EOR carries a team beautifully to 10, 15, sometimes 25 FTE. Then a European investor asks for a local topco. Or an enterprise buyer requires local incorporation. Or you raise in EUR and the paperwork starts to matter. We form the entity, open the bank account, seat the nominee director where required — and migrate your existing team and compliance mandates onto the new paper without a single gap.
EOR works beautifully at scale, but certain moments make a local entity cheaper, faster, or mandatory. If any of these land on your roadmap, graduate.
LPs that can only invest in EU-domiciled entities, preferred-stock structures that work cleaner under Irish or Dutch law, or simply an investor that wants the headline company in their backyard.
Any regulated vertical — PSD2, MiCA, CSSF, insurance — requires an EU-domiciled licensed entity. EOR doesn't unlock a regulator. The license demands paper, a board, and local presence.
Some European enterprise buyers — public sector, banks, telecoms — contract only with local entities. If you're chasing a seven-figure ACV, the entity often pays for itself in the first deal.
At around 15 full-timers in one country, EOR starts costing more than payrolling them under your own entity. Not universally — EOR's included compliance and works-council counsel still add value — but worth running the math.
Horizon Europe grants, EIC funds, R&D tax credits — most require a local entity as the recipient. The grant often covers the incorporation cost many times over.
A Dutch or Luxembourg IP holding company can hold and license European IP rights, sometimes with meaningful tax advantages on royalties. This is a CFO / counsel decision, not a default.
A standard Irish LTD graduation lands in 90 days. Netherlands takes about the same; Luxembourg adds a week or two for the notary. The long pole is almost always the bank account, which is why we start it early.
We pick Ireland, Netherlands, or Luxembourg based on your regulated-product and tax profile. Virtual address goes live on Day 1.
Memorandum and articles drafted, Form A1 filed with the CRO (Ireland) or equivalent registry, certificate of incorporation issued.
EEA-resident director on record where required (Ireland, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta). Deed of indemnity signed; board composition finalised.
Real in-country EUR account — AIB, ING, BGL. Local IBAN and SEPA. 60-day open-or-refund guarantee. This is the long pole; everything else works around it.
Employment contracts novated into the new entity. Tenure, accrued holiday, benefits preserved. Compliance mandates (GDPR, DSA, etc.) re-filed under the new entity name.
Monthly payroll cycle runs under the new entity. Corporation tax registered, VAT registered, annual filings scheduled on the statutory calendar.
Days 1–24 are legal construction. Jurisdiction pick, incorporation, director appointment. This part moves fast — address on Day 1, certificate by Day 18, board seated by Day 24.
Days 25–60 are the bank. EU bank accounts take time regardless of who opens them. We've built relationships with AIB, ING, BGL and others so the process is predictable — but nobody can make it instant. The 60-day open-or-refund is the guarantee you get.
Days 60–90 are migration. Employees move off EOR into direct employment under the new entity. Compliance reps are re-filed. The moment the first own-entity payroll runs, your EU operation is entity-native — and ready for the audit, the round, or the enterprise contract that triggered this whole plan.
One project plan runs the lot. You keep Comply and Operate running under the existing setup while the entity is being built — then everything migrates onto the new paper in the final phase.
Irish LTD, Dutch BV, Luxembourg S.à r.l. · certificate in 5–15 days · memorandum + articles drafted.
Prestige EU address on Day 1 · mail scanned or forwarded · regulator- and Stripe-valid.
EEA-resident officer on record · vetted · insured · indemnified under a signed deed.
Real in-country EUR bank account · local IBAN · SEPA · 60-day open-or-refund guarantee.
Corporation tax · annual return · VAT · beneficial-owner updates · all on the statutory calendar.
We preserve continuity while the entity spins up · then novate contracts into your new paper.
Ireland for English-speaking admin, low corporate tax (12.5%), access to global talent, and the path-of-least-resistance for US founders. Netherlands for logistics, a strong IP-holding tradition, and a cleaner VAT posture. Luxembourg for fund vehicles, holding structures, and if your cap table includes European LPs who prefer it. We'll recommend on the discovery call — it's a 30-minute decision.
Yes — this is the default path. Your team stays on EOR paper throughout the 90-day formation. Compliance reps stay active. Payroll keeps running. Nothing changes for hires until the migration phase in Days 60–90, where contracts novate into the new entity at a natural boundary.
All preserved through novation. Novation (not resignation + re-hire) means the employment relationship is continuous — just with a new legal employer. Tenure carries. Accrued holiday carries. Benefits port where carriers allow; where they don't, we replace the policy without a coverage gap.
EU banks run actual KYC. Real AML. An AIB or ING onboarding takes 25–60 days even for a well-documented company with clean beneficial ownership. Fintech wrappers (Wise, Revolut) open in days, but they're not banking relationships — and most regulated products and enterprise contracts require a real local IBAN. We start the bank conversation at Day 25, in parallel with everything else.
Usually yes for the parent-sub structure and any M&A-grade documentation. We handle the EU-side incorporation, governance, and ongoing filings; your US counsel handles the upstream structuring. We work directly with Wilson Sonsini, Cooley, Fenwick, and similar firms on roughly half our Entity-ready customers.
Before migration? Easily — the entity sits dormant, you pay maintenance (around $400/mo for filings and address). After migration? More involved — you'd need to novate the team back to EOR. We've never seen a customer do the second, but the first happens occasionally (a deal falls through, the product pivots). No lock-in.
30-minute discovery call. We'll map your trigger — fundraise, regulated launch, enterprise contract, EU grant — and quote the 90-day plan in writing.