An external company is a company formed under another country's law that registers a presence in Lesotho. The key difference from every other type is this: you are not creating a new company — you are registering a foreign one's branch.
For a private or public company, the application brings a Lesotho legal person into being. For an external company, the legal person already exists abroad. Lesotho does not incorporate it again; it records the company's place of business on a separate external register and issues a certificate of registration. There are no Lesotho shareholders, no Lesotho share capital, and no Lesotho articles to adopt.
Why the application is organised this way
An external company already exists. So registering one is not about creating a company — it is about describing a foreign company that is real, and giving Lesotho the few things it needs to keep it on record: who the parent is, who speaks for it here, and where to find it.
It is registered on the same application as a Lesotho company, but the questions change. Where a Lesotho company is asked for shareholders, share capital and articles, an external company is asked instead for its mother company and an authorized representative. This guide follows that adapted order.
At the end, you do not receive a certificate of incorporation — the company was incorporated abroad. You receive a certificate of registration, recorded on Lesotho's external register.
An existing company, not a new one
The starting point is different from every other company type: the company is already incorporated abroad and stays the legal person. Lesotho registers its place of business — its branch — not a new entity.
You begin the same application as a Lesotho company and choose the external company type. From that point the questions adapt: instead of building a new entity from scratch, you point to one that already exists in another country, and tell Lesotho how to reach it.
The law gives you a deadline. Once the foreign company has established a place of business in Lesotho, it must register that place of business within ten days.
Who the foreign parent is
This is the legal person that actually exists. You describe the company incorporated abroad — its identity, where and how it is registered, its directors, and its founding documents.
For a Lesotho company, this part of the application would ask for shareholders and share capital. For an external company there are none in Lesotho — instead you describe the mother company, on a tab that appears only for external companies.
These are the parent's directors abroad. They are kept on the registrar's record but, unlike your Lesotho representative, they are not given a Lesotho electronic identity — they do not operate the branch.
Your person in Lesotho
Because the company is run from abroad, Lesotho law requires at least one person resident in Lesotho who can accept legal documents on the company's behalf and file changes in future. This replaces "directors".
For a Lesotho company, this part lists the directors who run it. An external company is run by its parent abroad — so instead you name an authorized representative: the person here who can be served legal documents and who can act for the company. Legally one is enough, but you may add more if several people share the responsibility.
The power of attorney is the document that legally appoints the representative to accept service. Companies Regulations 2012, reg.7(a).
Where to find it in Lesotho
The trigger for registering at all is establishing a place of business in Lesotho. You record that address, along with an address for service — where the company can be reached and served documents.
This is captured on the same Activity and address screen that every company type uses. For an external company it carries the local presence the law requires: the place of business, the registered office, and the address for service in Lesotho.
You also confirm the address for service — the address where the company can be formally reached — which may be the place of business or the representative's address.
The name, approved and displayed
The external company keeps the name it already has abroad. There is no "(Pty)" or "Ltd" suffix to adopt — but the Registrar must approve the name, and it must always be shown with its country of incorporation.
Unlike a Lesotho company, an external company does not take on a Lesotho suffix. The two rules that matter are different: the Registrar must approve the name for use in Lesotho, and on every document the company must display its name together with its country of incorporation — so anyone dealing with it knows it is a foreign company.
