The Significance of Where a Company Director is Resident
The residence of a person applying to be a company director is not usually significant. A director of a UK company can be a non UK resident and live anywhere in the world and there is no requirement for them to live in the UK during or after their appointment as company director.
Directors are not Required to Visit the UK
There is also no requirement for a proposed director to have visited the UK at any point in the past. In short, a person living for example, in Germany who has never been to the UK can be a director of a UK company.
One of the few exemptions to this rule would be for example, where the person has a visa or work permit which prevents them from being a UK company director.
When filling out Form AP01, the non UK director will (as would a person living in the UK) put down the normal residential address on the form.
Visiting the UK to Open a Company Bank Account
One of the few instances of where a director may need to visit the UK is where the company intends to open a UK bank account. Banks are required to comply with both UK and European money laundering provisions.
In some cases a bank may require a company director to visit a UK branch, in other cases where the bank has a branch in the director's home country, the various money laundering and identification procedures may be satisfied by the director visiting this branch.
Company Residence for Taxation Purposes
Regarding the taxation, a company will be deemed to be subject to UK taxes (namely corporation tax) if it was incorporated in the UK. This rule applies irrespective of where the directors live or where key decisions affecting the business are taken.
In exceptional circumstances (undefined by Revenue and Customs), companies can submit a claim that they are not UK resident and therefore should not be subject to UK taxes.
