Foreign investment: the order the steps have to happen in

The order matters more than the speed

A foreign-invested company in Bangladesh involves a bank, a registrar, a revenue authority and sometimes an investment authority. Each expects something the previous step produced. Do them out of order and you will redo them.

A typical sequence

1. Eligibility review. Can this activity be foreign-owned, and to what extent? Establish this before spending anything.
2. Name clearance. Reserve the proposed company name.
3. Temporary bank account. Opened in the proposed company's name so capital can be received before the company legally exists.
4. Inward remittance. Capital is sent from abroad into that account, and the bank issues an encashment certificate. This money goes to the bank, never to BDoor.
5. Incorporation. Filed with the encashment certificate as evidence of capital.
6. Post-incorporation registrations. Trade licence, e-TIN, BIN/VAT, and any sector licence.
7. Investment registration. Where applicable, registered with the investment authority.

What this does not give you

None of the above is an immigration decision. If you intend to live or work in Bangladesh, a visa and usually a work permit are separate applications with their own requirements and their own outcome.

Where it usually goes wrong

• Sending capital before the account exists in the right name.
• Assuming the sector is open without checking.
• Discovering a corporate shareholder's ownership chain cannot be documented.