Investing in Algeria as a foreigner: the 15 questions

Yes: except for import for resale as is and for strategic activities, an Algerian company can be owned 100 % by a foreign investor, with no local partner.

This is article 49 of law no. 20-07 (supplementary finance law for 2020), as rewritten by article 165 of the finance law for 2022: any other activity producing goods and services is open to foreign investment with no obligation to partner with a local party. The rule is triggered by the activity, not by nationality.

Source: Official Journal no. 100 of 30 December 2021 (finance law for 2022) (verified)

To go further: The 49/51 rule: what the texts say in 2026

Yes, but in two cases only: the import of goods for resale as is and strategic activities, where a resident national shareholding of 51 % is still required.

Law 22-18 on investment contains no ceiling on shareholding: it cites article 49 in its recitals without amending it. A source dated before 30 December 2021 therefore describes a wording that has changed since.

Source: Official Journal no. 100 of 30 December 2021 (finance law for 2022) ; Official Journal no. 50 of 28 July 2022 (law no. 22-18 on investment) (verified)

To go further: The 49/51 rule: what the texts say in 2026

The strategic sectors, where 51 % resident national shareholding is still required, cover energy and mines, the pharmaceutical industry, transport, the military industries and, since the 2025 finance law, fertiliser production.

The list of activities is read by code in the annex to executive decree no. 21-145. For an energy or mining activity, the classification must be confirmed in writing by the ministry concerned before it is put in a shareholders' agreement.

Source: Official Journal no. 30 of 22 April 2021 (executive decree no. 21-145) ; Official Journal no. 84 of 26 December 2024 (finance law for 2025) (verified)

To go further: The 49/51 rule: what the texts say in 2026

Yes: the import of raw materials, products and goods for resale as is remains subject to a resident national shareholding of 51 %.

What the administration reads is the activity code entered in the trade register and the wording of the corporate purpose, chosen at filing and not after. A foreign company that wants to import in its own name must therefore settle the question of structure before filing.

Source: Official Journal no. 100 of 30 December 2021 (finance law for 2022) (verified)

To go further: Import-export guide: structure and procedures

The foreign investor benefits from a guarantee of transfer of the invested capital and its income if their cash contribution is brought in through the banking channel, in freely convertible currency, and reaches the minimum threshold set by decree.

Executive decree no. 22-300 sets this threshold at 25 % of the investment amount, calculated on the foreign-sourced share of financing in the total cost (article 8). Not reaching it does not prevent benefiting from the advantages: it only deprives the investment of the guarantee. A transfer outside this guarantee falls under the Bank of Algeria's exchange regulations: have your bank confirm this part.

Source: Official Journal no. 50 of 28 July 2022 (law no. 22-18 on investment) ; Official Journal no. 60 of 18 September 2022 (executive decrees no. 22-299 and 22-300) (verified)

To go further: Transfer of capital and income: article 8 and its 25 % threshold

Only to benefit from the advantages of law 22-18. The AAPI, the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency, registers investments and manages these advantages; to benefit from them, the investment must be registered before it is made with the competent one-stop shop. This registration is not a condition for creating the company.

This is article 25 of law 22-18, restated in article 3 of executive decree no. 22-299: prior registration conditions the benefit of the advantages and of the agency's services. The law provides three incentive regimes: sectors, zones and structuring investments (article 24). The IBS exemption lasts 3 to 5 years under the sectors regime, 5 to 10 years under the zones and structuring investments regimes, according to regulatory assessment grids. The AAPI is the former ANDI, renamed by article 18 of law 22-18.

Source: AAPI, Algerian Investment Promotion Agency ; Official Journal no. 50 of 28 July 2022 (law no. 22-18 on investment) ; Official Journal no. 60 of 18 September 2022 (executive decrees no. 22-299 and 22-300) (verified)

To go further: AAPI (formerly ANDI): missions, incentive regimes and one-stop shop

A subsidiary of a foreign investor is created in eight steps: apostilled documents of the parent company, company name, lease of the registered office, notary certificate and opening of the provisional account, transfer of the capital in convertible currency, articles of association and BOAL, trade register, then tax and social identifiers and the final bank account.

The capital must arrive through the banking channel in convertible currency to give right to the transfer guarantee. The articles are never signed before the capital has arrived. For a foreign group, the subsidiary most often takes the form of an EURL whose sole partner is the parent company.

