Sweden’s business climate is very favourable for foreign direct investments. It’s a country of innovation and with its stable economy, low level of corruption, little bureaucracy and friendly business culture it is a good place to do business. However, the company formation in sweden can be quite complicated – but don’t worry, we can help you with starting your journey.
If you already know that you want to continue with a Swedish private limited company AB, we recommend reading our complete guide to starting a business in Sweden.
Company Formation – What are Your Options to Start a Company?
Let’s have a look what different legal options Sweden offers to start doing your business there:
#1 Buy a ready-made Swedish AB limited liability company
Buying a ready-made company is the fastest and easiest way to start your company. It includes full business legal advice during the process and a company with no previous financial history.
Service providers like 1Office will do everything regarding re-registration, preparing and filling in all the documents and changing the company’s records. You have until the end of the first fiscal year to open a bank account and make a share capital payment.
After about one week you have a company in Sweden. Companies in the construction sector can order ID06 registration and manual personal identification in Tallinn or Riga.
#2 Register a permanent establishment
Registering a permanent establishment is suitable for foreign entities who provide temporary service in Sweden.
If you already have a company in one country and want to provide service in Sweden for more than 6 months, registering a permanent establishment is mandatory. Therefore, it’s the perfect solution for construction, assembly, installation and other projects.
Good news is that submitting annual results to authorities is easier than for an actual Swedish company AB. Taxes are paid on the same basis as local companies. It’s also easy to delete a permanent establishment from the tax register once the project is completed.
#3 Establish a branch
Establishing a Swedish branch of a foreign company is a flexible option for expanding business or conducting long-term projects in Sweden.
A branch is a detached subunit or department and it’s not a separate juridical unit. In case of establishing a branch, it will also be registered in the Commercial Register during 5-10 days. A foreign company must appoint a managing director for the branch.
If the appointed managing director is not a resident of the European Economic Area, a contact person must be appointed.
#4 Tax registrations for foreign company
Please note that regardless of what option you choose to do your business, before starting a business in Sweden, it is necessary to apply for several tax registrations at the Swedish Tax Agency.
There are several registrations that a new company might need – F-tax, VAT, Employer’s registration.
We can help you decide which tax registrations your company needs and guide you through the process – we even offer a special tax registration package for foreign companies. Our service includes filling in the applications, submitting the documents to the Tax Agency, answering additional queries, and more.
#4 Contact person service
Another important aspect is that a contact person is required if none of the company’s board members have Swedish Personal Number or permanently reside in Sweden. It is required for the Swedish company registration in the Commercial Register.
However, this person doesn’t have liabilities or responsibilities towards the company and has no right to represent the company or access your company’s details. The contact person will only be contacted by the authorities if the board members can’t be reached.
Every company in Sweden needs to have a local legal address and it can’t be a residential address. The legal address can be seen in Bolaksverket and official letters will be delivered to this address. You can also order the company’s Virtual business address from 1Office – it is the best Legal address solution for non-resident entrepreneurs who don’t have an office in Sweden. All companies’ letters will be sent to the company’s legal address.
So, if you are thinking about starting and managing your business in Sweden, contact us and we’ll find you a suitable solution!
