What does a foreign citizen need to start a business in Russia? Are there any restrictions? May a foreigner carry out business activities in any sphere? We’ll try to answer these questions in this article.

The question, whether a non-resident can become an individual entrepreneur in Russia, is the most frequently asked in the sense that a non-resident is a person of foreign nationality. However, that is not entirely true when it comes to tax status.

Firms, companies, organizations and individuals can be founders of limited liability companies in the Russian Federation. But they are not necessarily residents of the country. Registration of LLC for a foreign citizen has its own characteristics.

The Russian Federation as every other civilized country, does not limit foreigners legally living in the country, in law to conduct business. Moreover, for attracting foreign investments, business in Russia for foreigners is governed by the same rules as for Russians. Still, there are nuances. We will review them in more detail.

The two most common options for foreign companies to operate in the Russian Federation areaffiliated branches and limited liability companies.

Foreign nationals can’t be employed in Russia unless they obtain special permission. That relates to a separate category named highly-skilled workers too. However, getting an employment permit for highly-skilled workers is somewhat different from the standard procedure.

Russia is interested in bringing foreign investments as never before that’s why the registration of a business has been considerably simplified in later years. The citizenship doesn’t matter now and the procedure is the same for everybody. The place of residence has a key role now. It relates to Individual Proprietor registration by foreigners with temporary residence permits as well.