France
Ukraine
Ukrainian law puts no condition on your nationality or residence, so a French founder can own 100% of a Ukrainian company from France, without a permit and without a visit.
The French analysis is where this gets interesting, and unusually it produces a clean, quantified answer. France tests foreign regimes against a threshold, Ukraine's general 18% comfortably clears it, and Diia City's 9% does not. That single line determines whether your Ukrainian company is an ordinary foreign subsidiary or a structure the French administration will look at closely.
Key facts for French founders
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can a French resident own a Ukrainian company? | Yes, 100%, individual or corporate |
| Ukrainian permit needed to own? | No |
| Ukrainian permit needed to be director? | Yes, a work permit |
| Ukrainian corporate tax | 18%, or 9% on distributed profit under Diia City |
| Withholding on dividends to France | 15% domestic, 0% or 5% under the treaty |
| French exposure | Article 209 B for companies, 123 bis for individuals |
The real reason French founders do this
France already has a substantial industrial and technology presence in Ukraine, which tells you the corridor is real rather than theoretical.
- Technology and R&D. BlaBlaCar has run a Ukrainian R&D centre since 2014, Ubisoft employs several hundred people in Kyiv, and ALTEN moved in by acquisition.
- Infrastructure and telecoms. NJJ Capital acquired the mobile operator lifecell and Datagroup-Volia.
- Banking. Crédit Agricole's Ukrainian subsidiary acquired Bank Lviv.
- Defence and reconstruction. KNDS, the Franco-German group, established a Ukrainian subsidiary for maintenance, overhaul and spare parts production.
- Institutional support. CCI France Ukraine and a Business France office in Kyiv both handle company creation and market entry questions.
Entity or EOR? Settle this first
| Employer of record | Your own Ukrainian entity | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first hire | Days | Weeks, plus banking |
| Can sign Ukrainian contracts | No | Yes |
| Can bid on local and reconstruction contracts | No | Yes |
| Diia City access | No | Yes, if you qualify |
| Article 209 B / 123 bis analysis | Not triggered | Possible |
| Cost shape | Per employee, per month | Setup, then a fixed annual base |
Build the entity when you need to invoice Ukrainian counterparties, bid on contracts, hold IP locally, hire past roughly ten people, or reach Diia City.
Can a French resident legally own a Ukrainian company?
Yes, with no restriction on either side. France does not prohibit foreign holdings. What it does is compare the tax borne abroad with the tax that would have been due in France, and act on the answer.
The money rules: the 238 A test, then 209 B and 123 bis
Article 238 A defines a privileged tax regime as one where the tax borne is more than 40% lower than the French tax that would have been due on the same profits. With a French corporate rate of 25%, that puts the comparison point at 15%.
The consequence is unusually legible:
- On the general 18% regime, Ukraine sits above the line. It is not a privileged regime on that reading, and a genuine operating company with staff and customers in Ukraine is an ordinary foreign subsidiary.
- Under Diia City, 9% sits below the line, and lower still in years where profit is reinvested and nothing is distributed. That is precisely the profile the French rules exist to examine.
Article 209 B applies to French companies holding foreign entities and can bring the foreign profits back into the French base where the privileged regime test is met. Article 123 bis does the equivalent for French resident individuals holding an interest in a foreign entity that is mainly financial and benefits from a privileged regime.
Two things follow, and they are the whole practical message of this page:
- The general regime is defensible. Do not overthink an operating company paying 18% with real substance in Ukraine.
- Diia City is a French decision, not a Ukrainian one. The Ukrainian saving is real. Whether you keep it depends on an analysis you should commission before electing, not after.
The Ukraine-France treaty, in numbers
| Payment from Ukraine to France | Ukrainian domestic rate | Treaty rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends, non-portfolio holding | 15% | 0% or 5% |
| Dividends, portfolio holding | 15% | 15% |
| Interest | 15% | 2% or 10% |
| Royalties | 15% | 0%, 5% or 10% |
France holds the most generous position in Ukraine's treaty network. It is the only one of the major origins where dividends can reach zero, and royalties can too. Both zero rates apply in defined cases only, which makes the classification and the shareholding level the entire question.
Three conditions decide whether you get any treaty rate: a French residence certificate in the Ukrainian payer's hands before the payment, a shareholding above the relevant threshold, and correct classification of the income. Relief is applied at payment, never reclaimed afterwards. Boundaries in Ukraine withholding tax for non-residents.
The remote setup path from France
- Check the name in the Unified State Register and fix the holding structure.
- Get a Ukrainian tax number (RNOKPP) for every French individual who will be founder, director or beneficial owner. Free, three business days, obtainable by proxy.
- Apostille in France and translate into Ukrainian, with the translator's signature notarised. A corporate founder adds an apostilled Kbis and its statuts.
- Draft the charter and the founders' decision. Not the free model charter if someone else will hold the signature.
- File offline. Diia is closed to foreign founders, so a representative lodges the file.
- Registration inside 24 hours by statute, with no state fee.
- Fund the share capital within six months, unless the charter sets a different period.
Full sequence in how to register a company in Ukraine.
Substance, and where a French structure actually fails
The French administration does not lose these cases on rates. It wins them on where the company is really run.
