The Register of Overseas Entities was created under the Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022 and will be held at Companies House. Any overseas entity buying, transferring, leasing or selling land or property within the UK must declare its beneficial owners and or/managing officers in order to provide greater transparency.

What documents are required?
Registration requires the following documents:

• Proof of ID and proof of residential address for all beneficial owners and/or managing officers
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Memorandum of Association
• Articles of Association
• Registers of Directors and Members

All of the above documents must be certified within the previous three months.

Application process
The application process is completed online with Companies House. As a UK Regulated Agent, 1st Choice Incorporations can authenticate your registration and file your application.

Once the application is submitted to Companies House, they usually take around 2-3 working days to provide a registration update. Upon successful registration, the entity will be provided with a unique Overseas Entity ID to be provided to the Land Registry. The details on the Register must be reviewed and confirmed annually with Companies House.

Penalties
Anyone found to be non-compliant with the Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022 will be committing a criminal offence, liable for a fine of up to £2,500 a day or a 5-year prison sentence, in addition to restrictions on what they can do with land or property they own or wish to purchase or sell.

Fee
1st Choice Incorporations are registered with Companies House as a UK Regulated Agent, we can register your overseas entity starting at £500 + VAT plus a £100 Companies House disbursement.

Further guidance
For more information, contact our team to discuss your registration here.