• Gather the parent company's documents (registration certificate, articles, register of partners and managers, resolution approving the subsidiary, the capital and the manager), apostilled in the country of origin with the French translation.
• Reserve the name at the CNRC.
• Sign the lease of the registered office in the name of the company being formed.
• Obtain the notary certificate for opening the provisional bank account, then have the manager open that account.
• Transfer the capital in convertible currency to the provisional account and obtain the subscription certificate.
• Sign the articles at the notary and publish the notice in the BOAL.
• Register the company in the CNRC trade register.
• Obtain the NIF, the NIS and the manager's CASNOS affiliation, then open the final bank account.

Source: CNRC, Sidjilcom portal ; HCCH, Apostille Convention status table ; Official Journal no. 50 of 28 July 2022 (law no. 22-18 on investment) (verified)

To go further: Creating your company in Algeria from abroad

The subsidiary, a company under Algerian law owned by the foreign company, is the form that can invoice, import and employ under its own trade register entry; the liaison office cannot invoice.

A liaison office has no legal personality and cannot carry out an economic activity. The branch, registered as an establishment of a foreign company, can invoice and employ, and its profits sent up to head office bear a 15 % tax, reducible by a tax treaty. For a foreign group, the most common structure is an EURL whose sole partner is the parent company.

Source: Official Journal no. 62 of 25 November 2015 (order of 9 November 2015 on liaison offices) ; CNRC, Sidjilcom portal (verified)

To go further: Liaison office, branch or subsidiary: the three forms compared

Since 9 July 2026, the documents of a foreign investor are legalised by apostille, the Hague Convention being in force for Algeria, instead of the old chain of consular legalisation.

Algeria acceded to the convention on 5 November 2025. The apostille is affixed in the country of origin, with the French translation attached to the same set of documents. It does not apply with a State that objected to Algeria's accession: check the HCCH status table.

Source: HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (verified)

To go further: Order of 9 July 2026 on the stamp duty of the apostille (in French)

Yes: a foreigner who manages a company in Algeria must hold the professional card of executive decree no. 06-454, issued by the wali; it is no longer a condition for registration in the trade register.

It is applied for within sixty days at the latest after registration in the trade register, is valid for two years and bears a stamp duty of DZD 30,000. It is the card still wrongly called the foreign trader's card.

Source: Official Journal no. 80 of 2006 (executive decree no. 06-454 of 11 December 2006, professional card of the foreigner) (verified)

To go further: The foreign trader's card, text in hand

UpGrowth sets up the subsidiary, the branch or the liaison office of a foreign group without the managers having to travel to Algeria.

The file includes the registration with the AAPI, the expatriate packages (visa, work permit, residence card) and the search for an Algerian partner. For the subsidiary, the managers give UpGrowth a power of attorney and provide apostilled documents.

To go further: Creating your company in Algeria from abroad

Three options: you manage it yourself, you appoint a manager who lives in Algeria yourself, or UpGrowth finds a resident manager for you.

To manage it yourself, you need the residence card and the foreign trader's card, which UpGrowth can take care of. The manager must live in Algeria: they open the provisional bank account in person, where the capital arrives from abroad before the articles are signed. They can be replaced later, once you have settled in and have your cards. If you want to manage it yourself but arrive later, start with a manager appointed by you or supplied by UpGrowth.

To go further: The foreign trader's card, text in hand

No: the CNRC does not register a name that contains the word "Algeria".

The local company of a foreign group drops the word (for example "EURL Haoyuan Electric", legal form first) or replaces it with "Subsidiary". It is better to know this before reserving the name.

To go further: Creating your company in Algeria from abroad

At UpGrowth, a company held by the foreign group starts from USD 8,500, no VAT, when its manager opens the provisional bank account in person, and from USD 11,000, no VAT, when UpGrowth signs the lease for the registered office and opens it. A branch or a liaison office starts from USD 9,500, no VAT.

These are starting prices in USD, final, no VAT. Domiciliation in Algiers starts from USD 2,400 a year depending on the activity. A resident manager found by UpGrowth costs from USD 900 a month for the management service alone, with their salary and CNAS contributions remaining the company's cost on top, at actual cost. The AAPI file starts from USD 4,000. Official fees, notary, publications and capital are paid at actual cost, outside these prices. The quote is instant as soon as we have all the answers (company, activity, partners, manager option), through the contact form.

To go further: Request the instant quote for your company in Algeria

Per person, USD 3,000 from 1 to 10 employees, USD 2,200 from 11 to 50 and USD 1,600 from 51, no VAT, for the visa, the work permit and the resident card; the yearly renewal costs USD 900.

Each step starts and is paid for only once the previous one has succeeded: the work permit after the visa, then the resident card after the permit. These are starting prices in USD, final, no VAT; stamps and official fees are paid at actual cost. The quote is instant as soon as we have all the answers, through the contact form.

To go further: Request the instant quote for your foreign employees