Singapore Representative + Singapore Bank Account
We will manage all the paperwork and aspects relating to the registration of your Singapore Representative Office. We are authorized by ACRA to act as a filing agent. We get special access to the ACRA system to complete the registration on behalf of foreign clients.
Immediately after the Singapore Representative Office registration, we will arrange your meeting with a leading Singapore based bank. In most cases, the bank representative will visit our office.
Company Secretary service for 1 year is included in the package. Singapore company secretary will keep a tab on all the legal aspects of representative office administration.
We will arrange to file an employment pass for your key employees with the ministry of manpower.
Every Singapore entity must have a local registered address in Singapore. Since, as a foreigner, you are not likely to have an office address, we will provide our office address at the time of Singapore Representative Office Registration. Important correspondence, in this case, will be received at our office.
We can provide accounting services for your Singapore office at an extra fee.
One hour free advisory on any matters relating to your company or on matters like GST, CPF, Licensing, etc.
In order to be approved as a Singapore representative office, your company must satisfy the following criteria:
Working with us is easy. Once you confirm, you are engaging our services. Our team will start work and help you at every possible step.
Broadly the steps involved are as follows:
Submit scanned copies of all the required documents like passport copies, proof of address, parent company details, parent company constitution, KYC form, Rep office registration resolution etc. Once received, our team will go through this and confirm all ok.
We will reserve the name chosen by you. Normally there is no rejection as the law states that the representative office must follow the parent company name.
Once all the KYC and paperwork are completed, we will proceed for Singapore Representative office Registration for you. There is no need for you to visit Singapore in this period. Once the registration is completed, we will send you registration documents to you.
After the procedures for Singapore Representative Office are completed, you will need to visit Singapore for a bank account opening. A personal visit is required for this.
1-2 Weeks depending on your convenience
1 week
Bank takes 3 weeks to complete all formalities. We will courier you all documents
3 weeks
When registering a representative office in Singapore, following documents are required:
All of the above-mentioned documents are required to be in English, the language used officially in Singapore. A document in any language other than English must be translated before submission.
To fulfill the requirements of establishing a Representative Office in Singapore, the foreign parent company must have been in the market for at least a period of three years or more. In addition, the foreign parent company must have a sales turnover in excess of US$250,000. If these conditions are not fulfilled then the representative office can not be registered.
Visiting Singapore is not required to register a representative office for your company. The relevant authorities in Singapore work online and also through the hard copy documents sent through couriers, in order to get the necessary work done. On the other hand, a visit to Singapore might be an essential requirement if you wish to open a corporate bank account. All the banks in Singapore ask for an interview with the stakeholders for the opening of the bank account. The face to face meeting between yourself and the bank officer can expedite the process of account opening to a great deal. For most banks, the meeting can be arranged at the bank or in the office of Singapore Registration authority.
Like any other document or entity for the business in Singapore, the application for representative office Singapore is subject to approval by authorities. There may not be any problem with the process of establishing a representative office in Singapore if you fulfill the following basic requirements:
A Representative office Singapore is merely an extension of the foreign company. a Representative office Singapore is viewed as a liaison office, contrary to that of a subsidiary or a branch office. It cannot carry out any business activities of profit yielding nature as such because it has no legal status.
In a nutshell, a Singapore representative office is set up to manage and coordinate noncommercial activities of a foreign company on temporary administrative.
Following are the different types of feasibility studies and market research that can be carried out by the representative office Singapore:
Unlike subsidiary company, a representative office is part of the parent company and is not a separate unit. Therefore, the parent company is entirely responsible for all the debts and liabilities of the representative office Singapore.
A representative office Singapore shall have the same name as that of the parent company. In case if there is an issue with the uniqueness of the name, the authorities concerned will make decision on a case to case basis.
Representative office Singapore is a provisional arrangement of the parent company. This office works for three years. After completion of three years, the parent company is required to register a branch office or a subsidiary company. The representative office’s registration is needed to be renewed annually during the period of three years of its functioning.
The representative office Singapore is authorized to employ a minimum essential number of employees for its functioning. However, the office is bound to appoint a chief representative staff member from the head office. The chief representative staff officer is bound to relocate to Singapore and oversee the activities of the office. Since the representative office is not a business entity, it can hire only a limited number of employees. As stipulated by the Singapore authorities, the representative office Singapore is allowed to employ five employees at maximum.
If there is any change in the representative office such as change in representatives, address, registered activities, etc., it has to be informed to the Singapore authorities in advance as under:
A representative office Singapore is bound to clearly mention that it is a representative office of the parent company registered in Singapore on all of its legal and official correspondence and stationery like name plaque, name cards of its staff, and other communication materials.
It is at the discretion of authorities that they can divulge information regarding the representative office Singapore and its parent company’s activities and contacts to the public.
Since the representative office, Singapore is not an incorporated entity, and it is also not liable to any of the filing requirements that are imposed on the incorporated entities and the registered corporate bodies. It is also not required to maintain any statutory documents or submit any tax returns in Singapore.
A representative office Singapore can get a central registration number in order to import and export the sample products and materials of the parent company. However, the representative office Singapore is strictly prohibited from carrying out any business or trading activity using a central registration number.
The representative office Singapore is only an extension of the parent company. Therefore, if the parent company becomes dormant, the representative office Singapore is also required to deregister.
A representative office Singapore is deregistered if it is dormant or if it fails to conform with the requirements of Singapore trade authorities.
In order to register a representative office in Singapore, all new applications of the foreign commercial entity must fulfill the criteria that is laid out by Singapore companies act and is mentioned below:
A corporate account can be opened after registering a Singapore branch, in any of the local banks and several international in Singapore. The exact procedure of account opening may vary from one bank to another. On the other hand, and some banks require the presence of the directors or agents while opening the corporate bank account to be present in person. Further details can be found in the Singapore bank account opening guide about opening a corporate bank account in Singapore.