Canada British Columbia Company Registration Services

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Most Canadian provinces have residency restrictions for the board of directors. We do not provide nominee director services, however we can provide incorporation services in provinces which do not have residency restrictions. Those provinces are British Columbia and New Brunswick. Companies incorporated in any of those three provinces can then be registered to do business in other provinces as well.

Branch office registration is also available to you in any Canadian province, and you would not need to have a resident Canadian as a director. For a quotation on branch office registration, please advise of the specific province in which you intend to establish the branch.

Our Services

Subsidiary incorporation in the Provinces of British Columbia and New Brunswick

Basic Information

A minimum of one shareholder/officer is required, and there are no restrictions on the authorized or issued capital. Shares are normally issued at no par value, and none of the listed jurisdictions has a share issuance tax. Government license fees, other than the incorporation fees, are dependent upon your specific line of business, and jurisdiction of operation. Some provinces have municipal business license requirements, and certain regulated industries require provincial or federal licensing as well.

Company Formation In British Columbia

Procedures And Steps

Select The Type Of Company

You must select which type of company you want to incorporate.

Under the Companies Act you may incorporate one of three types of companies:

Limited company by shares (limited liability Company)

Limited company by Guarantee; or

Unlimited Liability Company.

The first type of company is the one that has the traditional characteristics of corporations and companies. If you think you want to incorporate one of the other 2 kinds of companies, you may want to consider contacting competent professional advice to determine whether you have a need for these kinds of companies.

Select The Name Of The Company

You must select the name of the company. Alternatively, you may opt for a numbered company.

A British Columbia company's name must end with one of the following: Limited, Limitée, Incorporated, Incorporée, Ltd., Ltée or Inc.

A British Columbia company's name may not have the words "Royal" or "Imperial" as part of its legal name.

A British Columbia company's name may be in English, French or it may have a version in both languages.

Choosing a corporate name can be a difficult task. To increase the chances of your proposed name being accepted, try to select a name that is as distinct as possible, yet accurately describes your business. If your proposed corporate name uses common or popular names, the chances of it being accepted decrease. Furthermore, you may not be allowed to use a name which is either identical or deceptively similar to one that is already used by another company or competitor in your jurisdiction.

Selection Of A Registered Office

You must select a registered office for the company that is within British Columbia.

The registered office of a company is the location officially designated as such by the company to the relevant government department or authority. The registered office may be a commercial or residential address, but should not be a post office box. You will need the complete address.

The registered office is typically the principal place of business of the company (e.g., store, plant or office) and does not have to actually be an "office". If the company will have more than one place of business, you may select any of the places of business.

Selection Of Shareholders

You must select who will be the shareholders of the company.

Shareholders are the person(s) who hold (i.e., own) the shares in the company. Whoever holds the shares of a company essentially "owns" the company. By reason of the votes that are usually attached to the shares, the shareholders control the company.

Every private company must have at least 1 shareholder and there may be several (but not more than 50) shareholders.

You will need the complete residential address of each shareholder.

Number Of Shares

You must select the number of shares each shareholder will have.

A company may issue as few or as many shares as it deems desirable. The crucial matter is the proportion of shares that is initially issued to each shareholder, rather than the actual number. For example, if there are 2 shareholders and each is to have a 50% interest in the company, it is irrelevant whether each shareholder receives 10 shares or 10,000 shares each, since in either case, both receive an equal proportion of the shares.

Nonetheless, it may be advantageous to issue a larger amount of shares. It may facilitate selling a portion of these shares at a later date since each share will have a lower value. Also, subsequent share issues from the company may be more attractive to investors since the value of the shares would be lower given the larger number of shares that were already issued.

It is not uncommon for the total amount of shares issued to all initial shareholders to equal 1000 shares. However, you may decide to increase or decrease this amount.

Selection Of Directors

You must decide who will be the directors of the company.

Directors are the individuals who administer the affairs of the company and make all major decisions for the company.

Every company must have at least 1 director, and there may be several. Only individuals (i.e., physical persons) may be directors of a company.

A British Columbia company DOES NOT require that any of its directors be Canadian residents.

Directors may also be shareholders and officers (see below) of the company. In fact, this is typical in small companies.

You will need to know the following for each director: their complete residential address, whether they are Canadian residents and their profession.

Selection Of Officers

You must decide who will be the officers of the company.

Officers are the persons who hold certain senior management positions, such as President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, among others.

A company must appoint a President and a Secretary.

Officers may hold more than one office or position. For example, an individual may be the President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Officers may also be directors and shareholders of the company. In fact, this is typical in small companies. There is no Canadian residency requirement for officers.

You will need to know the following for each officer: their complete residential address and their profession.

Fiscal Year-End

You must select the fiscal year-end of the company.

A fiscal year is any 12-month period used by a company as its official accounting period. A fiscal year-end is the official last day of the fiscal year of a company. The fiscal year-end does not need to be December 31, but is typically the last day of the chosen month.

