Swiss Company Formation

Switzerland offers a robust and stable economic environment, access to international markets, low corporate income tax rates, bank secrecy and anonymity of doing business, and an excellent reputation for Swiss-registered companies and trademarks.

Start your journey to establish a thriving business in Switzerland with an online consultation with our expert.

Starting a business in Switzerland has never been easier. Our experienced team will guide you through the entire company registration process. Comfortable remote registration and bank account opening will become an effortless journey. Whether you're interested in a GmbH (Limited Liability Company/Sarl), AG (Public Limited Company/Joint Stock Company/SA), Swiss Branch or any other structure, we've got you covered.

Secure and Confident Start:-

 Our seasoned team of lawyers and tax experts will ensure that you choose the right legal structure, comply with all local legal and license requirements, and complete all necessary documentation. If your Swiss business model requires any license, you'll be the first to know due to our legal analysis and professional expertise.

FINMA, SRO, SECO and any other license, permit, or authorization can be obtained by the Arkadia Venture team. Approaching the professional lawyers from the start is advantageous for you receiving all the services in one window.

Registered Address Services

Every Swiss business needs a physical address to operate. The total corporate income tax your Swiss company will pay, strongly related to the Swiss canton of its activity's allocation and thus depends on the registered address.

We provide registered office services, allowing you to establish your official address in a prime Swiss location of Zurich and in the tax heaven of Zug. Our address service is accompanied with the documents to comply with Swiss legal requirements, substance proving and requirements of domestic and foreign banks.

Swiss Nominee Director or Nominee Representative

Under the Swiss Code of Obligations, the Swiss legal entity cannot be registered and last for longer time without Swiss national- or Swiss resident signatory appointed. Our Swiss Nominee person service ensures that your business operations adhere to Swiss regulations while you focus on growing your business.

The Swiss Nominee acts in accordance with applicable Swiss laws, fiduciary agreement with Goldblum and Partners and in the favor of your Swiss company, without managing your company operational activities.

* The 3 main legal forms in Switzerland

To incorporate a company in Switzerland, you must select from several legal forms. Each of them is adapted to a particular type of project and has advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at each of the legal structures available to you.

1. The Swiss Limited Liability Company

The Limited Liability Company, known as GmbH in German and Sàrl in French, is a common choice for company incorporation in Switzerland. Therefore, if you plan to open a family business or an SME, the LLC can support your project and offers many advantages.

Advantages of the Swiss LLC

The GmbH/Sàrl does not impose personal liability for the debts: the liability is only guaranteed by the assets and the share capital or the shares of the company;

A low share capital: creating a GmbH/Sàrl requires a relatively low initial investment capital of CHF 20'000.-;

When creating a GmbH/Sàrl, you can freely choose the company's name, unlike a sole proprietorship, which requires you to mention your name.

* Conditions for creating an LLC

The creation of a GmbH/Sàrl requires a capital of CHF 20'000.-. Also, note that the minimum value of a share is CHF 0.01. In addition, to create this type of legal form, it is required that at least one director resides in Switzerland.

Finally, the name of the company you create must be distinguishable from any other company name in Switzerland. You can check the availability of the name with our tool. The choice of this company name is free, but you must add the indication of the legal form, here GmbH or Sàrl.

2. The Swiss Limited Company

The Limited Company (Aktiengesellschaft or AG in German / Société Anonyme or SA in French) can be created by one or more natural or legal persons. It is one of Switzerland's most famous legal forms, which convinces with its reliability. Let's take a look at the advantages of AG/SA.

* Advantages of the Swiss LTD

It does not require personal liability: just as with the GmbH/Sàrl, the shareholders are only liable for their share of the share capital;

Thanks to the AG/SA, the anonymity of the shareholders is preserved; The AG/SA may freely prescribe the transfer of shares. There is no restriction linked to the legal or statutory transferability of this type of legal form.

* Conditions for creating an LTD

To create an AG/SA, several conditions are required: first, it is essential to note that a capital of CHF 100'000.- is necessary to create this legal form. An amount that can hold back some entrepreneurs. In addition, the minimum value of a share is CHF 0.01.

In addition, to create an AG/SA, it is also required that at least one director resides in Switzerland. Finally, in the context of creating an AG/SA, the company's name must be clearly distinguished from any other company name in Switzerland.

3. The sole proprietorship

The sole proprietorship ("Einzelunternehmen" in German / "Raison individuelle" in French) is the second most common legal form in Switzerland. It is recommended when a single natural person carries out commercial activity. The liberal professions, artisans, consultants, architects, doctors, and traders often use this legal form, since they exercise their activity alone.

* Advantages of the sole proprietorship

The creation of a sole proprietorship requires few formalities. Only registration in the Commercial Register is necessary when the company is operated in commercial form, and the annual income exceeds CHF 100'000.-. It will suffice for the entrepreneur to notify the social organizations (AHV/AVS, accident insurance, etc.) of his project;

To create a sole prop, no minimum capital is required, unlike AG/SA and GmbH/Sàrl;

Sole proprietorships do not have to face the double taxation contrary to AG/SA and GmbH/Sàrl.

* Conditions for creating a sole proprietorship To create a sole proprietorship, you are not entirely free to choose your company name. However, you are indeed required to mention your last name.

In addition, to create this legal form, you must register with the OASI (AHV/AVS) and must have a work permit.

* Procedure for setting up a business in Switzerland To start your business in Switzerland, several steps are necessary: to set up your business calmly and efficiently, here are the essential steps.

- Find a business name: If you have a sole prop, your name should be in your business name. If you have an AG/SA or a GmbH/Sàrl, you are free to choose your company name. When you have found it, check that the chosen name is not already exploited, and register your domain name to create a website that will carry your brand;

- Choose the legal form: this choice will depend on your initial capital, the anonymity you wish to take advantage of, the level of responsibility you want to assume, but also the reputation you want to give to your company;

- Choose the canton where your company's head office will be located: here, check the taxation in force in the canton you are targeting. But also pay attention to its geographical location, its proximity to your suppliers, your customers, and its commercial interest;

Open a consignment account: if you launch a GmbH/Sàrl or AG/SA, you will have to open an account on which you deposit the capital necessary to create your company. This is a transitory account: the funds in it will be released and transferred to the company's current account as soon as you have registered with the Commercial Register;

Prepare the constitutive documents: to create a GmbH/Sàrl or an AG/SA, you must draft your constitutive documents and articles of association, which must contain much information (legal form, company name, head office, amount of share capital or capital, purpose of the company, associates, shareholders, signature rights, powers of the members, conditions for holding general meetings, appointment of directors, appointment of the auditor, etc.).

To ensure that these documents contain all the essential information, you can delegate their creation to dedicated companies, such as NewCo: the company drafts the legal documents you need for you in just 24 hours. This saves precious time;

Register the company in the Commercial Register: this step is mandatory if you want to form a Limited Liability Company (GmbH/Sàrl) or a Limited Company (AG/SA).