If at least one director lives in an EU or EEA country, the company meets Ireland's EEA-resident director requirement. Use Forti's standard resident packages — no Section 137 bond, no premium pricing.
Review your preferred name before you commit to branding, domains or customer documents.
FOR EU AND EEA-RESIDENT FOUNDERS — NO SECTION 137 BOND REQUIRED
EU and EEA founders who want an Irish company on standard resident terms — without the non-resident bond route.
The legal test is EEA residence, not nationality. The EEA includes every EU member state plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Tell us your director situation, whether you need a secretary, and how much accounting support you want in year one.
An Irish LTD can have one director. That director cannot also act as the company secretary. A solo EU founder needs another individual or a corporate secretary from incorporation.
The incorporation process can normally be handled without travelling to Ireland. You submit the company details and EU-issued identity documents electronically.
Five stages from the initial route and name review through to post-formation compliance and first-year deadlines.
An Irish company does not automatically need OSS. The correct VAT route depends on what you sell, where the company is established, where goods are stored and where customers are located.
A company incorporated in Ireland is generally Irish tax resident unless a Double Taxation Agreement treats it as resident in another country. The position is not decided by the Irish certificate of incorporation alone.
Incorporation is the starting point. These obligations follow regardless of which package you choose.
| Stage | Timing | What must happen |
|---|---|---|
| RBO filing | Within five months | File the beneficial ownership details and maintain the internal register. |
| First Annual Return | ARD is six months after incorporation | File Form B1 within 56 days. Financial statements are not attached to this first return. |
| Corporation Tax | Within 30 days of commencing trade | Register the company with Revenue using the actual trading start date. |
| VAT and PAYE | When the relevant activity starts | Register for VAT where required and before paying the first employee or director salary. |
| Bookkeeping | From the first transaction | Record share funding, intercompany transactions, invoices, expenses and bank movements. |
| Year-end compliance | After the first financial period | Prepare financial statements, CT1 and the next annual return in the required sequence. |
A CRO certificate does not guarantee an Irish bank or payment account. Each provider completes its own AML, ownership, activity and substance checks.
Collected before the AML review and A1 filing begins. Most of this can be confirmed in an initial conversation.
Every question from EU founders forming their first Irish company.
Everything you need to form and manage your Irish company from the EU.
Your EEA residence removes one formation step. The ownership, secretary, RBO, tax and cross-border VAT work still need to be organised correctly from the start. Forti handles the sequence — from name check to first Annual Return.
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