Private Limited Company (Oy or osakeyhtiö) is one of the most common types of business in Finland.

What do you need for establishing a limited company in Finland?

• A good business plan
• A customer-friendly and easy to remember company or brand name
• Correctly filled registration forms and necessary appendices
• A minimum of 2500 € (or some other asset with a value of at least 2500 €) for payment of share capital
• An accredited auditor’s confirmation of the value of the share capital (if share capital is not paid in cash)
• A bank account for depositing the share capital payment
• 380 € for the registration fee

Are there any special requirements to be aware of?

• The Board of Directors needs to have at least one fully responsible member and one deputy member
• Share capital value needs to be paid in or transferred to the company before the company registration can be finalized
• In addition to the typical tax registers, in Finland you also need to register to the Tax Prepayment Register (ennakkoperintärekisteri)
• The registration forms are available also in English, but they need to be filed in one of the official languages – Finnish or Swedish

Are there any limitations on the ownership of the company?

• Anyone, who has a legal right to be a shareholder, can usually be one
• In case of having another company as a shareholder, you need an official trade register transcript from the trade register of the country of incorporation and usually also a notarized translation to Finnish or Swedish (in some cases English is also accepted)

Are there any special requirements for foreigners?

• The Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) needs to grant a permit for persons from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), based on permanent place of residence, to hold managerial or other positions of responsibility in Finnish companies
• If at least one Board member is a resident of the EEA, no permit is needed
• People without the Finnish personal ID code need to submit notarized copies of their passports
• If a document in a foreign language is enclosed, a translation into Finnish or Swedish is required

Other good things to know:

• The first financial year can be up to 18 months long
• Opening a bank account in a Finnish bank for a company can be quite a hassle if you are not prepared beforehand.

When you feel that we can make the establishment process smoother for you, please contact us and ask via the contact form, e-mail info@kuljus.eu or phone +358 503 220 600.