As of 2024, 12,579 businesses out of the total 3.2% business existing in Ireland were owned by foreigners from mostly the United States and the United Kingdom. Hence, if you wish to immigrate to Ireland with your business, it could be an ideal option for you.
Relocating your business abroad goes beyond just opening a branch. It involves establishing a completely new base of operations in a foreign market and transferring your employees, business activities and assets to the new country.
You could be moving your business to take advantage of different business regulations, have access to potential lower costs and new markets. Whatever your reasons may be, you need to be prepared for the financial and legal hurdles you may likely face.
Financially, you would have to pay suppliers internationally, lawyers that will handle the legal issues, immigration fees and tax. Other issues include language barriers especially when drafting legal documents, cultural differences and moving issues.
Reading this article to the end will empower you with knowledge on the financial hurdles and legal hurdles you will face, risk management to help you handle the hurdles and tips for a smooth relocation to Ireland.
Financial Hurdles
- Direct costs
- Indirect costs
- Budgeting and forecasting
Direct costs
If you wish to relocate your business to the US, you will need to terminate your existing lease in the old location and buy or lease a new premise in the new location. Also, you have to hire a moving company and other expenses such as equipment, personnel and inventory.
You will need to set up an IT infrastructure especially if your business is tech-oriented. Continuously, you have to let your customers know that you are moving, how they can reach you and how they can place orders of your products (if you sell products).
You can let them know by updating your website and your social media handles, and sending them newsletters or emails. Notably, you will also incur professional fees for the legal experts that will draft documents for you, consult with you and audit documents for you.
Some countries have governmental grants and opportunities for tax breaks for foreign businesses which you can take advantage of. You will need to hire professionals who will search for these grants/tax breaks and apply for you.
Indirect costs
Aside from the obvious costs that you will incur during active relocation, there are subtle costs that also have to be considered. For instance, there will be no work or sales during the move which can be accounted for by lost productivity.
Also, some companies will need to relocate all or some of their employees which means paying for flights, moving companies, and new apartments. Where the company is not relocating all employees or none at all, they would need to hire and train new employees. This would incur HR costs for training the new employees.
Factors such as the country you are moving from, the exact location you are relocating to in Ireland, difference in currency and exchange rate can make you to pay higher rent and utilities.
Budgeting and forecasting
Before you begin the relocation, you have to sit and create a realistic budget while considering certain factors. For instance, if you if you move your business to an area with cheaper costs while maintaining same standards, you will recover fast and make more money,
You must also ensure that your income to rent ratio for your business is at least 3:1. This way the income flow for your business is three times the rent of the building you intend to occupy. If that is not the case, then you may want to consider moving to a smaller building till you can afford a bigger one.
When you are done creating the budget, allocate resources for it leaving some resources for unexpected expenses. This means creating a contingency plan to help you cover unforeseen costs so that you don’t get stranded, borrow money or deplete your business savings.
You can opt for financial modeling which helps you predict how your business will perform in the new location. This will help you to assess potential risks, evaluate business strategies and make informed financial decisions.
You will need to hire an expert to manage your cash flow which can help you with timely payments (to vendors and employees), prevent potential cash shortages and plan for future financial needs.
Legal Hurdles
You will need to hire experienced immigration attorneys to help handle the legal hurdles that will be discussed below.
- Contractual Obligations
- Regulatory Compliance
- Employment law
- Intellectual property
- Data privacy
Contractual Obligations
You will need to review existing contracts such as leases, vendor agreements, employment contracts, etc.
Also, when you get to your new location, new contracts will be drafted and negotiated. You may also need to look out for actions that may result in breach of contract issues either from you or others (such as vendors, employees, landlords, etc).
Regulatory Compliance
Before, during and after your relocation, you need to know and understand local, state and federal regulations in Ireland. You wouldn’t want your first time in Ireland to be met with fines or ban from the government for breaking a law.
To legally operate your business in Ireland, you need to obtain business licences and permits, and understand the tax implications for running your business (e.g. corporate income tax, and state and local taxes).
Some countries are eco-minded which means that your companies have to be eco-friendly to maintain any environmental regulation.
Employment law
Employee rights, labor laws and termination procedures differ per country so you have to study the laws guiding your new location.
If you intend to employ new talents, you should consider non-compete agreements to prevent your employees from working for your competitors for a specific period of time and at a specific location. It’s also important to let the new employees know what they are signing and why they are signing it.
Intellectual property
You need to take legal precautions to protect important things such as your trademarks, copyrights and patents when you move to the new location. You also need to properly register and/or transfer your domain name.
Data privacy
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an European Union law that governs data privacy regulations in all member states. Nationally, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) is responsible for enforcing these regulations in Ireland.
Risk Management
There are risks associated with relocation which include financial strain, disruption to daily life and work, potential damages to properties during transport, legal, operational and reputational risks, cultural changes and security concerns.
To handle this, it is ideal that you develop a risk management plan to help you assess and develop strategies to reduce the above risks.
Tips for a Smooth Relocation of Your Business to Ireland
These six (6) tips can help you smoothly relocate your business to Ireland:
- Early planning
- Building a dedicated relocation team
- Thorough research on the new location
- Effective communication
- Professional relocation services
- Creating and maintaining a detailed timeline.
Conclusion
Despite the benefits you will enjoy from relocating your business to Ireland, it is important to know the financial and legal hurdles that come with such relocation and how to handle such hurdles.