- Real premises and real staff in Ukraine, not an address service and a signature.
- Decisions taken in Kyiv, minuted there, by people who are there.
- A director who genuinely directs, which is worth remembering when an interim resident director holds the signature for the first few months.
- Contracts, invoices and bank activity consistent with a company operating in Ukraine rather than a French company with a Ukrainian letterhead.
Get this right and the 18% analysis is straightforward. Get it wrong and no treaty rate saves the structure.
When Ukraine makes sense from France, and when it does not
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| An R&D or engineering centre with real staff | Strong, and the French precedent is well established |
| A contracting entity for reconstruction or defence work | Strong |
| Licensing, using the treaty's zero royalty route | Strong, with classification advice |
| Fewer than five hires, no local revenue | Use an EOR instead |
| Reducing French tax without moving activity | No. 209 B and 123 bis are built for that |
| A holding company | No. Ukraine is an operating jurisdiction |
Common mistakes from France
- Electing Diia City before the French analysis. Nine percent falls the wrong side of the 15% comparison point.
- Assuming 18% is a saving worth structuring for. Against 25% it is a modest gap, and it only survives with real substance.
- Treating substance as paperwork. Where the company is managed is the question that decides French cases.
- Assuming the zero treaty rates are automatic. They apply in defined cases and classification decides.
- Requesting the residence certificate after the dividend. Ukrainian relief is applied at payment.
- Naming yourself director in the incorporation documents. Without a work permit the filing fails.
The bottom line, and how CorpSec helps
France is the best placed of the major origins on paper: a treaty that can reach zero on dividends and on royalties, and a general Ukrainian rate that sits above the 238 A comparison point rather than below it.
The catch is that both advantages are conditional. The zero rates apply in defined cases, and the comfortable 18% position disappears the moment you elect Diia City at 9%. Commission the French analysis before the Ukrainian election, and build real substance in Ukraine, because that is where these structures are actually tested.
CorpSec sets up Ukrainian companies for French founders end to end, remotely, with the tax number, a drafted charter, an interim director, registration and banking introductions, alongside your French adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Can a French citizen open a company in Ukraine?
Yes, and own 100% of it, individually or through a French company, with no Ukrainian permit and no visit. The requirements are a Ukrainian tax number, apostilled and translated documents, and a power of attorney if you are not filing in person.
Is Ukraine a privileged tax regime for French purposes?
On the general 18% regime, no on the standard reading of article 238 A: the comparison point sits at 15% when the French rate is 25%, and 18% is above it. Under Diia City at 9%, the answer changes, and that is the analysis to commission before electing.
Do articles 209 B and 123 bis apply to my Ukrainian company?
They can where the privileged regime condition is met. Article 209 B reaches French companies holding foreign entities; article 123 bis reaches French resident individuals holding an interest in a mainly financial foreign entity. Both are facts and figures questions for a French adviser.
What is the withholding tax on dividends from Ukraine to France?
15% domestically, and the treaty provides for 0% or 5% depending on the case, which is the most generous position in Ukraine's network. A French residence certificate must be in the payer's hands before the payment.
Can royalties really be taxed at zero?
The treaty provides for 0%, 5% or 10% on royalties depending on the type. Classification decides, so this is worth structuring around with advice rather than assuming.
Is 18% worth it against the French 25%?
Only if the activity genuinely moves. Seven points do not fund an entity, an accountant and a director on their own, and a structure without substance is exactly what the French rules are designed to unwind.
Can I be the director of my Ukrainian company?
Not without a Ukrainian work permit, and the permit is applied for by the company once it exists. Most French founders appoint a resident director at incorporation and replace them three to five months later.
Do I need to travel to Ukraine?
No. A representative acting under a power of attorney notarised in France and apostilled can complete the process.
Which French companies already operate in Ukraine?
BlaBlaCar has had an R&D centre there since 2014, Ubisoft employs several hundred people in Kyiv, ALTEN entered by acquisition, NJJ Capital holds lifecell and Datagroup-Volia, Crédit Agricole's Ukrainian bank acquired Bank Lviv, and KNDS has established a subsidiary for defence maintenance and parts.
Can I take profit out of Ukraine freely?
Dividends move within EUR 1 million per calendar month, once the company has traded a year and you have held the shares six months. Trade payments in both directions are largely unrestricted.
Sources
- Code général des impôts, article 238 A: definition of a privileged tax regime
- Code général des impôts, articles 209 B and 123 bis: controlled foreign entity rules for companies and individuals
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ukraine withholding taxes and the Ukraine-France treaty rates
Article 238 A defines a privileged tax regime as one where the tax borne is more than 40% lower than the French tax that would have been due; with a French corporate rate of 25% that places the comparison point at 15%. The arithmetic here is the standard reading of that test and is presented as such, not as a ruling: the comparison is made on the tax actually borne on comparable profits, and applying it to a specific structure requires French advice. Articles 209 B and 123 bis are described at the level of their mechanism. Ukrainian rates reflect the Tax Code of Ukraine as of September 2026. Treaty rates are drawn from the Ukraine-France treaty as amended by the multilateral instrument, and the zero rates it contains apply only in defined cases. This is not French or Ukrainian tax advice.