FAQ ON BRANCH REGISTRATION
A branch of a foreign company can be registered with ACRA upon the approval of its name.
Under the Companies Act, the minimum number of authorised representatives required is one. The branch of a foreign company must have at least one authorised representative who is ordinarily resident in Singapore. Being “ordinarily resident in Singapore” means the authorised representative’s usual place of residence is in Singapore. A Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident or an EntrePass holder can be accepted as a person who is ordinarily resident here.
The application is usually processed within an hour after the name application fee is paid. This is on condition that the branch does not require any licenses/approvals from other government agencies in order to carry out the business activities.
In some situations, it may take between 2 weeks to 2 months if the application needs to be referred to another agency for approval or review. For example, if the intention of the branch of a foreign company is to carry out activities involving the setting up of a private school, the application will be referred to the Ministry of Education.