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U.S. Citizen living in Europe wanting to register a consulting company in Oklahoma

Asked by: Jesse  — 15 June, 2012

Hello, I’m a U.S. Citizen living in Europe wanting to Register/start-up a new business in my home state of Oklahoma, but run it remotely from Europe…it would be way easier and cheaper to start a business in the U.S., rather than in Europe. I will be offering GIS and Data Management Consulting services from my home in Europe. I’m not sure if I should operate as a Sole Proprietorship or LLC. I’m thinking of listing an Oklahoma virtual office address (my “headquarters”) on my company website, in addition to listing my European home address as the “European Branch.” They (the virtual office) will forward all my mail and calls to my physical address in Europe, or to my father’s address in Oklahoma. As I would be physically operating out of my home in Europe, and then just travelling internationally to the client’s location, (I would market my consulting services to clients from the Middle East, Europe, U.S. and North Africa) I’m wondering what your advice or comments would be concerning my plans. If I need to have a registered agent, could this person be my father, who lives in Oklahoma? Should I use his address to register the company? I plan to open a business banking account in the U.S, as I only have a personal account in Europe for the time being. Should I have my clients send payments for services to either my European or American Bank Account/Address (I could list my European address as my “Financial Center”)? Does it matter? Thanks a lot.

Answered by: admin  — 15 June, 2012

Jesse,

Your plan would work as long as the laws in the European country where you are based at do not require you to register your US company in the local jurisdiction.

You could register an LLC in Oklahoma, and use your dad as the registered agent, provided he is available at the registered address during business hours. You can also open a bank account for that LLC, provided you can travel to the US to do that, or have your dad open one instead as a company representative. You would then be able to ask your clients to pay your company by wiring funds to your US bank account.

Again, I can’t really advise you on registration requirements in your European country, however since you are an American you are required to pay taxes in the US anyway, so you might as well do business using a US registered LLC. I would also recommend you to consult with a local accountant to see if there are any caveats we didn’t think or know of.

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