A foreign company's paperwork gets read three times when it sets up in the UK: by Companies House, by the bank and, if staff are coming over, by the Home Office's sponsor licensing team. Each reads it for a different reason, and each has a different rule for translations.
Companies House wants the company's own director to certify the English version. The Home Office wants the translator or translation company to confirm it in writing. Banks set their own rules under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Get the set right once, consistently translated, and it serves all three.
This guide covers the branch or subsidiary choice, what each body asks for and why, translation rules, and the mistakes that stall a UK launch.
Branch or subsidiary: which needs more translation?
A branch needs more at Companies House; at the bank, both are judged on the parent's documents. Companies House defines a UK establishment as "a place of business or branch of an overseas company in the UK", registered only where there is "some degree of physical presence". A subsidiary is a new UK company, which GOV.UK describes as "legally separate from the people who own it".
| UK establishment (branch) | UK subsidiary | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Part of the overseas company | A separate UK limited company owned by the parent |
| Companies House filing | Form OS IN01, within one month of opening | Online incorporation, usually within 24 hours |
| Fee | £124 | £100 online, £124 by post |
| Parent documents filed | Certified copy of the constitution; latest accounts if parent law requires them | None; the subsidiary's own articles are in English |
| Translation at Companies House | Yes, certified by a director, secretary or permanent representative | No |
| Identity verification | Every director of the overseas company | Every director, and the individuals who are its PSCs |
Either way, the bank and any sponsor licence application will look at the parent.
What does Companies House need from the parent for a UK branch?
Form OS IN01, the parent's constitution and, where its home law requires accounts to be disclosed, its latest disclosed accounts. The form asks for particulars that usually have to be read out of foreign documents: the company's legal form, "the identity of the register in which it is registered and the number", the law it is incorporated under, its objects and issued share capital, and "the extent of the powers of the directors or secretary to represent the company", including whether they act alone or jointly.
Three points from Companies House's own guidance:
- A registry extract is not a constitution. "An extract or report from the registry in the country of incorporation is not the company's constitution." Send the articles or statutes themselves.
- Authorised is not issued capital. Constitutions "often refer to the company's authorised or nominal capital, and not the issued share capital", and the form wants the issued amount.
- Limited authority must be described. You "cannot simply refer to the company's constitution, unless the relevant extract is attached", so the representation clause needs an accurate translation.
Every director must have verified their identity and give a Companies House personal code. The translation of the constitution "needs to be certified to be a correct translation by the director, secretary or permanent representative"; the full rules are in Companies House filings with foreign documents.
What does a UK subsidiary need, and who are its PSCs?
Very little from the parent at Companies House. The subsidiary needs at least one director aged 16 or over ("Directors do not have to live in the UK"), a UK registered office that is a physical, "appropriate" address (not a PO Box), a registered email address, and verified identities for its directors.
Ownership is where foreign papers come back in. A parent company counts as a "relevant legal entity", and goes on the register in place of its owners, only if it is "subject to its own disclosure requirements": broadly a UK company, or one with voting shares traded on a UK or EU regulated market or on specified exchanges in the US, Japan, Switzerland or Israel. An unlisted foreign parent is neither, so the individuals who control it are usually the subsidiary's registrable people with significant control (PSCs), and each must verify their identity. Working out who they are often means reading the parent's shareholder register and articles, so have those translated early.
What will a UK bank ask for, and why?
Whatever it needs to meet regulation 28 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. For a corporate customer, a bank must "obtain and verify" its name, registration number and registered office, and take reasonable measures to verify "the law to which the body corporate is subject, and its constitution" and "the full names of the board of directors", to understand its "ownership and control structure", and to identify and verify its beneficial owners. It cannot rely "solely" on the Companies House register for beneficial ownership, and it must verify that anyone acting for the company is authorised to do so.
In practice a subsidiary's bank usually works through the parent's documents:
| Document | Typical native name | Why it is asked for |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial register extract | Handelsregisterauszug (Germany), extrait Kbis (France), odpis z KRS (Poland), visura camerale (Italy), 营业执照 (China, business licence) | Name, number, registered office, directors and how they represent the company |
| Constitution | Gesellschaftsvertrag, statuts, umowa spółki | Governing law, powers, share classes |
| Shareholder register or group chart | Varies by country | Ownership chain and beneficial owners |
| Board resolution or power of attorney | Varies by country | Authority of the person opening the account |
| Latest accounts | Varies by country | Source of funds and financial standing |
Banks set their own format rules, and they differ: some accept a certified translation with a plain copy, others want certified copies, or notarised or apostilled originals. Ask the onboarding team for its list before ordering anything. An apostille on a foreign document comes from the issuing country: the FCDO says "You cannot get documents issued outside the UK legalised using this service". For powers of attorney, see power of attorney translation.
