Yes. Florida law imposes no citizenship, residency, visa, or immigration requirement on the people who form or own a limited liability company. A non-U.S. resident can form a Florida LLC, own it outright, and manage it from abroad. The one requirement that does have a Florida geographic element is the registered agent — and that is solvable without you setting foot in the state.
Under Fla. Stat. § 605.0201(1), “one or more persons may act as authorized representatives to form a limited liability company by signing and delivering articles of organization to the department for filing.”
The operative word is persons. Fla. Stat. § 605.0102(48) defines a person as “an individual, business corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company … or another legal or commercial entity.”
There is no citizenship test in that definition. No residency test. No immigration status test. A non-U.S. individual is a person, and a foreign company is a person, for the purpose of forming a Florida LLC.
This surprises many international founders. Your articles of organization must state the street and mailing addresses of the company’s principal office, but Fla. Stat. § 605.0102(54) defines the principal office as the company’s principal executive office “regardless of whether the office is located in this state.”
Your business address can be in London, Lagos, or São Paulo. Florida does not require you to hold or rent property in the state.
Every Florida LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent with a Florida street address. Under Fla. Stat. § 605.0113(1)(b), the agent must be one of:
If you live abroad, you will not personally satisfy the residency test. Most international founders appoint a commercial registered agent service. That is the standard, lawful solution — not a workaround.
Be clear on this before you file. Forming a Florida LLC creates a business entity under state law. It does not grant immigration status, a visa, work authorization, or any right to live or work in the United States. Those are separate federal matters governed by immigration law, not by Chapter 605.
Owning a company and being permitted to work for it in the United States are different questions.
Formation is the first step, not the last. Once your LLC exists you will likely need an EIN for banking and federal tax filings, and foreign-owned LLCs carry federal information-reporting obligations that apply even when no tax is due. Those are covered separately in this Knowledge Center.
Last verified against the Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature on July 28, 2026. Florida statutes are amended regularly — confirm current requirements before relying on this article for a filing decision. This article addresses Florida business formation law only and is not immigration or tax advice.