How to register a company in Kazakhstan as a foreigner

Can a foreigner start a business in Kazakhstan?

Yes. For most activities Kazakh law puts no cap on foreign ownership of an ordinary LLP, and a handful of regulated sectors are the exception. The LLP is the usual choice: it is a separate legal entity, participants risk only their contributions, and banks and tax officers deal with it every day.

What changes the route is who the founder is.

• A foreign company founds the LLP directly and needs no migration status. It files a trade register extract with an apostille or legalisation, a copy of its director's passport and a notarised translation into Kazakh and Russian.
• A foreign individual needs a business-immigrant permit or a C5 visa before becoming a participant. Since 28 May 2024 this applies to citizens of EAEU countries too. After entry, a business immigrant has two months to register the company or join one (Migration Law, Art. 40). We don't provide migration services; the permit is arranged separately.
• A holder of a Kazakh residence permit founds a company on the same terms as a local.

LLP, branch, representative office or AIFC company?

Four forms cover almost every foreign founder. Here is how they differ.

For most founders the LLP is the default. A branch suits a parent company that wants to work under its own name and carry the liability itself; see branch registration. If you are weighing the AIFC, read what the AIFC is first: its tax exemptions cover financial services, not IT.

Registering an LLP in 2026, step by step

1. Choose the founders and the tax regime. If a legal entity will own more than 25%, the simplified regime is closed and the LLP works under the general regime from day one. Consulting, marketing, accounting and legal services can't use the simplified regime in 2026 whoever owns the company.
2. Sort out migration status for each foreign individual founder: a business-immigrant permit or a C5 visa.
3. Get an IIN and an EDS for each foreign individual founder and for the director. Consulates stopped issuing IINs on 1 January 2026, and nobody can apply for you by power of attorney. The IIN that comes with eResidency doesn't work for an LLP or on egov, so plan a visit to a Public Service Centre. Our guide to IIN, BIN and EDS explains the details.
4. Prepare the foreign company's documents if a company is a founder. Documents from China have been apostilled since 7 November 2023, without consular legalisation.
5. Arrange a registered address. When you register through egov, no lease or guarantee letter is filed: the property owner gives consent with their own EDS. We provide a registered address in Astana, Almaty or the AIFC.
6. File the application through egov or at a Public Service Centre. The registrar has one business day, or until the next business day if foreign founders have no IIN. Since 1 April 2026 the registrar may ask a founder to appear in person in cases covered by anti-money-laundering rules. The LLP gets its BIN (business identification number) on registration.
7. Pay in the charter capital and open a bank account. The legal minimum is zero for a small business and 100 MCI for others. Participants set the payment term, at most one year from registration (Law on LLPs, Art. 23–24). Which banks open accounts for foreign-owned LLPs is in our bank account guide.
8. Start the books in the first month. Tax returns are due even before the first sale.

How long it takes and what it costs

The legal clock is short: one business day for the registrar. The rest depends on preparation. The IIN needs a trip to a Public Service Centre. Apostilles and translations for a foreign company are done in its home country. The bank runs its own checks after registration. IIN issuance to foreigners was also suspended twice in 2026, from 13 to 16 February and from 9 to 13 April, so leave a few spare days in your trip.

Small and medium businesses pay no state fee for LLP registration. Your costs are notary, apostille and translation fees abroad, a registered address from KZT 70,000 / month and accounting from KZT 175,000 / month on the simplified regime. We name the fee for company registration after a short brief and fix it in the contract.

Mistakes that cost foreign founders money

• Founding as an individual without the permit. egov doesn't always check migration status at filing, so a registration made without it can be challenged later.
• Planning around the simplified regime when a foreign company will own more than 25%. The LLP pays 20% corporate income tax and, above the threshold, 16% VAT.
• Missing the VAT threshold. Registration becomes mandatory at 10,000 MCI of turnover (KZT 43.25m in 2026), counted from the registration date for a new LLP. The application is due within 5 business days; a late one means a KZT 216,250 fine.
• Leaving a dormant LLP without returns. After 12 months without filing, the company goes on the list of inactive taxpayers, and its founder or director can be refused a new registration.
• An address where nobody answers. If inspectors don't find the company, the tax office draws up a report and publishes it the next day.

Before you sign anything, check which taxes the new company will pay. Our overview of Kazakhstan tax rates for 2026 lists them in one table.

Sources

• Law No. 2198 on state registration of legal entities, Art. 6, 9, 11: documents, review period, fees, grounds for refusal.
• Migration Law No. 477-IV, Art. 40: business immigrants and the two-month rule.
• Law No. 220-I on LLPs, Art. 23–24: minimum charter capital and the payment term.
• Tax Code of Kazakhstan, 2026, Art. 99, 101 (VAT registration) and Art. 723 (simplified regime).
• eResidency of Kazakhstan, FAQ: the eResidency IIN can't be used to register a company in the national jurisdiction.