Register a Representative Office

Overview

A Representative Office in Singapore helps an overseas company (the parent company) with market research, finding clients/ partners in Singapore and other countries. However, you should consider these restrictions before opening a Representative Office in Singapore for your company.

A Representative Office:

Cannot engage in any commercial activities which result in income and revenue
Can hire only up to five employees
TCan operate in Singapore for up to three years, before needing to be re-evaluated and re-registered

The registration process can be completed in about a week if the parent company can quickly provide all the required documents. If additional information is requested, it will take more time to get approval from Singapore’s authorities.

Requirements

To set up the Representative Office, the parent company must satisfy the following criteria:

Have more than US$ 250,000 company revenue;
Have been established for at least three years
Hire or be expected to hire less than five employees in this Representative Office.

Depending on the nature of the parent company, there might be other requirements.

Service Package details

Here are the services GLAC provide to help you quickly kickstart your new Representative Office in Singapore:

Registering a Representative Office

Special service - limited period only: FREE website design service

Registering a Representative Office

Reserve a company’s name
Prepare incorporation documents
Submit all required documents with The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore
Pay government fees
Provide a registered address for the Representative Office for one year
Assist with opening a corporate bank account (optional)
Provide a company seal

If you plan to relocate to Singapore to work for this company, you will need to apply for an Employment Pass. Find out more at Applying for an Employment Pass in Singapore. The EP application process will start after the Representative Office is registered.

Special service - limited period only: FREE website design service

Global Link Asia Consulting offers a FREE website design service when you incorporate your Singapore company through us. Just select a website design that you want and we will do it for free. You will receive a responsive website with optimized viewing and navigation across a wide range of devices, including traditional PC desktop and laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices.

Additionally, GLAC will also create 10 email accounts (storage capacity of 5 GB per email) specific to the domain name you registered for free (i.e: if your website domain is “domain.com”, the email address will be “name@domain.com ”).

Global Link Asia Consulting will also give the domain name (for example, “YourCompanyName.com”) for free for the first year so you only need to pay a small fee for standard web hosting.

Read more here: GlobalWeb - https://globalweb.asia/en/service/website-designing

Step-by-step Process

The process to register a Representative Office through GLAC is as follows:

Step 1: Send Your Request

Get in touch with us by emailing ….. or calling ….. Feel free to share any questions, concerns, or requirements you have with us. Upon receiving your request, one of our senior staff members will follow-up with you to clarify those questions and advise you about the next steps.

Step 2: Provide Representative Office Registration Details

We will send you a form for you to provide us with the necessary Representative Office registration details. We will also share with you a list of documents that may be required for the application. You will need to complete this form and send it back to us along with the required documents.

Step 3: File Representative Office Registration Application

When we receive the completed form and supporting documents from you, we will file the Representative Office registration application with Singapore’s authorities. The application is subject to review and approval by the authorities. We will act as a liaison between you and the authorities should they need any clarifications

Step 4: Make Payment

When you decide to engage GLAC in registering a Representative Office in Singapore, we will send you an invoice for the services. Please make payment before we start to file your application with Singapore’s relevant authorities. We accept bank transfers, local cheques, cash, or credit card payments.

Step 5: Prepare and File Employment Pass Application (optional)

Once the representative office application is approved, we will assist you with the application for the Employment Pass, if necessary. Read more about Applying for an Employment Pass in Singapore.

Step 6: Open a corporate bank account in Singapore (optional)

Once your application is approved by ACRA, Global Link Asia Consulting will continue to assist you to open a corporate bank account in Singapore, if you wish to do so. You must be present in Singapore to join a face-to-face interview with a banker as part of the bank’s KYC process.

You will receive an account number within 5 to 7 working days from the date of the meeting with the banker. A bank token and pin code for online banking will be sent to you within the next 10 to 12 working days after the date of receiving the account number. Read more about the benefits of opening a bank account in Singapore at Opening a Bank Account in Singapore.