Company registration Qatar

There is no denying that Qatar is one of the most prominent countries in the Middle East. Everything seems to go through that country no matter if it is trade, international businesses, connecting international flights and even hosting something as big as the FIFA World Cup in 2018. Qatar has made significant leaps in becoming a lucrative place to do your businesses in. As a result, more and more foreign companies are now investing in Qatar. And, setting up the companies and process of same first step is company registration in Qatar whether LLC, LLP, JV, WLL.

Qatar has always been open to foreign investments and has always made sure that companies from abroad feel welcome over here. Despite that, Qatar does have a set of rules for foreign companies and that include registering their companies. The process of new company registration Qatar is very simple and can be done very quickly.

Step One: Name Search- The very first step of company registration Qatar for foreigner involves finding the appropriate name for the company. The name of the company should be unique and should not be already in use or registered to any existing companies in Qatar. Names which are already trademarks at the Ministry of Business and Trade, commonly known as MBT, are strictly prohibited. In order to find the correct and valid name, one has to physically visit the Commercial Registration section of the MBT. Once there, they can easily search for the proposed names and see if they are already taken or not. There is around QR 100 fees to reserve proposed company name.

Step two: Temporary bank account- The second step of processing to register a foreign company in Qatar is to open a bank account. The foreign entity has to obtain a written letter from the Ministry o Business and Trade. The letter should be addressed to the bank in Qatar where the foreign entity will be opening a bank account. This bank account shall be made active once the entity deposits the entire capital amount needed to start the business. In other words, the initial capital of the business should be deposited in this bank account. It will take only one day and be done with no additional charges.

Step three: Articles of Association- Once the bank account is opened, the foreign entity has to get an approval for Articles of Association. This approval is also received from the Ministry of Business and trade. Such articles should match the basic format given out by the MBT and it should include the following as steps of company registration Qatar:-

• The name of the company along with the words “Limited Liability” if that is the type of company in question.
• The address of the head office.
• The objectives of the said company.
• The duration of the company.
• The initial capital that was used to start up the company and from where it was subscribed from.
• Name of all the shareholders and their nationalities along with their place of residence.
• The name of the manager of the company.
• The process in which the profit and loss will be shared.
• Capital structure.

It takes a maximum of one day to get it done and cost 1500 QR.

Step four: Provision for further documents – Based on the type of business activities that the foreign company is planning to do, there may be additional requirements to documents.  In such a situation, the company will have to provide provisional documents. This is mostly in the case of commercial activities where the company may need to obtain a business license for that specific business. For instance, if the foreign investment is done in the Industrial sector then an Industrial Project License is required. This can be obtained from the Ministry of Energy and Industry.

Step five: Company Stamp- Another important part of registering a company in Qatar is to ensure that the foreign entity has their company stamp prepared. This can be done via any third party manufacturing companies. It is designed and made according to the foreign owners. No government body is involved in this process. The MBT will only verify if the entity has their company stamp ready or not. It does not cost more than 100 QR to make a company stamp.

Step Six: Trade License- The final step of registering a foreign company in Qatar involves applying for a trade license. Without a trade license the company will not be able to operate legally in Qatar and it is vital to have this permit for other legal matters in the future. The application for such a license is made with the Ministry of Business and Trade. It usually takes around 1 working day to complete it and the government charges vary from 200 QR to 10,000 QR. The charges are dependent on the amount of capital invested for the business. Do you like to know more detail on Qatar foreign company registration?, if so, go here.