UK company-law requirements continue
The company must retain an appropriate registered office in the UK jurisdiction in which it is registered. Keep service addresses, residential-address records and the registered email address accurate.
Accounts, confirmation statements, Corporation Tax returns, payroll and statutory records continue on their existing cycles. Living overseas is not an extension of a filing deadline.
Director identity verification
Companies House identity verification became a legal requirement from 18 November 2025, with due dates applied through the transition arrangements.
Overseas directors should confirm their deadline and whether they can verify through GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.
Use your genuine current residential information. A registered-office or service address does not replace the residential address that Companies House requires to be supplied privately.
Where the company is really managed
Company residence and treaty questions turn on facts, not only incorporation papers. HMRC’s case-law guidance focuses on where central management and control is actually exercised.
If a controlling director in Thailand negotiates important contracts, sets strategy, approves finance and makes every material decision, formal UK board minutes alone may not reflect reality.
Document real governance and obtain bilateral advice before attempting to alter it.
Thai business activity
Examine whether the company has a fixed place, people, habitual contract activity or services in Thailand. A home office, local staff or repeated customer work can be more important than the location printed on invoices.
Thai corporate tax, VAT, withholding, registration and business-licensing rules may apply even though the company remains incorporated and taxable in the UK. A treaty can allocate rights but does not remove domestic compliance automatically.
Salary, PAYE and National Insurance
Do not stop PAYE merely because the director has moved. HMRC’s overseas-employees guidance starts from continued PAYE deduction, with relief and coding depending on the circumstances.
National Insurance follows separate rules and Thailand is not listed in HMRC’s current reciprocal social-security agreement list. Temporary overseas-work rules, Thai social-security obligations and voluntary UK contributions should be reviewed independently.
Practical governance controls
- Define reserved board matters and signing authority
- Keep minutes that record who decided, where and on what evidence
- Review contracts made or performed in Thailand
- Keep the UK registered office and records accessible
- Map PAYE, Thai tax and social-security obligations
- Reassess before hiring staff or taking Thai premises
Frequently asked questions
Does a UK company director have to live in the UK?
No. GOV.UK states that directors do not have to live in the UK, although the company must have a UK registered office address.
Can I use my registered office as my home address?
The addresses serve different purposes. A registered office and public service address do not remove the requirement to supply Companies House with the director’s genuine residential address where required.
Does running the company from Thailand move it out of UK tax?
Not automatically. UK incorporation, central management and control, treaty residence and Thai business activity all require analysis.
The arrangement can create obligations in both countries rather than simply moving taxation from one to the other.