Singapore and Australia have a free trade agreement. Singapore is right now the fourth-largest partner of Australia in two-way trading. Singtel (Singaporean company) owns Optus (a major telecommunication company in Australia). In 2012, 20,000 Australians were living in Singapore, and the number has kept rising each year ever since. Both countries have Embassies in each other’s territory.
Australians can visit Singapore without a visa (you must have a minimum of six months in your passport left) and stay for less than a month. As per a survey of Atlas Wealth Management in 2018, about 80% of expatriates from Australia recommend Singapore to other expatriates from Australia. 82% of them claimed to possess more disposable income in Singapore than in Australia. There are many successful Australian companies in Singapore. Every year hundreds of Australians fly to Singapore for Singapore Company Incorporation from Australia.
If you are one amongst them thousands, then you too must have the same questions that they had regarding the incorporation of a Singapore company from Australia. That’s why we have created this simple guide to provide answers to those questions. After going through this, you will understand everything you need to know to incorporate your company in Singapore from Australia.
Tax rates are meager as compared to Australia. In Singapore, after paying your taxes, you would still be saving around 15-20% extra income as compared to Australia. Tax exemptions are provided to newly registered companies in Singapore. The process of incorporating a company in Singapore from Australia is quite easy and does not take more than a day. You can hold 100% shares of your company even if you are a foreigner. Quality of life is excellent. Singapore has been ranked several times as the easiest place to do business by the World Bank. In 2019, it is still the second easiest place to do business in the world.
You can easily access the financing that is required in the early stage of a business. There are tons of government grants available. Singapore also has vast angel investing networks and a number of venture capitalist firms. It is an excellent place for both startups and established businesses.
No, you do not need to visit Singapore for the incorporation of your company from Australia. The only time you are physically required to be present is the time of the bank account opening. You can even run your business from Australia. You can hire a local agency to take care of everything else.
Yes, you can move to Singapore from Australia after the incorporation of your company. In order to do so, you need to apply for and obtain a work visa called Employment Pass. However, you must be able to pay yourself a minimum wage if you want your EP application to get approved. The minimum salary you are required to pay yourself as a director of your company is S$3600. This is the minimum amount for graduates. The ideal salary is S$6000-S$8000 for more mature and experienced candidates. It is also necessary if you plan on bringing family members with you on Dependant Passes.
No, it is not necessary to hire employees in a Singapore company. A resident director and a company secretary are enough to comply with the statutory requirements. You can incorporate your Singapore company from Australia and run it without hiring any employees.
You need to fulfill three requirements for Singapore Company Incorporation from Australia.
If you wish the meet the requirement of a resident director by yourself, you can apply for an EP and move to Singapore. Another good option is to hire a nominee director from Singapore, including yourself, if you wish to run the business from overseas. There is no limit on the number of directors a company can have as long as there is one local director in the company.
A Corporate Secretary is a certified person from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, SAICSA, or any other relevant professional organization. A secretary’s primary duty is to ensure that the company complies with all the statutory obligations.
You need a local registered office address for company incorporation.
Epica provides all the three services, so you do not have to worry about them.
If you do not have anyone to take the role of the company’s resident director, you can use our nominee director service. A nominee director will help you fulfill the Singapore law requirements to incorporate a company. Once you secure your EP, you can terminate the nominee director services to act as the only director in the company.
Even if you do not wish to relocate and run your Singapore company from Australia after the incorporation, you can keep a nominee director to fulfill the mandatory requirements.
A nominee director does not hold any authority or decision-making powers in the company. You will be responsible for all the crucial decisions regarding your company’s operations.
See also: Who is the Nominee Director?
Singapore’s minimum paid-up capital can be S$1, and you can increase it later, so it is not an issue here. However, there are other costs that you must take into consideration before your Singapore company incorporation from Australia.
The average service cost of registering a company in Singapore provided by local agencies is S$3000-S$5000. This is the total cost of company incorporation, government fee, and other necessary first-year services. The mandatory first-year services include a resident director, a company secretary, and a local address. Nominee director service would cost the most up to S$2000. Some of the agencies may ask you to place around S$2000 security deposit. The deposit is kept as nominee director’s insurance and is refunded once the nominee director’s contract gets expired. If you want to save the cost of a nominee director, you should hire someone you know in Singapore.
You must incur a yearly retaining fee of S$2500-S$5000 for managing your business activities that include a nominee director, a corporate secretary, local address, and annual returns filing.
If you want to move to Singapore to run your business, you are required to obtain EP, which would cost you around S$1000-S$1500. Securing an EP would save you the cost of a nominee director.
If you plan on bringing your family members with you, you are required to pay around S$500-S$600 for the Dependant Passes.
You must pay a fee of about S$50-S$500 to obtain licenses/permits for business activities like import-export and tourism. The cost of licenses varies as per the industries.
The monthly rent for office space in Singapore is S$800 and S$550 for a co-working space.
Company incorporation in Singapore from Australia has never been as easy as it is today. It is one of the best places to start your new business. With Epica, you can rest assured that the incorporation process will be done smoothly for you.
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