Qualification for Foreign Corporations to Do Business in State

"No foreign corporation has the right to transact business in this state until it has procured a certificate of authority to do so from the secretary of state. No foreign corporation is entitled to procure a certificate of authority under this chapter to transact any business in this state which a corporation organized under this chapter is not permitted to transact. A foreign corporation may not be denied a certificate of authority because the laws of the state or country under which the corporation is organized governing its organization and internal affairs differ from the laws of this state, and nothing contained in this chapter authorizes this state to regulate the organization or the internal affairs of the corporation. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-1401)

No foreign corporation transacting business in this state without a certificate of authority is permitted to maintain any action, suit, or proceeding in any court of this state, until the corporation has obtained a certificate of authority. Nor may any action, suit, or proceeding be maintained in any court of this state by any successor or assignee of the corporation on any right, claim, or demand arising out of the transaction of business by the corporation in this state, until a certificate of authority has been obtained by the corporation or by its successor. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-1.2-1418)"