Incorporation for foreigners.Six steps, one rule that matters.
A foreigner can own all of a Singapore company and set it up from abroad in two days. The one rule that shapes the cost is that a director has to live here. This page walks the six steps in order, with what each costs in 2026 and where a managed firm earns its fee over a self-serve platform.
- Foreign ownership allowed
- 100%
- Resident director
- One, or a nominee
- Minimum capital
- S$1
- ACRA fee
- S$315
- Time to incorporate
- 1 to 2 days
- Year one, all in
- S$2,300 to 7,500
ACRA fee and rules from ACRA. Year-one range covers list prices from the self-serve platforms and managed firms we compare, checked September 2026.
Two days for the company. Four to eight weeks for everything around it.
Decide who the resident director is
Every Singapore company needs one director who ordinarily lives in Singapore. If you are moving here, a nominee director covers the gap until your Employment Pass is approved, usually three to six months. If nobody is moving, the nominee is a yearly cost. Settle this before you pay anyone, because it decides which provider you need and roughly half of the year-one bill.
How nominee directors workPick a provider and pass their checks
Since June 2025 only a corporate service provider registered with ACRA can file an incorporation, and they must verify who you are before they do. Expect to upload a passport, a proof of address under three months old, and a short description of the business and where the money comes from. A provider that skips this is one to avoid.
- Managed firm: one engagement covers incorporation, director, secretary and the pass
- Self-serve platform: cheaper, and you assemble the pieces yourself
- Both are legal, both file the same S$315 ACRA application
Reserve the name and settle the paperwork
Name reservation takes minutes unless the name needs a referral to another agency (words like "bank", "school" or "finance" do). The constitution is a standard document for almost everyone. You choose the financial year end here; a year end that gives you a full first year keeps the whole start-up tax exemption.
- At least one shareholder, individual or corporate, any nationality
- Paid-up capital of S$1 is normal; banks and MOM look at the business, not the capital
- A registered address in Singapore, which the provider supplies
- A corporate secretary within six months, appointed at incorporation in practice
ACRA registers the company
One to two days once the documents are signed. You receive the Unique Entity Number, the business profile and the constitution. The company exists from this moment and the compliance calendar starts.
Open the bank account and apply for the pass
These run in parallel and both take weeks. A fintech account (Airwallex, Aspire, Wise Business) opens in days and is enough to invoice and pay salaries. A traditional bank takes four to eight weeks and wants a director in Singapore. The Employment Pass application goes in from your new company and comes back in about three weeks for most cases.
Which bank account, and how longSet up the accounting before the first invoice
Estimated chargeable income is due three months after your first year end, the annual return seven months after, the tax return by 30 November. A small company pays S$900 to 3,000 a year for someone to do all of it. Start in month one; reconstructing a year of transactions later costs more.
The compliance yearYear one for a foreign founder.
The government fee is the same for everyone. The nominee director and the pass are what make a foreign founder's first year cost more than a resident's.
| Item | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up | ||
| Government fee to incorporate | S$315 | Fixed. Name reservation S$15 plus registration S$300. |
| Foreign founder, year one | S$2,300 to 7,500 | Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top. |
| Employment Pass application | S$400 to 2,500 + S$330 | Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee. |
| Corporate bank account | S$0 to open, 1 to 8 weeks | Fintech accounts open in days. Traditional banks take four to eight weeks for foreign-owned companies. |
| Ongoing | ||
| Nominee director, per year | S$1,500 to 5,000 | Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place. |
| Corporate secretary and address, per year | S$500 to 1,500 | Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company. |
| Accounting and tax, small company, per year | S$900 to 3,000 | Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included. |
Setting up
- Government fee to incorporateS$315
Fixed. Name reservation S$15 plus registration S$300.
- Foreign founder, year oneS$2,300 to 7,500
Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top.
- Employment Pass applicationS$400 to 2,500 + S$330
Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee.
- Corporate bank accountS$0 to open, 1 to 8 weeks
Fintech accounts open in days. Traditional banks take four to eight weeks for foreign-owned companies.
Ongoing
- Nominee director, per yearS$1,500 to 5,000
Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place.
- Corporate secretary and address, per yearS$500 to 1,500
Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company.
- Accounting and tax, small company, per yearS$900 to 3,000
Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included.
Public list prices from the self-serve platforms and managed firms we compare, checked September 2026. ACRA and MOM fees are fixed.
Get your exact numberManaged firm or self-serve platform.
Same company, same ACRA fee. The difference is who does the assembly and who answers when the bank or MOM asks a question.
A managed corporate services firm
If you need a nominee director and an Employment Pass, one firm handles both with the incorporation, and the same people deal with MOM and the bank. Year one typically S$4,000 to 7,500. This is what we use.
A self-serve incorporation platform
If you are comfortable assembling the pieces yourself: incorporation from about S$300, nominee director and secretary as add-ons, accounting from about S$100 a month. Year one from about S$2,300. Support is by chat and ticket.
Incorporating at all, for now
If you are only hiring citizens or permanent residents and nobody is moving here, an employer of record puts them on payroll without a company. Revisit at five people.
How we are paid. The provider you go ahead with pays us a referral fee out of their normal price, so you pay what you would pay going direct. We name the provider and the fee in your assessment reply, once we know your situation.
What we would tell you before you pay anyone.
Decide the director question first. The provider, the price and the timeline all follow from it, and it is the one thing a platform will not decide for you.
If you are moving here, the managed route costs more in year one and less in year two, because the nominee, the pass and the accounting are one conversation instead of three. If nobody is moving, the self-serve route is fine and the nominee is a fixed yearly cost either way.
Book the fintech account the day the company exists. The traditional bank can come later, with three months of transaction history behind the application.
Choose a financial year end that gives you a full first year. The start-up tax exemption counts years of assessment, and a two-month first year wastes one of the three.
What people ask us
Can I incorporate in Singapore without visiting?
Yes. Identity checks are done by video or app, and documents are signed electronically. The only step that usually needs a visit is a traditional bank account, and fintech accounts avoid that.
What is the cheapest legal way for a foreigner to incorporate?
A self-serve platform with a nominee director add-on: about S$300 in provider fees plus the S$315 ACRA fee, then S$1,500 to 2,000 a year for the nominee and S$300 to 600 for the secretary. Around S$2,300 in year one if you do the rest yourself.
Do I need a local shareholder or partner?
No. Singapore has no local ownership requirement. The one local requirement is the resident director.
Should I set up a subsidiary or a branch?
A subsidiary, for almost everyone. A branch is not a separate legal entity, the parent is liable for it, it does not qualify for the start-up tax exemption, and banks treat it as a foreign company. A private limited subsidiary is the default for a reason.
How much tax will the company pay?
17% on chargeable income, but a new company with an individual shareholder pays tax on only 25% of its first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000 for three years. There is no capital gains tax and dividends are not taxed again.
I will run the company from my home country. Is that a problem?
For Singapore, no. For your home country, possibly. Most European tax authorities look at where a company is managed, and a Singapore company managed entirely from abroad can be taxed at home. Ask a tax adviser in your country before you incorporate. The freelancer page covers this in detail.
Tell us where you are and if you're moving. We'll tell you the year-one number.
Two minutes on the form. One reply from a person within a business day: managed or self-serve, the year-one figure, and the firm we would send you to.