How to open a representative office in Russia

Foreign individuals and legal entities may conduct their business in Russia in the form of a representative office. However, representative offices are not independent legal entities.

Instruction manual

1

Depending on the scope of your company, you must first apply for permission in one of the ministries and departments of the Russian Federation. So if you are going to open a representative office of your bank in Russia, you will need to apply for permission to the Central Bank of Russia, and if you decide to establish a representative office of your spiritual mission, then to the Ministry of Justice. Specify in advance under the jurisdiction of which state institution your organization falls, since there is no single body for issuing permits to open representative offices of all possible foreign companies.

2

In the permit issued to you, employees of the relevant state body must indicate:

- goals and conditions for opening a representative office;

- the period during which the permit will be valid;

- the number of foreign citizens required for the full work of the mission.

3

However, in any case, the registration of the representative office of a foreign company on the territory of Russia will be carried out by the Fed under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Assure all documents in advance, affixing them and their copies with an apostille or seal of the consulate and pay the state fee in accordance with the period for which you plan to open a representative office (no more than 3 years).

4

Submit a statement to the Fed to open a representative office (with translation into Russian). Indicate in it:

- name of the foreign organization;

- time of its occurrence;

- location (address);

- subject of activity;

- management bodies of the organization and its management, which will represent it in Russia;

- the purposes for which the representative office is opened;

- information on business relations with Russian enterprises and organizations;

- Prospects for activities in Russia.

5

Submit the following documents with the application:

- power of attorney of a representative of a foreign organization to conduct negotiations on opening a representative office in Russia;

- the charter and constituent documents of the organization (certified copies);

- extract from the Commercial Register;

- provision on the organization’s representation;

- a bank statement (or other document) confirming the creditworthiness of the organization;

- recommendations from business partners in Russia;

- a certificate confirming the legal address of the representative office;

- a card with information about the representative office (in 2 copies).

6

After accreditation, you will need:

- register with the tax authorities;

- pass registration in the MCI;

- register with extrabudgetary funds;

- pass registration in the State Statistics Service;

- open accounts (currency or ruble) with a Russian bank.