It is not uncommon for companies to select December 31 as their fiscal year-end. However, you may change this date if you have specific reasons for doing so.

Selection Of Accountants

You may select the auditors or accountants of the corporation. If you do not, you may still incorporate.

Auditors are the professionals who check the accuracy, fairness and general acceptability of a corporation's accounting records and attests to them. A corporation must generally appoint an auditor to prepare the annual financial statements of the corporation. The auditor should be a chartered accountant and cannot be a director or officer of the corporation. Alternatively, you may appoint accountants to prepare the financial statements of the corporation but who will not act as auditors of the corporation.

Shareholders of a private corporation may choose not to appoint an auditor for any given fiscal year. All the shareholders must agree to this decision. This decision remains valid only until the next annual meeting, where all the shareholders of the corporation must once again consent to not appointing an auditor for the following fiscal year.

Incorporation Fees

Incorporation Packages For Non-Residents Of Canada Provinces Of New Brunswick And British Columbia

A minimum of one shareholder/officer is required

There are no restrictions on the authorized or issued capital.

Shares are normally issued at no par value

Most Canadian provinces have residency restrictions for the board of directors.

We can provide incorporation services in provinces which do not have residency restrictions. Those provinces are Nova Scotia, British Columbia and New Brunswick.

Our Incorporation Packages are affordable and simple to use. The process is

completed by email and/or phone consultation and all documents are couriered via international courier.

The inclusions and costs are as follows:

• Complete Incorporation Package
• Registration of Articles of Incorporation, Notice of Directors and Notice of
• Registered Office
• NUANS Name Search (if required)
• Completed Organizational Minutes, Share Certificates, Shareholders', Directors'
• & Officers' Registers
• Corporate Minute Book including:
• Corporate Seal
• Standard Corporate By-laws
• Registers & Ledgers
• Completion and Filing of Notification pursuant to the Investment Canada Act
• Registered Office Address for service of documents and mail forwarding
• purposes
• Registration for federal Tax Programs including: Federal Business Number,
• Goods and Services Tax, Payroll Deductions Account, Import/Export Permit
• All correspondence by phone (excluding long distance charges), fax or email in regards to the incorporation

Government License Fees

Government license fees, other than the incorporation fees, are dependent upon your specific line of business, and State of operation. Some provinces have municipal business license requirements, and certain regulated industries require provincial or federal licensing as well.

Annual Fees

Under the Companies Law all companies must maintain a physical presence on the Jurisdiction via a registered office. At Atrium we view this an integral part in the efficient and effective administration of a Company and as a consequence we have built up an experienced team of professionals and robust IT support infrastructure in order to provide the highest level of service to our clients.

As registered office we typically provide the following:

Provision of a Registered Office address with or without a mail forwarding service, depending on each Client’s request;

Attending to the payment of the Annual Government License Fees and other government fees;

Submission of the company annual return to the Local Registrar;

Maintenance of the statutory records of the company including the Register of Directors, the Register of Members and the Register of Mortgages & Charges;

Attending to routine compliance matters (inclusive of periodic file reviews), reviewing official correspondence received and other routine matters incidental to good corporate governance;

Provision of ad-hoc services as requested from time to time by our clients, such as the provision of certificates of incumbency or certificates of good standing;

Filing of Statutory documents;

Company Searches;

Legalisation of documents;

Regular client updates and memo's on Local regulatory developments.

Full Serviced Virtual Offices In Canada

Full serviced Virtual Office in Canada – Recommended service - a service provided for those who incorporate offshore but simultaneously wish to offer the company a high degree of credibility internationally, and grant that all mail, phone calls and faxes addressed to your company by any entity, client, provider … will be always received by you. At the address you will notify us for that effect.

Dedicated and exclusive telephone line – USD 750.00/annum

Provision to cover all costs with calls automatically diverted to your phone line outside Canada – USD 300.00

Dedicated and exclusive fax line – USD 750.00/annum

Provision to cover all fax re-forwarding charges – USD 200.00

You can however select just the services you want – your option

Delivery Of Documents

We can either dispatch the documents to you by DHL or any other express courier, if a faster delivery service required.

How To Start Incorporation Process

As to start the incorporation process, we only need an email from you, with your order, confirming the required optional services, if any. A Proforma invoice will then be delivered to you with our banking coordinates so that you may settle payment by swift wire bank transfer.

Documents And Information Required

1 - We need you to provide us the names of the persons who will be appointed by you as shareholder and Director for the company. We shall need scanned copy of passports and Utility Bill as proof of address.

2 - Also 3 – 4 alternative names will be required to enable us to make the name search and approval for the company.

Time Required Getting Your Company’s Name Approved

Same day or next day latest

Time To Incorporate

A new incorporated company will take approximately 4/5 working days; time to notarise and apostil all documents, approximately 4/5days; delivery by DHL 2 days.

Hope all above information meets your requirements and needs.

In case you may have any further matter or question to clarify, please don’t hesitate to contact one of lour Consultants.

Content supplied by TBA & Associates