Branch registration in Rwanda, for foreign companies
Your existing company, registered to trade in Rwanda
We prepare your head office's documents, run the certification chain in your country and register the branch with the Office of the Registrar General through licensed partners in Kigali. You end up with a registered branch, its tax registrations and an authorised representative whose powers match the work on the ground.
- Registration inside the 10 working days the law allows after you open a place of business
- A board resolution drafted in English that names the representative and the activities correctly
- Tax registration, a second certified document set for the bank and a monthly filing calendar
Scope
What we do for you
An ishami (branch) is part of your company, so most of the file comes from your head office. We organise that file and the Rwandan steps that follow.
- Branch or subsidiary checkBefore anything is signed we test whether a branch suits the work, or whether a Rwandan subsidiary would serve liability, partners and banking better.
- Branch or country representativeWe settle with the Registrar which form fits your activities, because the activity description follows the branch into tax, banking and permits.
- Parent document listRegistration certificate, current articles, details of the directors and the financial year end, with extracts issued within the last three months.
- Board resolution in EnglishOpening the branch, describing its activities in plain terms and appointing the authorised representative exactly as named in the passport.
- Certification in your countryNotarisation, then an apostille or the legalisation chain, depending on where the parent is registered. We set out each office and each step.
- Certified translationsAny document not in English is translated by a certified translator. We confirm the sequence the Registrar accepts before you order.
- Beneficial ownership of the parentWe document the individuals who own or control 25% or more of the parent, with identity documents.
- Filing and tax registrationsOur licensed partners in Kigali file online through the RDB portal. Tax and social security registration follow from the same record.
- Representative's mandate and bank fileSigning limits by type of act, a second signatory above a threshold, and a second certified set of parent documents for the bank.
Sources: Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021 governing companies, as amended by Law N° 019/2023 of 30/03/2023; Office of the Registrar General, business registration requirements; ORG beneficial ownership guidelines (March 2023); Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Africa corporate guide, Rwanda; Rwanda Development Board.
Process
How it works
The 10 working days run from the day you establish a place of business in Rwanda. We prepare the documents before that day, so the deadline is never the constraint.
- Day 1–2
Scope and fixed quote
You tell us about the parent and the Rwandan work. We reply with the form, the certification route for your country, the government fees and our fixed fee.
- 1–4 weeks, planning allowance
Certification at home
Your board adopts the resolution before a notary. Documents are apostilled or legalised and translated. This is the longest step; Germany and the UAE take the longer end.
- Within 10 working days
Filing with the Registrar
Once you establish a place of business, our licensed partners in Kigali file the complete set online, inside the statutory window.
- After registration
Tax, bank, staff
The branch receives its tax registration. We submit the bank file, register for VAT at the threshold and set up PAYE and RSSB when you hire.
Sources: Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021 (Official Gazette 08/02/2021); Law N° 019/2023, Art. 4; Law N° 027/2022 as amended by Law N° 051/2023; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, withholding taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026); ORG and RDB online registration.
Who stands behind the file
One adviser, a long network
The board resolution is where most branch files stall. It must name the representative exactly as in the passport, describe the Rwandan activities in plain terms and be signed by the people the parent's articles authorise. Get those three points right and the rest of the file usually follows.
Voixa Rwanda is a brand of Voixa Consultors S.L. in Barcelona. Our founder, Alexander Baranov, has worked on cross-border structures for more than 15 years and founded BCA Unternehmensberatung in 2011, now based in Stuttgart, so German notaries, courts and federal offices are familiar ground. Local filings in Kigali go through licensed partners in Rwanda, and we advise in English and Russian.
An honest comparison
Doing it yourself, or with us
The branch application is short. The difficulty sits in the parent's documents and in what happens after registration.
| Task | On your own | With Voixa |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing the form | The difference between a branch and a country representative is easy to misjudge from abroad. | We settle the form and the activity description with the Registrar before filing. |
| Board resolution | Generic templates miss the representative's exact name, the scope of authority or the right signatories. | Drafted in English for your board to adopt, which also removes a translation step. |
| Certification chain | German and UAE parents cannot use the apostille. Finding that out after the stamp costs a month. | A route for each document before your notary appointment. |
| The 10-day window | Documents still in transit when the branch opens put the deadline at risk. | Documents ready before you establish the place of business. |
| Bank account | The bank onboards the foreign parent and rarely accepts the copy already filed with the Registrar. | A second certified set prepared alongside the first, plus the ownership chart. |
| Repatriation and recharges | Groups budget for 28% and forget the 15% on the way out, and the transfer pricing file for head-office fees. | We model both before you price the contract and coordinate with your home adviser. |
Model the repatriation tax before you price the contract. A branch pays 28% on its Rwandan profit and 15% withholding when that profit goes to the parent, unless a treaty lowers it. Groups that budget only for the first figure find a gap of more than ten points at the first transfer.
