Every year, the question of how to open an individual entrepreneur in Russia is asked by several thousand foreign citizens. And there would be many more such people if they knew that the process of opening an individual entrepreneur by a foreign citizen is practically no different from registering an individual entrepreneur by a Russian.
Both a foreigner and a stateless person (stateless person) can register as an individual entrepreneur. At the same time, the registration process for such citizens will follow the same stages as registration as an individual entrepreneur of a Russian citizen.
The only significant difference is the need to provide the tax authority with an additional document confirming the right to stay in the Russian Federation: a temporary residence permit or residence permit.
The procedure for opening an individual entrepreneur is simple, does not require special knowledge, and can be completed quickly without involving lawyers or other paid specialists.
We will describe the entire process of registering an individual entrepreneur as a foreigner, taking into account all the necessary features in 2021.
What to do after receiving individual entrepreneur status
After registering as an individual entrepreneur, a foreign citizen will have to:
- Pay taxes and fees on time in accordance with the chosen taxation system, as well as insurance premiums for yourself.
- Contribute personal income tax and insurance premiums to the budget for employees hired by him under an employment or civil contract.
- Submit reports in accordance with the chosen taxation system.
- Submit reports for your employees.
- Register with the Social Insurance Fund if employees are hired under an employment contract (under GPC agreements it is not necessary to register with the Social Insurance Fund).
- Purchase and register a cash register (online cash register), if the selected type of activity requires its use.
Please note that opening a current account and obtaining a seal are not the responsibility of the individual entrepreneur, but can significantly facilitate the process of conducting business and relationships with counterparties.
How can a foreigner open a current account for an individual entrepreneur or LLC?
allows Russian banks to open current accounts for foreign individual entrepreneurs and LLCs with foreign investment.
Unlike an LLC, opening an account for an individual entrepreneur is an optional procedure. An account is required only if you plan to conduct transactions in amounts exceeding 100,000 rubles.
Documents required to open an individual entrepreneur current account for a foreign citizen:
- Identity document with a notarized translation into Russian.
- Card with sample signatures and seal imprint.
- Documents confirming the authority of the persons whose signatures are contained in the card to manage money in the account, if such authority is transferred to third parties.
- Licenses or patents for carrying out activities subject to licensing, if these licenses relate to the agreement on the basis of which the account is opened.
- A photocopy of the temporary residence permit stamp in the passport or a photocopy of the residence permit (separate document).
Despite the fact that the instructions of the Bank of Russia spell out the procedure for opening accounts for individual foreign entrepreneurs, in reality you may encounter obstacles: some banks refuse this service.
“Opening an individual entrepreneur in Russia by a foreigner is child’s play compared to opening a bank account!”
S, owner of the Stylist chain of stores in the city of Stary Oskol. Felix registered an individual entrepreneur and wanted to open a bank account. All the banks he applied to refused: Uralsib, Bank of Moscow, VTB 24, Trust, Russian Standard, Metallinvestbank, Oskol-Bank. The reason for refusal is the same for everyone: “Our legal service does not recommend opening an account for you.”
Before this, Felix had to sue the governor of the Belgorod region: they did not want to give him a work permit. He won the trial. After a businessman at Sberbank spoke about this situation and threatened to sue the bank, an account was opened. Under the influence of the same arguments, Uralsib bank agreed to open an account.
For LLCs with foreign investments, banks open accounts more willingly: both ruble and foreign currency (needed if the authorized capital will be transferred in foreign currency).
Documents required to open an LLC account created by a non-resident of the Russian Federation:
- Constituent documents of a legal entity.
- Licenses or permits for the right to conduct activities.
- Card with sample signatures and seal imprint.
- Documents confirming the authority of the persons whose signatures are contained in the card to manage money in the account: sample signatures of the founders, information about the director and accountant, an order appointing them to positions.
- Documents confirming the powers of the sole executive body of a legal entity.
All documents must be translated into Russian, the translation certified by a notary.
In the article How to choose a bank for individual entrepreneurs and LLCs for a current account, we told you what you need to pay attention to.
Partner banks offer Finguru clients special conditions for opening and servicing accounts.
Do not miss!
Answers to common questions
Let us briefly answer the main questions that arise when a foreign citizen opens an individual entrepreneur in Russia.
Are there separate requirements for citizens of specific CIS countries?
As of 2021, no special requirements have been established for citizens of individual CIS countries. All foreigners or stateless persons who have expressed a desire to register an individual entrepreneur in Russia must confirm their residence in this territory with a separate document: temporary residence permit or residence permit.
