How to Open a Dutch BV as a Non-Resident (2026 Remote Guide)

Bottom line up front: you can incorporate a Dutch BV without ever flying to the Netherlands. A Dutch civil-law notary drafts the deed, you grant a power of attorney so the notary can sign on your behalf (or you sign by online video where the notary offers it), the company is registered at the KVK, and the tax authority issues a BTW-id and RSIN. Plan for roughly €82.25 in KVK fees plus a notary bill that typically runs €400–€1,500, and a timeline of about one to three weeks once your documents are in order. The hardest step is usually the business bank account, not the incorporation itself.

Why a BV, and what “non-resident” changes

The besloten vennootschap (BV) is the Dutch private limited company. It is a separate legal person, so your liability is generally limited to the capital you put in, and it is the standard vehicle for founders who want a credible EU entity, a holding structure, or the option to run director payroll later.

Being a non-resident does not stop you owning or directing a Dutch BV. There is no requirement that a shareholder or director live in the Netherlands. What changes is the practicalities: you incorporate remotely by power of attorney, you must prove your identity to the notary from abroad, and you should think early about where the company is genuinely managed — banks and the tax authority care about real substance, not a nameplate.

Minimum share capital is symbolic: since the 2012 Flex-BV reform there is no €18,000 minimum, and the legal floor is €0.01. In practice founders issue €1–€100 of shares. That means the money you spend is on the notary, the KVK, and setup — not on locked-up capital.

The step-by-step remote process

Here is the sequence most non-resident incorporations follow.

1. Prepare identity and company basics. You choose the company name, the shareholders and directors, the share split, and the business activity (which maps to one or more SBI codes in the trade register). Each individual involved needs a valid passport; the notary will run identity and, where required, anti-money-laundering checks.

2. The notary drafts the deed. A Dutch civil-law notary (notaris) is mandatory — a BV can only come into existence by notarial deed. The notary prepares the articles of association and the incorporation deed in Dutch (usually with an English working translation).

3. Sign by power of attorney or online. Rather than travelling, you sign a power of attorney (PoA) authorising the notary to execute the deed for you. The PoA itself is usually notarised and sometimes apostilled in your home country. Since 2024, Dutch notaries can also execute an online notarial deed by secure video in qualifying cases, which can remove the paper PoA step entirely — availability depends on the notary and your situation.

4. KVK registration. On execution, the notary registers the BV in the Handelsregister at the Kamer van Koophandel (KVK). Registration carries a one-off fee of €82.25 (2026 tariff — confirm the exact cent amount at KVK before paying, as sources vary). There is no annual KVK membership fee. You receive a KVK number, which is your public company registration number.

5. Tax registrations — BTW-id and RSIN. The KVK passes your registration to the Belastingdienst, which issues:

• an RSIN (Rechtspersonen en Samenwerkingsverbanden Informatienummer) — the legal-entity tax identifier used for corporate tax and payroll;
• a BTW-id (VAT identification number) if the company is a VAT entrepreneur, used on invoices and for EU trade.

6. Open a business bank account. This is the step that most often causes delay for non-residents. Dutch banks apply strict know-your-customer and substance checks, and some decline applicants with no Dutch footprint. Budget extra time here and prepare a clear description of the business, its ownership, and where it operates.

Timeline and what drives it

Once your documents are complete, the incorporation itself is fast — the notarial deed and KVK registration can be done in a few working days, and end-to-end many founders are registered within one to three weeks. What stretches the timeline is almost always document preparation and banking:

• getting passports, a signed (and possibly apostilled) power of attorney, and proof of address back to the notary;
• resolving any anti-money-laundering questions about ownership and source of funds;
• waiting on the bank account, which can take longer than the company formation.

If you need to trade immediately, remember the BTW-id and RSIN follow automatically after KVK registration, so you can often invoice before the bank account is fully live.

What it costs

Two hard costs plus your service fee:

• KVK registration: €82.25 one-off (no recurring KVK fee).
• Notary: typically €400–€1,500 for the incorporation deed. Simple single-shareholder BVs sit at the low end; a holding-plus-operating structure with custom articles costs more. These are market prices, not a fixed tariff.
• Share capital: as little as €0.01 legally, usually €1–€100 in practice.

On top of that come ongoing obligations you should price in from day one: bookkeeping, annual accounts filed with the KVK, and corporate income tax (Vpb) at 19% on profit up to €200,000 and 25.8% above. See our full cost breakdown for the all-in picture.

Next steps

If you want this handled end to end — notary, power of attorney, KVK, and the tax registrations — that is exactly the Dutch BV for non-residents service, and the general open a Dutch BV page covers the resident route. Before you commit, decide on your structure (a single BV or a holding on top of an operating BV changes the notary work), and start the bank-account conversation early, because it is the slowest link in the chain.