Does a foreign representative office need a licence in Ukraine?

We were contacted by a Client, the director of a large foreign company that intended to enter the Ukrainian market by opening a representative office. An interesting nuance was that the company was going to raise office buildings in Kyiv, and therefore - to be engaged in construction.

Accordingly, the question arose, “Can a foreign representative office in Ukraine obtain a Construction License"?

At that time our Client had not yet begun registering a representative office, considering as an alternative the possibility of starting a Ukrainian subsidiary company, if it turned out that obtaining a Construction License for the representative office was impossible.

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Construction License for a foreign representative office in Ukraine

Having analyzed the Client’s situation, his business strategy in Ukraine, as well as the relevant legal regulations, we assured him that he can obtain a Construction License for a representative office in Ukraine. In this case our company will organize the entire procedure of registering the representative office in the proper way and get him the necessary license.

Please note! Unfortunately, the representative offices in Ukraine can not engage in any activities subject to licensing. In most cases, you will need to set up a subsidiary company. But with regard to construction activities the State Committee for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship issued a letter No. 3-451-1468/4349 of 08.08.2002, which allowed foreign representative offices to obtain this type of license.

In such a situation, the algorithm of actions will look as follows:

1. Full registration of a representative office in Ukraine;

2. Obtaining a Construction License for an already registered representative office.

Since both processes were handled by our lawyers, we were able to optimize time and meet deadlines required by our Client.

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What documents will be needed to register a representative office and obtain the license?

First of all, you need to register a representative office. We have already written about the procedure here. As for the list of documents to be prepared, they are as follows:

• a registration certificate of the parent company;

• certificate from the bank about the opening of the account of the parent company;

• a power of attorney for the director of the representative office (if the director will be a foreigner - he/she needs to get a TIN in Ukraine);

• an application for registration of a representative office;

• a power of attorney for the persons who will be engaged in the registration of the representative office in Ukraine.

These documents must be properly certified, depending on the mutual agreements between Ukraine and the country of registration of the parent company.

The detailed description of the procedure for obtaining the Construction License can be found here, and the list of documents will be as follows:

• a registration certificate of the representative office in Ukraine;

• a High Risk Work Permit of the State Labor Service of Ukraine (if any);

• a certificate containing information about the location of the office of the representative office and its data;

• information about the director of the representative office;

• bank details;

• contact details of the representative office.

Based on all the information about the representative office, you need to fill out the statements, which will be considered by the licensing authority.

Our team offers you the following services:

• Legal consultation on the possibility of starting a business in Ukraine by registering a representative office or a subsidiary company;

• Registration of a representative office in Ukraine;

• Solving of personnel issues of a representative office in Ukraine, assistance with appointment of a director of a representative office, including foreigner nationals;

• Obtaining of a Construction License in Ukraine;

• Legal support of the representative office in Ukraine, solving of disputable issues, providing consultations on the operation of the representative office.

Click on the links above for the price of legal services in Kyiv.

Please note! At the time of publication of this article the licensing authority issuing Construction Licenses is under reorganization. No Construction Licenses can be issued in Ukraine. We advise our Clients to begin preparations for the registration of the representative office and to fully prepare everything for obtaining the license, in order to be in the first row of licensees.

Do you want to start a representative office in Ukraine, which requires a license? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will undertake the organization of the whole process from A to Z.

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Everything about operation of Foreign Representative Offices in Ukraine here.