Opening a Bank Account for Non-Residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan

23.11.2023

Opening a bank account for non-residents of Kazakhstan is an important procedure for foreign companies and entrepreneurs wishing to do business in Kazakhstan or use local banking services. In this post weLet's take a look at the main aspects of opening a bank account for non-residents in Kazakhstan.

Since 2022, banks in Kazakhstan have changed the requirements for opening accounts for non-residents of Kazakhstan. 

• opening a bank account is performed only after an in-depth check of the client by the bank's compliance control services; 
   
• only with the personal presence of the client in the bank if the account is opened for an individual, for a legal entity the personal presence of the company's director is required; however, in most banks it is possible to open an account by power of attorney.

It is mandatory for foreign legal entities to have a registered business taxpayer identification number (BIN) and individual identification number (IIN) on the head of a non-resident legal entity to open account(s) in any commercial bank in Kazakhstan.

Opening a bank account

In order to open an account in the bank, non-residents need to fulfill the following steps:

1. Obtain an IIN for the head of the non-resident legal entity. For this purpose it is necessary to provide the original of the foreign passport and come in person, or provide a notarized copy of the foreign passport and a power of attorney for a representative. In the power of attorney it is necessary to specify in whose name the BIN is issued;
    
2. Obtain a BIN for a non-resident company. A tax application for registration with notarized copies of documents shall be submitted to the tax authority at the location of the bank;
    
3. Submit to the bank the necessary package of documents (the list of documents is different depending on the internal rules of each bank) in most cases it is obligatory to request: 
    
   • constituent documents of the legal entity;
      
   • confirmation of state registration in the country of incorporation of the non-resident, indicating the number of state registration (or its analog);
      
   • minutes of the meeting of the board of directors or similar management body on opening a bank account; 
   • information on the beneficial owner;
      
   • in addition to company documents, bank managers ask to fill out various forms, questionnaires regarding the company's activities, turnover, availability of counterparties in the Republic of Kazakhstan, etc. 

All company documents must be notarized and apostilized, as well as translated into Russian and Kazakh. 

Regarding timing: opening a bank account can take from two weeks (including obtaining IIN, BIN, internal bank verification) to a month, depending on the internal requirements of each bank.

Author: Akezhan Mukhambetzhanov

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