Recently, the practice of opening companies whose founders (participants) are foreigners has become increasingly common in Ukraine. At the same time, the current domestic legislation provides for certain features regarding the further steps of a foreigner after opening a company in Ukraine.

First, in order for the founder/participant of a company in Ukraine to be able to work legally, he must obtain a Permit to Use the Labor of Foreigners (hereinafter referred to as the Work Permit). For example, if a foreign citizen is both the founder of an LLC and its director, he will no longer be able to submit documents for a Work Permit. In such a case, it is advisable to appoint a person who is a citizen of Ukraine as the director of the LLC for a certain period. After the foreign owner receives a Work Permit, the director of the LLC can be changed to him by decision of the participants.

Secondly, the most important advantage of employing foreign founders is the absence of a statutory minimum wage requirement for them. For example, if the director of an LLC expresses a desire to officially employ a foreigner who is not a member of this company in his company, then the salary of such an employee must be at least ten minimum wages (as of the beginning of 2018 – 37,230 UAH).

Thirdly, the Employment Permit for foreign founders can be issued for a period of up to three years, while in other cases the Work Permit is issued for a period of up to one year. The fee for issuing the Permit for a foreign founder is 10,200.00 UAH. for three years.

An important nuance of opening an LLC by a foreigner is the fact that if the authorized capital of the LLC is 100,000.00 Euro or more, the company participant who made such an investment has grounds to obtain a temporary residence permit in Ukraine in order to remain in Ukraine and control the activities of his company. Such an investment can be expressed both in monetary form and in the form of real estate or other property purchased in Ukraine (for example, production premises).