How to Register a Foreign-Owned Company in Pakistan (2026 Guide)
Can a foreigner register a company in Pakistan without traveling there? Yes. Pakistan allows 100% foreign ownership in nearly every sector, and the entire incorporation process runs through SECP's digital LEAP portal — no in-person filing required. This guide walks through the exact steps, realistic timelines, and the mistakes that most often delay foreign applicants.
What is SECP and why does it matter?
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is the federal regulator responsible for registering every company in the country. Since 2023, nearly all company registration runs through SECP's digital platform, LEAP ("Leading Efficiency through Automation Prowess," also referred to as eZfile), at leap.secp.gov.pk. A separate, older portal — eServices — still handles branch office and liaison office registrations specifically, which require Board of Investment permission first and are a different process from incorporating a private limited company.
Step-by-step: registering a private limited company
- Create a LEAP account. Foreign nationals sign up using their passport number (no Pakistani ID required). The portal verifies your identity in real time and confirms via OTP to your mobile and email.
- Reserve your company name. This costs a small government fee and, once approved, the name is held for you for 60 days. SECP tightened its name-reservation guidelines in February 2025 specifically to cut rejection rates — generic or already-similar names are the most common reason a reservation gets bounced back.
- File for incorporation. You'll submit Form 1 (Application for Incorporation) and Form 21 (Declaration of Compliance), your Memorandum and Articles of Association, and copies of directors' and shareholders' passports. A private limited company needs a minimum of two directors and two shareholders. If any subscriber is signing from outside Pakistan, their documents need to be apostilled or otherwise legalised — this single step is the leading cause of rejected or delayed filings for foreign applicants, so start it early.
- Receive your Certificate of Incorporation. A clean, complete filing can be approved in as little as 1–5 working days through LEAP. If SECP has questions about your paperwork, expect 3–4 weeks instead.
- Register for your tax number (NTN) with FBR. This runs through a separate system, FBR's IRIS 2.0 portal, and needs your SECP certificate, director identification documents, your Memorandum and Articles of Association, and proof of a registered office (a recent utility bill). A clean NTN application typically clears in 48–72 hours. Don't wait until after incorporation to start this — see the mistakes section below.
- Open a Special Foreign Currency Account and register your shares with SBP. Your capital has to enter Pakistan through an Authorized Dealer bank, which then issues the paperwork confirming your shareholding is registered on a repatriable basis — the step that legally protects your right to send profits home later. Full detail on this step is in our guide to repatriating profits and capital out of Pakistan.
After incorporation, most companies also need to register with the provincial Excise & Taxation Department, a provincial social-security institution, and EOBI before hiring staff — the Board of Investment's process checklist lists these in full.
How long does it actually take, end to end?
| Stage | Typical timeline |
|---|---|
| Name reservation | 1–2 working days |
| Incorporation (clean filing) | 1–5 working days |
| Incorporation (with SECP queries) | 3–4 weeks |
| FBR/NTN registration | 48–72 hours |
| Bank account + SBP share registration | 1–3 weeks |
| Realistic end-to-end total | 4–6 weeks |
What does it cost?
SECP publishes its fees on a schedule that's updated annually (the current "Seventh Schedule" fee structure took effect in April 2025), and the exact amount scales with your authorized capital. Rather than quoting a specific number here that may already be out of date by the time you read this, use SECP's official fee calculator directly, or ask us to confirm the current figure for your structure — government fees for a standard small-capital private limited company are modest (low hundreds of dollars), with the bulk of most engagements' cost being advisory and banking-facilitation work, not the government filing fee itself.
The five mistakes that most often delay foreign applicants
- Unlegalised documents. Every foreign subscriber's passport and signing documents typically need apostille or embassy legalisation. This is the single biggest cause of rejected filings.
- Filing NTN registration after incorporation instead of alongside it. Banks won't process your capital-account opening without an active NTN — starting this late adds weeks.
- Underestimating bank KYC. Non-resident shareholders should expect to provide notarised passport copies, a source-of-funds declaration, and board resolutions before a bank will open your account — prepare these in parallel with incorporation, not after.
- Confusing a branch office with a private limited company. A branch/liaison office needs BOI permission first and runs through the older eServices portal — a completely different track from standard LEAP incorporation.
- Generic or conflicting company names. Since the February 2025 guideline update, names too similar to an existing registration are rejected more consistently — have two or three backup names ready.
The bottom line
Registration itself is genuinely fast and can be done entirely without traveling to Pakistan. What actually determines your timeline is document preparation — apostille, KYC paperwork, and NTN — running in parallel rather than in sequence. That coordination is exactly what our Business Setup service handles end to end.
Last updated September 2026. Sources: SECP, SECP LEAP portal, Board of Investment registration checklist, FBR, FBR IRIS 2.0, State Bank of Pakistan Foreign Exchange Manual.