Belarus
Kurdistan
The obstacle a Belarusian founder faces in the Kurdistan Region is not the one most people expect.
Kurdish company law does not restrict Belarusian shareholders. Belarusian currency regulation stopped requiring a National Bank permit to fund a foreign company in 2021. Registration takes two to four weeks and full foreign ownership is available.
The wall is correspondent banking. A company you can register, own and manage is of limited use if the payments cannot move.
Key facts for Belarusian founders
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can a Belarusian resident own 100% of a Kurdistan company? | Yes. Full foreign ownership, unlike federal Iraq's 49% cap |
| Belarusian permit to fund it | No longer required since the 2021 liberalisation |
| What replaced the permit | Registration or notification on the National Bank portal |
| Belarus-Iraq double tax treaty | None |
| Kurdish corporate tax | 15%, including oil and gas |
| Who supervises Kurdish banks | The Central Bank of Iraq, not the KRG |
| The actual constraint | Correspondent relationships in euros and dollars |
Nothing here is a legal prohibition. Everything here is a payment problem, which is harder to solve and easier to discover late.
The Belarusian side: a compliance step, not a ban
The 2021 reform changed the character of the obligation without removing it.
| Element | Position |
|---|---|
| Before 2021 | A permit from the National Bank of Belarus was required |
| Since 2021 | A registration procedure replaced the permit |
| What funding a foreign company is | A capital operation |
| What it requires | Registration or notification on the National Bank portal |
| Who registers | Residents individually, or with assistance from their bank |
| Character of the step | Compliance, not prohibition |
This puts Belarus in a materially better position than Bangladesh, where outward investment is restricted by default, and in a comparable position to Russia, where the obligation is to notify rather than to obtain permission.
The part that actually decides it
Correspondent banking is where a Belarusian entry into the Region succeeds or fails, and it is worth being direct about why.
- Several Belarusian banks have lost or seen restricted their correspondent relationships with Western financial institutions since 2020.
- That affects the ability to receive euro and dollar payments from Western counterparties.
- The Kurdish side is supervised from Baghdad. The Central Bank of Iraq licenses and supervises private banks in the Region.
- Eight Iraqi banks were barred from dollar transactions in February 2024, including one Kurdish bank.
- Access to the official dollar rate requires a tax identification number and, since 1 January 2026, customs duties paid in advance.
- 1Can your Belarusian bank send the capital?Registration on the National Bank portal is the formal step. Whether the bank can execute it in the currency you need is a separate question
- 2Will a Kurdish bank open the account?Central bank and Baghdad headquarters approval is required for a foreign company account, and it takes weeks
- 3Does that bank hold the correspondents you need?Private banks in the Region hold correspondents across the Middle East, Europe and Asia, and the list varies by bank
- 4Can your customers pay into it?The route matters as much as the account. Ask before you register, not after
- 5Only then, register the companyTwo to four weeks, and the capital must be fully paid before registration completes
The ordering is the whole advice on this page. The Kurdish capital deposit of IQD 1,000,000 must be fully paid into a Kurdish bank before registration completes, which means the banking question is not a follow-up to incorporation. It is a precondition of it.
Background in Kurdistan business bank account.
The Kurdish side, in short
| Element | Position |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Up to 100%, the only route to that in Iraq |
| Registration | 2 to 4 weeks in practice |
| Minimum capital | IQD 1,000,000, fully paid, roughly USD 850 |
| Published government total | IQD 4,425,000 for a local company, including that capital |
| Residency | The manager and legal agent must reside in the Region |
| Corporate tax | 15%, with no 35% oil and gas rate |
| Territorial limit | Reported not to trade in federal Iraq |
Detail in company registration in Kurdistan.
No treaty, and no threshold
Belarus has no double tax treaty with Iraq, which places it with eight of the ten origins in this cluster.
| What you might expect | What actually applies |
|---|---|
| A treaty allocating taxing rights | Nothing. Both sides may assess |
| A presence threshold before Iraqi exposure | None. Iraqi law has no permanent establishment concept |
| A treaty rate on non-resident withholding | The Region's Instruction No. 7 of 11 April 2022, at 15% on deemed profit |
| A mutual agreement procedure | None |
Set out in Kurdistan withholding tax.
When this makes sense from Belarus, and when it does not
- You already have a working payment route to the region. Then the rest is ordinary.
- Your counterparties pay in currencies your bank can actually receive. The currency matters more than the amount.
