This article is for you if you are an EU or EEA resident and want to start a company in Ireland.
Key Takeaways:
- For Irish companies, there has to be an EEA-resident director at all times (see the exception below).
- Additional directors can be based anywhere in the world.
- Directors without an Irish Government number (PPS) need to get a Verified Identity Number (VIN) - which is easy to get.
- A company secretary must be appointed, but can be based anywhere in the world.
- The registered office must be a physical address in Ireland, not a PO box.

1. Director Residency Requirements
As a resident in the EEA, you automatically fulfil the requirement that every Irish company must have at least one director who is a resident of a European Economic Area (EEA) country. This means you can:
- Act as the sole director of the company.
- Appoint additional directors from anywhere in the world.
- Move within the EEA while maintaining your directorship (ensuring you update your address with the Companies Registration Office).
You don't have to be an EEA citizen, the rule is simply that you are currently resident in the EEA. You also don't need to show any residency permits - you simply need valid proof of address.
2. Company Secretary
Your company must appoint a company secretary to ensure adherence to corporate governance rules.

Key points about the company secretary:
- Can be based anywhere in the world
- Can be the same person as the director, if there are at least two directors
- Many companies opt to appoint Open Forest for this role - we are a regulated professional Company Secretary and will track all of your legal, tax and accounting obligations for you.
Key Responsibilities:
- Filing annual returns with the Companies Registration Office (CRO)
- Maintaining statutory records and registers
- Ensuring compliance with Irish company law
3. Registered Office Address
Every Irish company must maintain a registered office address in Ireland.

To set up an Irish company as an EEA Resident:
- Your address must be a physical location in Ireland
- You can use Open Forest's address as your company's registered office
- PO boxes are not acceptable
- All legal correspondence can be sent to this address
4. Verified Identity Number (VIN)
Irish citizens and residents are usually issued with a government ID number called a Personal Public Service (PPS) number. It's kind of like a social security number.
When starting an Irish company, if you don't already have a PPS number, you can apply to get a different ID number that is specifically for non-residents starting Irish companies.
This special ID number is called a VIN.
It is quite easy to get, takes around 2-3 business days and costs €150 per person.
We can get this for you as part of your company registration.

5. Next Steps
To proceed with company incorporation:
- Choose your company name
- Check your total costs on our pricing page
- Complete our incorporation form which takes around 5 minutes
For assistance with any of these steps, contact our incorporation team who can guide you through the process.
How Can Open Forest Help?
Open Forest offers the cheapest and fastest incorporation packages in Ireland including holding companies for €99 including CRO fees and access to the Open Forest platform so you can keep track of all of your legal, tax and accounting obligations - at no additional cost.
Choose from one of our incorporation packages here and we will take care of the rest.

Stuart Connolly is a corporate barrister in Ireland and the UK since 2012.
He spent over a decade at Ireland's top law firms including Arthur Cox & William Fry.