A foreign company or individual can own 100% of an Indian private limited company in most sectors, without prior approval. You do not need to visit India. What you do need is the right entity, correctly apostilled documents, one India-resident director, and the RBI reporting that first-time entrants almost always miss.
Subsidiary, LLP, branch or liaison office are taxed differently and permit different activities. We settle that before any filing, because it is expensive to undo.
Apostille and notarisation formats differ by country. We issue the exact checklist and templates so nothing bounces back from the Registrar.
Bank account, inward remittance, share allotment and FC-GPR to the RBI within 30 days — the step most first-time entrants discover years later during diligence.
A dated calendar of what the new company must file — ROC, income tax, TDS, GST and the annual FLA return to the RBI.
A wholly-owned subsidiary that can trade, hire and invoice in India.
Non-resident promoters starting an Indian company, alone or with an Indian co-founder.
Law firms and accountants abroad who need an India-side counterpart.
Every case is different, so we review yours first and give you a clear price before any work or payment — no charge for the review, no obligation.
No hidden charges. You decide after you see the price.
💬 Get my quote →In most sectors, yes. Foreign direct investment is on the automatic route for the majority of activities, meaning no prior approval is needed — only reporting to the RBI after the shares are issued. Some sectors are capped or restricted, so the sector is confirmed before you commit.
No. Incorporation is completed online. Documents are signed in your country and apostilled, or consularised where your country is not party to the Hague Convention.
Not as a private limited company. That form needs a minimum of two directors and two shareholders, and at least one of the directors must be resident in India — so a single foreign national cannot incorporate one alone. A One Person Company is restricted to Indian citizens, which rules it out for most foreign founders. In practice a foreign founder either brings in a second shareholder from the group and appoints an India-resident director, or uses an LLP where the sector permits it.
A nominee or resident director is someone appointed to satisfy the requirement that at least one director is resident in India. It is worth being clear about what that means: a director on the board of an Indian company carries genuine statutory duties and personal liability under the Companies Act, whatever private arrangement sits behind the appointment. It is not a formality, and a provider who presents it as one is understating the position. Where a group has no suitable India-resident person, the appointment should be documented properly and the person should be someone willing and able to act as a director.
Yes. Every Indian company must have at least one director who is resident in India — broadly a person who stayed in India for 182 days or more in the previous financial year. A private limited company needs a minimum of two directors in total.
No. A One Person Company may only be formed by a natural person who is an Indian citizen, whether resident in India or not. A foreign national cannot form one even after years of living in India. This is worth stating plainly because you will find sites claiming both that foreigners can and that non-residents cannot: the deciding factor is citizenship, not residence, which is why a non-resident Indian citizen can form an OPC and a British or American founder living in Bengaluru cannot.
In practice, no. Investment by a non-resident into a proprietary concern or a partnership firm is restricted and, where permitted at all, is generally limited to non-resident Indians and overseas citizens of India on a non-repatriation basis — meaning the money cannot be taken back out. A foreign national of non-Indian origin is effectively outside it, and it would be a poor structure in any case, since a proprietorship gives no separate legal entity and no limited liability. A private limited company or, where the sector permits, an LLP is the right route.
Because a private limited company must have at least two shareholders, while you can still own it entirely in substance. The usual arrangement is that your parent company or you hold nearly all the shares and a second holder — often another company in the group — holds a single share. Where that second holder is a nominee holding on your behalf, the beneficial interest is declared to the company and recorded in the statutory registers, so the record shows who really owns the share. That declaration is the protection; an undocumented nominee arrangement is where disputes come from.
Real ones, and worth understanding before you appoint anybody. A director is an officer of the company and can be personally liable for specific defaults — unremitted tax deducted at source and provident fund, fraud, and failure to file returns among them. A director whose company fails to file its accounts or annual return for three consecutive years is disqualified for five years, and the disqualification follows the person to every other company they sit on. None of this depends on how many shares they hold, which is why a resident director appointment is a real decision rather than a formality.
Almost always documentation rather than eligibility. The usual causes are a name or date of birth that does not match the passport exactly, attestation by the wrong authority or missing apostille, an address proof that is out of date, a document not in English without a certified translation, or a photograph and signature that do not meet the specification. Fix the document and reapply; the underlying entitlement is rarely the problem.
There is no prescribed minimum paid-up capital for a private limited company. The practical amount depends on what the business needs and what you intend to remit.
Usually three to five weeks once apostilled documents are in hand. Preparing and legalising documents abroad is normally the longest part, not the filing in India.
Share allotment to a non-resident must be reported to the Reserve Bank of India in Form FC-GPR within 30 days of allotment. Separately, an annual return of Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) is due by 15 July each year.
A Certificate of Incorporation carrying the company identification number, the signed constitutional documents, a DIN for each first director, and the company PAN and TAN, which are allotted as part of the same integrated filing rather than applied for separately. The provident fund and employees state insurance registration numbers are generated at the same time, and a bank account is initiated through the same form. GST registration is separate and only if you need it. Two things then fall due quickly and are easy to miss: the first auditor must be appointed within 30 days, and a declaration that the subscription money has been received has to be filed before the company begins business at all.
Yes. Every Indian company must have a registered office able to receive statutory notices, and the address is filed with the Registrar in Form INC-22 within 30 days of incorporation, supported by proof of the premises and a no-objection letter from the owner. A shared or serviced office is accepted by the Registrar. Bear in mind that GST officers and banks may physically verify the address, so it should be somewhere a person can actually receive and answer post.
Professional fees start from about ₹75,000 plus government fees, depending on the number of directors and the structure. We quote before starting.
Leave your number — our team calls you back. Free, no obligation.
EaseValue