This equally applies to citizens of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Ukraine and other CIS countries.
Belarusians can open an individual entrepreneur by also submitting a residence permit or temporary residence permit to the Federal Tax Service, but the procedure for obtaining a residence permit has been simplified for them. They can apply for it without a temporary residence permit and passing an exam on knowledge of the Russian language, the history of Russia and the fundamentals of Russian legislation.
Is it necessary for a foreigner to have a temporary residence permit?
To register an individual entrepreneur, a foreigner must have either a temporary residence permit or a residence permit.
Does a work visa give the right to create an individual entrepreneur?
Neither a work nor a tourist visa gives a foreign citizen the right to register an individual entrepreneur in Russia if he does not have a temporary residence permit or residence permit.
Is it necessary to know Russian?
To register an individual entrepreneur in Russia, knowledge of the Russian language is not necessary and a tax authority employee does not have the right to demand any documents confirming knowledge of this language. But the registration application (P21001) must be filled out in Russian and without errors, so minimal knowledge will still be required.
In addition, to pass the exam for obtaining a temporary residence permit or temporary residence permit (with the exception of Belarusians and some other categories of persons), knowledge of the Russian language is required.
In what form can you open a business in Russia?
There are several organizational and legal forms for doing business in the Russian Federation, but two of them are the most popular:
- individual entrepreneur (IP) - an individual who has received the right to independent entrepreneurial activity;
- limited liability company (LLC) is a legal entity that acts independently on its own behalf, and not on behalf of the founders.
There are analogues of these legal forms in many countries. For example, in the USA these are Sole proprietorship (IP) and Limited Liability Company (LLC). If we talk about micro and small businesses, their representatives in Russia most often choose the form of individual entrepreneurial activity.
This form has certain restrictions on types of business, which are available only to legal entities. But at the same time, it is easier for an individual entrepreneur to work in an organizational sense, he has more tax benefits, lower fines, and less interest from inspectors. An individual entrepreneur is not limited in the amount of income received and the number of employees, therefore he is a full-fledged business entity.
What is the difference from registration of individual entrepreneurs by citizens of the Russian Federation
According to Art. 4 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 115-FZ, foreigners enjoy rights in the Russian Federation on an equal basis with Russian citizens. As a result, the main difference between registering an individual entrepreneur by a foreigner and opening an individual entrepreneur by a citizen of the Russian Federation is:
- a set of documents provided to the inspection of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation;
- certain types of individual entrepreneur activities prohibited for foreigners.
As a result, a foreigner, along with a citizen of the Russian Federation, has the right to open an individual entrepreneur in Russia. However, to do this, he needs to comply with legal restrictions for starting a business in the Russian Federation.
What to do with business after receiving citizenship
If you are registered as an individual entrepreneur or are the founder of an LLC, you are required to report receiving Russian citizenship to the tax office within three days:
- When changing citizenship, an individual entrepreneur submits a form.
- To make changes to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, legal entities fill out the form or.
This might also be useful:
- How to register an individual entrepreneur yourself?
- Which is better: LLC or individual entrepreneur?
- How to open an individual entrepreneur: step-by-step instructions
- Help in opening a sole proprietorship - quickly and easily
- State duty for registration of individual entrepreneurs in 2021
- How to select OKVED codes for individual entrepreneurs?
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Comments
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Svetlana 09/24/2015 at 08:37 # Reply
how to open an individual entrepreneur for an Armenian, taking into account the fact that now from 01/01/2015 they do not require a work permit
Natalia 09/25/2015 at 10:41 am # Reply
Svetlana, for this purpose all documents specified in the section “documents for registering an individual entrepreneur for a foreign citizen” of this article are submitted. Those. everything remains unchanged, only a work permit is not required.
Gulnara 10/24/2015 at 07:32 pm # Reply
Questions
Good afternoon. Does a foreign individual entrepreneur need to submit reports and pay to extra-budgetary funds? Can a foreigner receive any assistance from the state, or can only citizens of the Russian Federation receive support for small businesses?
Natalia 10/25/2015 at 11:40 am # Reply
Gulnara, good afternoon. You are conducting business in Russia, so all the work rules for individual entrepreneurs apply to you: - You must pay contributions to funds and submit reports only if you have employees; — You have the right, when carrying out activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, to receive support from local authorities, regardless of citizenship.
