Company registration in Rwanda, for foreign founders
A Rwandan company, registered without the flight
We take a private company limited by shares from the first structure decision to the online filing with the Office of the Registrar General, through licensed partners in Kigali. You end up holding the certificate of registration, the tax number, the social security registration and a bank file ready to submit.
- A company structured for its owners, its bank and any later investment certificate
- Documents certified once, in the form accepted for your country
- Certificate, TIN and RSSB registration issued together, with a first-year calendar
Scope
What we do for you
A Rwandan isosiyete (company) is quick to register once the file is right. Our work is making the file right the first time.
- Structure and share capitalWe agree who owns the company, in what proportions, and whether a holding company should sit above it. There is no minimum share capital, so we size it to the first months of costs and to what a bank will expect to see.
- Name check and reservationWe check the name against the register and restricted words, and reserve it under Arts. 36–37 of Law N° 007/2021 with alternatives ready.
- Memorandum and articlesWe draft the memorandum in English. With two or more shareholders we add articles covering transfers, reserved matters, deadlock and exit.
- Resident director introductionsThe law requires at least one director resident in Rwanda. We introduce resident professionals through our partners in Kigali; you interview them and make the appointment. We never provide nominee directors or shareholders.
- Document route for your countryWe tell you which documents to sign, before whom, and whether each needs an apostille, legalisation or a certified English translation.
- Beneficial ownership declarationWe trace the chain to every individual holding 25% or more of the shares or votes and prepare the declaration required by Art. 116.
- Filing with the Registrar GeneralOur licensed partners in Kigali file online through the RDB portal under your power of attorney. The TIN and RSSB registration come with the certificate.
- Registered address guidanceWe explain how a Kigali address is recorded, district to village, and check that the lease matches the registration to the letter.
- Bank fileWe assemble the ownership chart, identity documents, source-of-funds evidence and business description that banks ask for first.
Sources: Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021 governing companies, Arts. 7(4), 36–37, 116 and 157, as amended by Law N° 019/2023 of 30/03/2023; ORG beneficial ownership guidelines (March 2023); City of Kigali street addressing.
Process
How it works
The registry works in hours. The weeks go into documents from your country, so that is where we start.
- Day 1–2
Structure and fixed quote
You send your plan. We reply in writing with the structure, the director arrangement, the government fees and our fixed fee.
- 1–3 weeks, planning allowance
Documents at home
You sign the consents, resolutions and power of attorney we draft, before a notary. Allow longer for Germany, the UAE and Qatar, where legalisation replaces the apostille.
- About 6 hours, ORG target
Online registration
Once the file is complete, the Registrar General registers the company without a government fee. Certificate, TIN and RSSB registration are issued together.
- After registration
Bank, VAT, certificate
We submit the bank file, register for VAT when turnover requires it and, where it pays, file the investment registration, decided by RDB within 2 working days.
Sources: Office of the Registrar General, FAQ and service charter (registration within about six hours, no government fee); Law N° 006/2021, Art. 18; HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (accessed October 2026); Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.
Who stands behind the file
One adviser, a long network
Decide the resident director before any document is signed. The name goes into the consents, the resolutions and every bank form after them, and a resolution that names the wrong person has to be signed, notarised and apostilled again. Fix the board, then sign.
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. 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 online filing is genuinely simple. The parts around it are where foreign founders lose time.
| Task | On your own | With Voixa |
|---|---|---|
| Resident director | You need a person who lives in Rwanda, understands director duties and will satisfy a bank. | We introduce resident professionals through partners in Kigali and draft a mandate with clear limits. You appoint. |
| Certifying documents | You work out whether your country uses the apostille, and discover the German exception or the UAE legalisation chain on your own. | We give you the route for each document before you sign, so it is certified once. |
| Drafting | Templates rarely reflect the 2023 share rules or a second shareholder's rights. | Memorandum, articles and resolutions drafted in English for your structure. |
| Beneficial ownership | Corporate shareholders need the chain documented at every layer, matching the shareholder documents exactly. | We build the chart once and use it for the Registrar and the bank. |
| Online filing | Possible if you are comfortable with the RDB portal and are in Rwanda or have a filer there. | Filed by licensed partners in Kigali under your power of attorney. |
| Registered address | A lease whose sector, cell or village spelling differs from the registration draws questions later. | We check the address and the land parcel UPI against the registration. |
| Bank file | Banks send a questionnaire and wait for answers, one at a time. | The file goes in complete, with the answers banks ask for first. |
Make the lease match the registration to the letter: the same umurenge (sector), akagari (cell) and umudugudu (village) spelling, and the UPI written in. Mismatched addresses are a small error that banks treat as a large one.
