Everything here is written from files we have actually handled. Statutory provisions are cited so you can check them, figures marked as verified come from documents we hold, and where we cannot support a claim we leave it out.
The steps in order, what each one actually requires, and the two places where remote formations stall.
Sole proprietorship, UG, GmbH or founding from abroad: the routes side by side, the external costs and how our organisational support works.
All eight statutory steps with document lists and realistic timelines, the FEMA/ODI decision tree for moving capital out of India, and two things rarely disclosed. Sent by email after one confirmation click.
A step-by-step guide to setting up a German company from abroad, what happens in which order, what each step needs and where the time really goes.
Einzelunternehmen, GbR, OHG, KG, UG, GmbH, AG and the branch, side by side on capital, liability and register, with the provisions. And why the field narrows to two or three once you found from abroad.
The 25,000 euro capital is not a fee, it is your money, in your account, available for the business. What a UG really saves, the reserve under § 5a(3), the name you have to carry, and the ongoing duties of both forms.
The EU-India agreement closed in January 2026 and is not in force, ordinary tariffs still apply. EORI takes three to four weeks and the portal becomes compulsory on 1 October. Plus import VAT deferment and the Art. 4 operator rule.
The notary, the bank and the register court want three different things. The MEA apostille chain, why the originals travel by courier, and why § 16c BeurkG quietly closes online formation to an Indian passport.
The external costs of a GmbH or UG: notary, register court and trade office, with sources and date. Share capital shown separately, running costs as a separate estimate. None of our own fees are in it.
Why banks refuse foreign-founded companies, the three routes that work in practice, what § 7(2) GmbHG actually requires, and the fraudulent invoices that arrive after registration.
It answers the register question. It does not answer the tax office question. The difference between a business address, a place of management and a permanent establishment, plus eight things to ask before you sign.
What a hire costs, what the law requires, and when placing your own people needs a licence.
Employer social security is about 21.3 % and falls above the ceilings. Minimum wage 13.90 €, ten hours maximum working time plus breaks, dismissal protection above ten employees, each with its source.
Three ways to place your people with a German client, and only one needs a licence. Getting it wrong creates an employment relationship between your worker and your client, by law.
Fast, and reasonable for testing the market. But § 1 AÜG requires a licence, §§ 9 and 10 make the employee yours if it is missing, and § 1(1b) caps the arrangement at eighteen months.
The obligations that begin the day the company is registered, including the ones with automatic penalties.
Double-entry books are compulsory for a GmbH even with no revenue. E-invoice receipt has been mandatory since January 2025, and the suspension of monthly VAT returns for new companies runs out at the end of 2026.
Almost nothing is compulsory, but § 43 GmbHG makes the director personally liable and § 4(2) ProdHaftG treats an importer as the manufacturer. Plus the two provisions that decide whether a policy pays at all, and what you need privately when you move here.
For established companies opening in Germany, where the questions are different from a founder's.
Five ways in and the three questions that decide which fits. Then the strategy, segment choice, de-risking, trade fairs, the § 89b agent trap, payment terms, and why first revenue takes twelve to twenty-four months.
For established companies opening in Germany. The branch looks lighter but § 325a HGB makes it publish the parent's accounts here, the parent stays fully liable, and the apostille chain is identical. Plus the ICT Card under § 19 AufenthG.
The capital is rarely the problem, the compliance file is. Beneficial ownership through your group, the ICT Card under § 19 AufenthG, and why the timetable is your board's as much as ours.
Arriving, staying, and the vocabulary you will meet on the way.
86,000 to 280,000 in a decade, and 96 % intend to stay, so the hard part is not arriving. Settlement after 21 months, why the dual-citizenship reform changes nothing here, and what the research says about work, language and belonging.
Thirty German terms you will meet while setting up: Handelsregister, Stammkapital, ladungsfähige Geschäftsadresse, Musterprotokoll, in plain English, each with the provision it comes from.
More is being written, driven by the questions foreign founders actually ask us. If something you need is missing, tell us and we will answer it properly.