Bekzod 11/18/2015 at 02:56 pm # Reply
please tell me, I am a citizen of Uzbekistan and I don’t have a temporary residence permit or a residence permit, can I apply for a patent and registration as an individual entrepreneur? Thank you in advance.
Natalia 11/19/2015 at 6:43 pm # Reply
Bekzod, good evening. You can register as an individual entrepreneur only if you have temporary registration in the Russian Federation.
Natalia 02/12/2016 at 11:59 # Reply
Bekzod, the conditions for individual entrepreneur registration are the same for all foreigners - a temporary residence permit is required.
Natalya 02/02/2016 at 10:26 am # Reply
Good afternoon. Registration of a citizen of Kazakhstan, there is no patronymic in the passport, but an INN with a patronymic, if you fill out an application without a patronymic, will this not be a basis for refusing to register an individual entrepreneur? Thank you.
Natalia 02/02/2016 at 01:59 pm # Reply
Natalya, good afternoon! The application for registration indicates the passport details and attaches a photocopy of it, so write as it is in the passport - without the patronymic. Based on what document did you receive your TIN? In all likelihood, on the basis of a temporary residence permit. In this case, attach to the documents a photocopy of the document on the basis of which you received the TIN, apparently it contains a middle name, because it came from somewhere in the TIN.
Tatyana 02/08/2016 at 18:22 # Reply
Good evening. To register an individual entrepreneur, do you need a temporary residence permit? Is registration based on a patent also suitable or not? It is done for a month or more.
Natalia 02/11/2016 at 01:56 pm # Reply
Tatyana, good afternoon. A foreigner with a temporary residence permit has the right to register as an individual entrepreneur. Registration is not done on the basis of a patent (labor), but a patent is done after a temporary residence permit has been received.
Tofik 03/12/2016 at 07:26 pm # Reply
Hello! I want to create an LLC in the Russian Federation. I am a citizen of Azerbaijan. Can I get a cash loan in the Russian Federation for this purpose?
ostapx1 03/12/2016 at 20:39 # Reply
Hello! This is not legally prohibited. In practice, everything depends on the conditions of specific banks.
Anonymous 04/18/2016 at 21:02 # Reply
Hello! Can an Armenian citizen open an individual entrepreneur without having either a temporary residence permit or a RESIDENCE PERMIT? Only an employment contract and registration for a year. Thank you!
Natalia 07/06/2016 at 01:08 pm # Reply
Good afternoon, without a temporary residence permit or residence permit, you cannot register as an individual entrepreneur in the Russian Federation.
Gerasimovich Vitaly Yurievich 08/08/2016 at 19:29 # Reply
Hello. I am a citizen of Ukraine, I want to register as an individual entrepreneur and have a temporary residence permit. What documents do I need to submit? And which tax is better to choose?
Natalia 09.09.2016 at 16:44 # Reply
Vitaly Yuryevich, I answer in order: If you have a temporary residence permit, you need to submit the documents listed in this article in the section “documents for registering an individual entrepreneur as a foreigner.” To choose a tax, or rather, a taxation system, you need to know what field of activity you plan to work in, how many employees you plan to attract and what your annual income will be, as well as in what region of the Russian Federation you are going to work.
Mumin 11/20/2016 at 6:59 pm # Reply
Good evening! I am a citizen of Tajikistan, I work on the basis of a patent, and there is temporary registration. Question: can I register an individual entrepreneur without having a temporary residence permit or residence permit? Thank you in advance…
Natalia 11/20/2016 at 08:30 pm # Reply
Mumin, good evening. To register an individual entrepreneur, you must have either a temporary residence permit (TRP) or a residence permit (RP).
Vera 11/27/2016 at 11:39 pm # Reply
Hello. Please tell me. The Egyptian wants to open a private enterprise. Can he do this if he has a visa (which he does to enter Russia) and temporary registration until the end of the visa (let’s say if it’s for a year) and in the future he plans to apply for a temporary residence permit? What documents does he need and does he need to apply for a work permit? Thank you
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How does registration work?
To open your own individual entrepreneur in the Russian Federation, a foreigner needs:
- Decide on the type of business activity.
- Select a tax regime (OSNO, simplified tax system, unified agricultural tax or patent).
- Submit a correctly completed application and collected certificates to the Federal Tax Service inspection at your place of stay (residence).
- Take a receipt confirming the acceptance of documents for consideration (when submitting an application and documents (certificates) on paper).
- After 3 working days from the date of submission of the application, pick up the finished Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs from the tax office.
