Documents Required for Opening a Branch or Registering an Establishment 

Documents required for opening a branch or registering a permanent establishment in the UK: if you already run a company overseas, you may be thinking that the lucrative UK market is currently ripe for you to open a branch here. At Coddan we agree: opening a branch in the UK can be a highly profitable venture.

It is somewhat easier to open a new company in the UK than to register a new permanent establishment from scratch; however, there is still quite a bit of red tape to get through, and that's what our advisers are here for.

Crucial documents: the first item that you need in order to open a branch of an overseas company in the UK is a complicated-looking form called OS IN01. Its official name is 'Registration of an overseas company opening a UK establishment'. You are expected to send this completed form and the accompanying paperwork to Companies House within one month of beginning to conduct business in the UK.

The form requests that you send several documents to certify it. The first one is a certified copy of the company's constitution. If this is not in English, it should be translated; the translation should then be certified, and sent alongside the constitution.

These should also be accompanied by copies of the latest disclosed accounts for the company, prepared in accordance with the law of the country under which the company was originally established. In addition to the above, it is also essential that the names and proof of names, and the addresses and proofs of addresses for both the director and the secretary should be supplied at the same time.

Additional documents: if you have foreign nationals who are going to be representing your company in the UK, you must ensure that they have the correct visas; these may need to be supplied at a later stage. There are many pitfalls that can delay the registration of a permanent establishment in the UK.