- You have a customer or contract in the Region. Full ownership is available and the entry is quick.
- You are hoping the entity solves a payments problem. It will not. A Kurdish company banks in a system supervised from Baghdad.
- You want a holding company. Wrong jurisdiction. The Region is operational.
- Your work is in the federal south. That is a federal entry, covered in Iraq company from Belarus.
Common mistakes from Belarus
- Registering the company first. The capital must clear a Kurdish bank before registration completes.
- Assuming the 2021 liberalisation solved everything. It changed a permit into a registration. It did not create correspondent relationships.
- Taking a banking route from a published guide. It is specific to your bank, your counterparty, your currency and your goods.
- Skipping the National Bank portal registration. Funding a foreign company is a capital operation and the step is formal.
- Expecting the Kurdish entity to serve all of Iraq. It is reported not to trade in the federal territory.
- Creating a fresh Belarusian holding company as shareholder. A foreign corporate shareholder is reported to need over a year of existence.
The bottom line, and how CorpSec helps
Belarus is not shut out of the Kurdistan Region. Kurdish law is open, Belarusian currency regulation is a filing rather than a barrier, and the tax position is a flat 15% with no border tax on dividends.
The question is entirely operational: can money reach the Region, and can your customers pay into a Kurdish account. Both are bank-specific and counterparty-specific, and both change. Establish them in writing before anything is registered.
CorpSec handles the Kurdish registration, the mandatory local appointments and the account opening sequence. We will tell you if the banking step looks unworkable before you spend on the company, because a registered entity with no payment route is a recurring annual cost with no revenue attached.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Belarusian resident own a company in the Kurdistan Region?
Yes, and up to 100%. Kurdish company law does not restrict Belarusian shareholders, and the Region is the only place in Iraq permitting full foreign ownership.
Do I need permission from the National Bank of Belarus?
Not a permit. Since the 2021 liberalisation, funding a foreign company is treated as a capital operation requiring registration or notification on the National Bank portal, which residents complete themselves or with their bank's assistance.
What is the real obstacle then?
Correspondent banking. Several Belarusian banks have lost or seen restricted their Western correspondent relationships since 2020, which affects the ability to send and receive euro and dollar payments.
Who supervises banks in the Kurdistan Region?
The Central Bank of Iraq, not the KRG. Private banks in the Region are licensed by the CBI, and in February 2024 eight Iraqi banks were barred from dollar transactions, including one Kurdish bank.
Should I register the company or open the account first?
The account, without exception. The IQD 1,000,000 minimum capital must be fully paid into a Kurdish bank before registration completes, so the banking question comes first.
How long does account opening take?
Weeks rather than days. A foreign company account requires central bank and Baghdad headquarters approval, so the branch in Erbil is not the decision maker.
Is there a tax treaty between Belarus and Iraq?
No. Relief depends on Belarusian unilateral rules, and there is no treaty rate or mutual agreement procedure available.
How much presence creates Iraqi tax exposure?
Any. Iraqi tax law has no permanent establishment concept, so work performed in the Region is taxable regardless of duration or contract size.
Can my Kurdish company trade in Baghdad?
It is reported that a Kurdish entity does not operate in federal Iraq, and Board of Investment licences cover Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok only.
What are the ongoing costs?
A locally qualified lawyer and accountant, both mandatory and renewed annually, plus an audit under the Iraqi Unified Accounting System from year one at any size. Set out in Kurdistan company compliance.
Sources
- National Bank of the Republic of Belarus: currency agreement registration on the National Bank portal, replacing the former permit regime
- US Department of State, Iraq Investment Climate Statement 2025: CBI supervision of the Kurdistan Region's financial sector
- KRG eRegulations portal: registration procedures, documents and published fees
- KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy Instruction No. 7 of 11 April 2022: taxation of non-resident companies and individuals
Belarusian currency regulation was liberalised in 2021, replacing National Bank permits with a registration and notification procedure on the National Bank portal; requirements are set by resolution and change, so confirm the current position with a Belarusian bank before remitting. Belarus has no double tax treaty with Iraq. Correspondent banking availability for Belarusian institutions has been materially affected by the sanctions environment since 2020 and varies by bank, by counterparty and by currency; nothing on this page is an assessment of whether a particular payment route is available or lawful for you, and no published guide can be. Kurdish registration figures come from the KRG eRegulations portal. This is not legal, tax or sanctions advice.