Continuing to manage a NZ company while overseas

[melange]

I'm a NZ permanent resident and plan to start a NZ company (LLC) for my app development work. However, I might be doing the digital nomad thing next year and might be living overseas for a long period. Would it be okay for me to establish the NZ company regardless, and continue to run it while living overseas? Or is there a law against that?

[JandM]

There's nothing against that as far as immigration law is concerned. Once you have Permanent Residence, you have the right to live where you want and re-enter the country whenever you want. Also you can run your own business. http://kb.immigration.govt.nz/item/1106 You need to research company law to see if there is anything against managing your affairs from outside NZ - I can't imagine there would be, though.

[PrivateBoxNZ]

One of the requirements for NZ Limited company is to have a NZ resident director.

This is something you need to prove when you incorporate the company. This is an NZ certified copy of the following:
> Electricity account or landline phone account
> Water account or gas account
> Local municipal rates demand
> Tenancy agreement or lease agreement or
> Original bank statement or original credit card statement.

Once that has been supplied you can have the company incorporated.

Every 12 months you will need to complete a company return where you will declare if the details have changed or not. If you declare your residence is outside NZ you will need to find another NZ resident to be a director for you. No proof is required on these declarations.

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Gareth

[JandM]

How about if you are a sole trader? Do you happen to know about that, too?

[PrivateBoxNZ]

How about if you are a sole trader? Do you happen to know about that, too?

Sole traders is just a fancy name to say yourself as an individual is in business. So there are no requirements for that other than making sure you keep your tax residence status up to date with IRD. So once you become non-resident (eg. 186 days outside the country) you no longer have to pay tax in NZ. Not too sure what this means if you are GST registered but my guess is you would no longer need to collect GST on behalf of IRD either.

There are declarations you can make to IRD around being a sole trader and tax residence.

Cheers,
Gareth