, is much more popular because it minimizes business risks: everyone is responsible only within the framework of their contribution to the common cause.
Step two: preparation of the company
After getting acquainted with the legislation, you must:
- decide on the types of activities, since some of them, according to the laws of the republic, may have special requirements: for example, if your legal entity plans to engage in a licensed type of activity or provide financial/banking services, then you must obtain an appropriate license;
- determine the status of a business entity: a small, medium, or large business entity;
- choose a name, determine the legal address, the content of the constituent documents, and prepare a package of the following documents: minutes of the general meeting of the company’s participants, the memorandum of association, and the charter of the organization.
Step three: register and tax number
These documents must be submitted to the Public Service Center at the place of legal address or the place of residence. After that, you will receive a certificate of registration and tax number (TRN) of the legal entity.
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Step four: organizational stage
After receiving the registration certificate, you need to order and receive a seal, choose a taxation system, open an official bank account and receive a package of documents from the statistics authorities. After all the stages have been passed, you will be able to carry out entrepreneurial activities in the territory of Kazakhstan.
Required documents
To register as a legal entity, you need to submit the following list of documents:
- application in the prescribed form;
- constituent documents (charter and constituent agreement) drawn up in Russian and Kazakh languages in 3 copies;
- if you are already a legal entity in your country, you must provide a legalized extract or other document certifying this, with a notarized translation into Russian and Kazakh;
- a copy of the passport or other document proving the identity of the founder and his affiliation with a foreign state (a notarized translation must be attached);
- a document certifying the location of a legal entity (small businesses may not submit such a document);
- a receipt for payment of the fee for state registration of a legal entity.
By the way, if you already pay taxes in your country, you need to provide a taxpayer number and identity card to avoid double taxation with those countries with which the relevant international treaties are in force.
Foreign workers
As a rule, if a company is registered by a foreign citizen, then he brings top managers with him – it is much easier to put at the head of the company those who are already familiar with the business from the inside or are closer in mentality. However, it should be remembered that to attract foreign labor, it is necessary to collect a certain package of documents:
- a list of employees who travel at your invitation (in jurisprudence this is called a “list of imported labor”) in five copies, indicating the specialty, education, position to which they are invited (according to the general tariff and qualification reference book of the republic);
- copies of employment contracts;
- medical certificates of HIV testing (international standard).
After submitting all the documents, your workers will be issued a work permit within two weeks. A permit to attract foreign labor is not required if:
- these persons are members of consular missions, international diplomatic organizations;
- these are students of lyceums and university students;
- these are religious figures officially registered in the republic;
- these are workers of international media accredited to stay in Kazakhstan;
- workers have a residence permit in the country.
Outcome
As you can see, it is not so difficult for a foreigner to open a business on the territory of the republic, especially if you have long-term plans for this market. And the difference between residents is only in the presence or absence of a residence permit. As for the rest, there are not many legal conflicts.