Sending staff to set it up: what does the Home Office want?
A sponsor licence first, then visas. The UK Expansion Worker visa "allows you to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet". The worker must normally have worked for the business abroad for at least 12 months and be paid at least £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher, and the application fee is £340.
The sponsor licence is where the parent's documents are tested. Under Appendix A of the sponsor guidance (April 2026), a UK Expansion Worker applicant must prove a UK "footprint" (a Companies House number for the branch or subsidiary, or a signed lease or purchase of premises), a qualifying link to the overseas business, and, normally, at least 3 years of overseas trading through:
- business bank statements covering at least the last 12 months
- "certified business accounts or annual reports" for at least 3 years, with an accountant's certificate of confirmation
- evidence of registration in the home country
- the articles and memorandum of association, or equivalents
- contracts for goods or services covering 12 months, or evidence of advertising
Australian and Japanese businesses need only 12 months of trading evidence, but can then sponsor one person at a time. A business plan and a hierarchy chart naming owners and directors are also required.
Every document not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation on which "the translator or translation company must confirm in writing" that it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and "the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company". For bank statements, "it's not necessary to translate every transaction", but the translation must let caseworkers assess the financial position and include every relevant transaction, and the Home Office may "reject your application" if it cannot. See bank statement translation and, once licensed, sponsor licence record-keeping.
How should corporate documents be translated?
As complete documents that a director, a bank's compliance officer and a caseworker can each rely on:
- Names and legal forms unchanged: GmbH, S.A., sp. z o.o. stay as written, with an English gloss in brackets the first time.
- Registry details exact: register name, court or office, entry number, dates of entry and every endorsement.
- Representation rules in full: who signs alone, who jointly, and any limits.
- Capital as stated: authorised and issued amounts kept separate, currency as written.
- Accounts with every note, plus the auditor's or accountant's report.
- Stamps, seals, signatures and any apostille translated.
- One spelling of the company name across every document in the set.
Why UK launches stall over documents
- A register extract filed with OS IN01 instead of the constitution.
- A translation certified only by the translator where Companies House wanted a director's certificate.
- Issued and authorised capital confused on the form.
- Bank statements translated so selectively that turnover cannot be checked.
- Different translators, different names: the parent's name spelled three ways across the set.
- PSCs not identified because nobody read the parent's shareholder register.
Checklist: parent company documents for a UK launch
Questions people ask
Does a UK subsidiary need the parent company's documents translated?
Not for Companies House, which incorporates the subsidiary on English-language forms and articles. The bank opening its account usually asks for the parent's register extract, constitution and ownership documents, and a sponsor licence application needs the parent's registration, articles and accounts, each with a certified translation if not in English.
Who certifies the translation of the parent's constitution for Companies House?
A director, secretary or permanent representative of the overseas company, signing at the end of the certificate, as Companies House's OS IN01 guidance and the registrar's rules require. A professional translation gives that officer something reliable to certify; the translator's certificate alone does not meet the rule.
Do the parent's documents need an apostille?
Companies House asks for copies certified by a director, secretary or permanent representative, and the sponsor guidance asks for certified translations, with certified copies only if requested. Some banks want notarised or apostilled documents, and those apostilles come from the country that issued the document.
Do bank statements for a sponsor licence need every transaction translated?
No. Appendix A says it is "not necessary to translate every transaction", but the translation must allow the Home Office to assess the business's financial position and include every transaction relevant to the application. It can ask for more translation or reject the application if it cannot assess the evidence.
How long does it take to register a UK branch or subsidiary?
A subsidiary registered online is usually incorporated within 24 hours, or 8 to 10 days by post. A UK establishment must be registered within one month of opening, so the constitution and its certified translation need to be ready before the branch opens its doors.
How much does translating a parent company's documents cost, and how long does it take?
Official Translations charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words, with a signed certificate of accuracy that satisfies paragraph 39B(f) of the Immigration Rules in full, including the credentials element for applications made in the UK. A register extract usually arrives as a signed PDF within 24 hours, and articles or accounts take 1 to 3 business days.
