KYIV – The businessmen of Pakistan can now become the first e-residents in Ukraine as the authorities have introduced fresh regulations in this regard.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fyodorov was quoted by local media that the Ukrainian Digital Transformation Ministry has updated the list of countries whose businessmen will become the first e-residents in the country, including the citizens of Slovenia, India, and Thailand in it.
“Our team continues to work on the e-residency program. This will allow foreigners to remotely do business and pay taxes in Ukraine. The first group of countries has been approved: Slovenia, India, Pakistan and Thailand. That’s not all, while we are finalizing the legal framework,” Fyodorov said.
In a recent announcement on social media, Alexander Bornyakov, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development, confirmed that after the full launch of the program, the citizens of these four countries would be allowed to register as entrepreneurs in Ukraine and pay taxes to the state budget online.
The advantage of the e-citizenship is that they would have the flexibility to remotely manage their businesses and handle banking transactions. Bornyakov emphasized that as the program expands, the list of eligible countries would be regularly updated to accommodate more international entrepreneurs.
“The program should be fully launched this year, while the legal framework is being elaborated and the information system is being tested. We are turning Ukraine step by step into a hub for innovative entrepreneurs from all over the world,” Bornyakov said.
Revealing the details, the Digital Transformation Ministry stated that the e-resident information system is being tested, adding that the Ukrainian e-residency would not be available for citizens of Russia, Belarus and those countries that are on the gray list or blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
It has also been clarified that e-residents will not be able to provide services to Ukrainian citizens, which means they will work exclusively with other foreigners.
The five countries providing outsourcing IT services, namely, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and the Philippines have been identified as the target audience of the Ukrainian e-residency.
Prior to the fresh announcement, it was also reported that a law containing amendments to the Tax Code and several other laws on the specifics of taxation of business activities of e-residents, that is, on the e-residency, were promulgated on April 1.
As far as the details are concerned, it has been informed that when operating, an e-resident will pay a tax of 5% of his income under the limit of the FLP (sole proprietor) Group 3, and 15% of his income above the limit, but only on foreign contracts for the export of services, Interfax reported.
Starting from April 1, the National Bank of Ukraine has granted e-residents permission to open bank accounts. This action aligns with the law passed on October 6, 2022, which focuses on how the business activities of e-residents are taxed.
The e-residency is not a new project as it has been in the works since 2019 and the Digital Transformation Ministry has been working on this, to offer foreign citizens a special status in Ukraine.
This status provides access to information and advisory services, simplifies administrative procedures, and facilitates the establishment of businesses in Ukraine from a remote location.
Initially, during the project’s first stage, individuals could only register as sole proprietors. However, in the future, the registration of legal entities in the form of a limited liability company (LLC) will also be possible.