Illustrative profiles
Who this is for
Three typical starting points. They are generic profiles, not clients.
A European founder with a service business
One or two shareholders living in Europe, a Rwandan company for regional clients, and a resident director appointed from day one.
How a private company works → IcyemezoA subsidiary owned by an existing company
A Luxembourg, UAE or Spanish company as shareholder, with certified corporate documents and a beneficial ownership chain to trace.
Documents by country → IshoramariA founder who will move to Kigali
A company first, then the investment certificate and an investor permit, so the founder can later serve as the resident director.
Compare company types →Your country changes the document route, not the company. Spanish, British, Russian and Kazakh documents use the apostille, with a certified English translation where they are not in English. German documents need legalisation through the Rwandan embassy in Berlin, because Germany objected to Rwanda's accession to the Apostille Convention on 28/03/2024. Documents from the UAE and Qatar, which are not parties to the Convention, follow the legalisation chain of notary, foreign ministry and Rwandan embassy. The registry checklist still refers to notarised documents, so we confirm the accepted form for your country before you sign.
Sources: HCCH, Apostille Convention status table, including Germany's objection of 28/03/2024 (accessed October 2026); MINAFFET; Office of the Registrar General, registration requirements.
Questions
What founders ask before they sign
What will it cost?
The Registrar General charges no government fee to register a company. Notary, apostille or legalisation and translation costs arise in your country. Our fee is fixed and quoted in writing within 2 working days of receiving your plan, and it covers the steps listed in the quote. If you add the investment certificate, its fee is USD 500.
How long does it take?
Registration takes about six hours once the file is complete. Before that, allow one to three weeks for documents in an apostille country, and longer where legalisation applies. The bank account follows registration, on the bank's own timetable.
Do I need to travel to Rwanda?
Not to register the company. You sign at home and our licensed partners in Kigali file under your power of attorney. Some banks ask to meet a signatory once when the account is opened, and we plan that visit around a single day.
Who will be the resident director?
That is your choice. It can be you after relocating, a manager you hire in Kigali, a partner, or a resident professional introduced through our partners in Kigali. The person you appoint is a full director with legal duties. We never act as, or provide, nominee directors or shareholders.
Which documents will I need?
A passport for each individual shareholder and director, signed director consents, shareholder resolutions, the memorandum and a power of attorney. A corporate shareholder adds its certified certificate of incorporation, its articles and a board resolution. We send a list tailored to your structure with the quote.
What if the Registrar raises a query?
Queries usually concern a missing resolution, an uncertified translation or ownership details that do not match the shareholder documents. We answer them through our partners in Kigali and, where a document must be replaced, tell you exactly what to sign and how to certify it.
Can I work with you in Russian?
Yes. Advice is in English or Russian. The company documents themselves are in English, which is an official language of Rwanda and the language in which the file is processed.
What happens after registration?
The company files PAYE, RSSB and withholding returns by the 15th of each month once it has staff or pays fees, VAT once turnover reaches RWF 20 million a year or RWF 5 million in a quarter, and an annual return in the month allocated to it. We hand over a calendar with every date, and we can continue with accounting, the investment certificate and permits.
Sources: Office of the Registrar General, FAQ; Rwanda Development Board, investment registration; Law N° 049/2023 of 05/09/2023 on VAT as amended by Law N° 009/2025 of 27/05/2025; Law N° 007/2021, Art. 143 as amended; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (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
How to register a company in Rwanda
Ten steps from the first decision to a trading company, with the law behind each one.
Read the guide → IsosiyetePrivate company limited by shares
Shareholders, the board, the resident director, capital and the annual obligations.
Read more → IcyemezoDocuments and apostille
What to collect at home and how each country certifies it.
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° 006/2021 of 05/02/2021; Office of the Registrar General and Rwanda Development Board; HCCH status table (accessed October 2026); Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Africa corporate guide, Rwanda; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (reviewed September 2026).