Sources: Law N° 027/2022 as amended by Law N° 051/2023; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, corporate withholding taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026); Ministerial Order N° 003/26/10/TC on transfer pricing.
Illustrative profiles
Who this is for
Three typical starting points. They are generic profiles, not clients.
A contractor with a defined project
An engineering or consulting company that must contract in its own name for a two-year project, then leave.
When a branch fits → IcyemezoA German GmbH opening in Kigali
A parent whose documents run through Landgericht, BfAA and the Rwandan embassy in Berlin instead of an apostille.
The German document chain → AmasezeranoA Gulf group delivering a contract
A UAE parent whose licence and resolutions go through attestation and legalisation before the branch can be filed.
Documents by country →| Parent's country | Certification route | WHT on dividends, as published |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Legalisation: pre-certification, BfAA final certification, Rwandan embassy in Berlin | 15% (no treaty) |
| Spain | Apostille; certified English translation | 15% (no treaty) |
| United Kingdom | Apostille; no translation needed | 15% (no treaty) |
| United Arab Emirates | Legalisation: notary, UAE foreign ministry, Rwandan embassy | 7.5% |
| Luxembourg | Apostille; translation of French or German documents | 10% |
| Russia | Apostille; certified English translation of every page | 15% (no treaty) |
Sources: HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (Germany's objection 28/03/2024; UAE not a party; accessed October 2026); PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, corporate withholding taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026). Whether a treaty lowers the 15% on a branch remittance depends on how that treaty treats branch profits; we read the article for your country before you plan the cash flow. Treaty status by country: Rwanda's double tax treaties.
Questions
What head offices ask before they sign
What will it cost?
Our fee is fixed and quoted in writing within 2 working days. It covers the drafting, the certification plan, the filing and the post-registration steps listed in the quote. Notary, apostille or legalisation and translation costs arise in your country and are paid there.
How long does it take?
The filing is quick once the file is complete and must happen within 10 working days of establishing a place of business. The time goes into certifying parent documents at home, usually a few weeks, longer for Germany and the UAE.
Does anyone need to travel?
Not for the registration. Your board signs before a notary at home and our licensed partners in Kigali file under a power of attorney. The representative must be in Rwanda and reachable there, and some banks ask to meet a signatory once.
Does a branch need a resident director?
No. The resident director rule applies to Rwandan companies. A branch needs an authorised representative in Rwanda, appointed by the parent's board. If you relocate an employee for the role, they need a permit, which we file once the branch is registered.
What is the main risk?
The parent answers for every obligation of the branch, because a branch has no separate legal personality. Where the Rwandan work carries real liability, or local partners may join later, we will tell you that a subsidiary is the better vehicle.
What if the Registrar raises a query?
Queries usually concern the resolution, the translation or the parent's ownership details. We answer through our partners in Kigali and, where a document must be replaced, tell you exactly what to sign and how to certify it.
Can we work with you in Russian?
Yes. Advice is in English or Russian. The resolution and filing documents are in English, the language in which the file is processed.
What happens after registration?
The branch files PAYE, RSSB and withholding tax by the 15th of each month once it has staff or pays fees abroad, VAT once turnover reaches RWF 20 million a year or RWF 5 million in a quarter, and a corporate income tax return within three months of year end with audited financial statements. We can continue with accounting and payroll, or hand the calendar to your finance team.
Sources: Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021, Arts. 7(4) and 157; Law N° 049/2023 of 05/09/2023 on VAT as amended by Law N° 009/2025 of 27/05/2025; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, tax administration (reviewed September 2026).
Fixed quote
Tell us about your plan
We reply within two working days with the steps, the government fees and our fixed fee in writing.
Your enquiry
Read first
The guides behind this service
Branch of a foreign company
When a branch fits, the representative, tax on branch profit and closing a branch.
Read the guide → IcyemezoDocuments and apostille
What the Registrar asks for and how each country certifies it.
Read more → IcyemezoGerman documents for Rwanda
Why the apostille does not work, and the legalisation chain that does.
Read more →Sources for facts on this page: Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021 as amended by Law N° 019/2023 of 30/03/2023; Law N° 027/2022 of 20/10/2022 as amended; Office of the Registrar General; HCCH status table (accessed October 2026); Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Africa corporate guide, Rwanda; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (reviewed 23/09/2026).