Company Formation Sweden
Updated on Thursday 24th March 2022
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BridgeWest provides company formation in Sweden. Our assistance includes numerous services for local and foreign businessmen.
Highlights of the process of opening a company in Sweden
If you are interested to set up a business here, you will want to know the duration of the registration process, the taxes payable by companies, matters related to employment and others.
The registration of Swedish business can take between 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the selected company type (the longest process of company formation in Sweden is applicable in the case of the joint stock company).
This represents the most complex type of company that can be registered in Sweden and in other European country and this is why its registration takes more time.
All companies must also have a corporate bank account and the procedure to set up a bank account at a local commercial bank will take approximately 4 weeks.
As a foreign investor, you will have the right to hire both local and foreign workforce in your company. If for local workforce one does not have to meet any requirements, for foreign workforce, immigration rules will apply.
They can vary based on the nationality of the foreigner, but in most cases, since the foreign worker will arrive here for employment, the person will need to obtain a work permit.
The work permit can be issued in a period of 3 months and various conditions must be met, based on the work activity, its duration, the qualifications of the worker and so on.
What are the basic services for company formation in Sweden?
Our team can help in drafting the articles of association (necessary for company incorporation in Sweden).
The articles of association of the Swedish company cannot be signed through the power of attorney (the same applies to public notary proceedings, a step required by the Swedish law).
The customer needs to deposit the charter capital personally, therefore prior to the company incorporation.
Our team can also assist in drafting all other documents required for the incorporation of the Swedish company. These documents include specimen signatures, special forms provided by the Company Registration Office in Sweden, passport copies etc.
Our consultants can arrange public notary procedures (the procedures for incorporating a company in Sweden have to be done through a Swedish public notary) and can also offer registered office in Sweden for your company (if required).
The registered office required to open a company in Sweden may be any address where the Swedish company declares to have its headquarters. The registered office will be public.
Investors can rely on us for setting up a bank account for a Swedish company. This refers both to an initial share capital account needed to open a company in Sweden, as well as a current bank account after the company is formed.
We are also able to recommend an accountant in Sweden - accountancy services are recommended for any new business registration in Sweden.
Please consider the fact that if the company has no authorized representative resident in Sweden, the board of directors must authorize a person resident in Sweden to receive service of process on behalf of the company.
What is the law for company formation in Sweden?
The incorporation of a company in Sweden is done taking into consideration several rules of law. They are national laws and European laws, transposed into the national law.
In the list below, our consultants in company formation in Sweden have prepared a short presentation on few rules and regulations applicable when setting up a business:
- the main rule of law regulating the types of companies that can be set up here is the Companies Act – Atkiebolagslag 2005:551;
- for those who want to set up a less common company, such as the Societas Europea, the rules of the Regulation (EC) 2157/2001 will apply;
- the registration of a company is done through the Swedish Companies Registration Office, by submitting the Form 816;
- the registration procedure will require the payment of a small fee, of SEK 2,000;
- foreign investors can also purchase a shelf company, at prices ranging between SEK 25,000 to SEK 30,000.
Our Swedish company formation agents can provide assistance for the formation of the business forms prescribed by the national law.
Aktiebolag (A.B. - limited liability company) - this type of Swedish company can have 1 shareholder and 1 director and must maintain a local address (office) and a minimum share capital of SEK 50,000 (approximately EUR 5,500).
The joint stock company - this type of Swedish company can have 1 shareholder and 1 director and must maintain a local address (office) and a minimum share capital of SEK 500,000 (around EUR 55,000).
Investors can also set up a Swedish branch, subsidiary or representative office - any foreign company is able to set up branch entities in Sweden.
These can be set up as separate entities from the parent company (Swedish companies having the foreign company as shareholder) or extensions of the parent-company in Sweden.
In Sweden, the majority of foreign investors choose to purchase a ready-made company, since setting up a new company by a foreign citizen is a lengthy process, which may span for several weeks.
What other laws are applicable to Swedish companies?
Besides the rules of law presented above, companies incorporated in Sweden with Swedish capital, or those operating here as foreign enterprises will have to follow additional regulations, deriving from other laws.
For instance, companies have to comply with the rules of the Accounting Act (Bokforingslag 1999:1078), as well as with the rules of the Business Name Act (Firmalag 1974:156).
During the process of company formation in Sweden, investors will have to assign a company name for their newly founded legal entity, and the respective name must respect the rules of the above mentioned law.
Given that most of the companies operating here will also hire employees, rules concerning employment matters have to be applied as well. One of such laws is the Labor Disputes (Judicial Procedure) Act – Lag 1974:371.
Another important legislation for employment matters is the Private Sector Employees (Board Representation) Act – Lag 1987:1245; here, we also mention the Wage Guarantee Act (Lonegarantilag 1992:497).
Sweden is a very modern state that applies liberal principles. When it comes to business registration, investors must know that numerous procedures can be completed online.
One of the official websites where investors can benefit from the services of local institutions is the Government Services for Businesses.
BridgeWest is able to offer ready-made Swedish companies and VAT registration. Please contact us for more information regarding how to open a company in Sweden and prices.