Hello,

I cannot publish a paid app from my country, is it legal if my friend in the US publishes it for me?

That probably depends on what country you live in.

I see. I live in Slovenia.

Where could I find this kind of information / should I rather ask a lawyer in my country?

I don't think the US has any trade sanctions against slovenia so it should be legal, as long as you both pay any applicable taxes properly.

Ok thanks, but what does "applicable taxes" means?

Whatever taxes your government and your friends government wants you to pay.

Normally it would be things like sales taxes, income taxes, etc.

Also, don't "use" your friend, just ask him politely :P

I see. I live in Slovenia.

Where could I find this kind of information / should I rather ask a lawyer in my country?

^^ this.

I don't know why you cannot publish it directly, but if you attempt to get around it you might be in serious trouble.

Talk with a lawyer and understand WHY you cannot publish, then understand the CONSEQUENCES of going through a third party.

Sometimes using a third party is perfectly acceptable, but you will need to pay taxes and governmental fees, as well as pay the third party for their services.

Sometimes using a third party is very bad, with the potential to have very serious legal consequences.

A lawyer who understands the law can help you understand what is involved, and help you manage the risks involved.

Google supports developer registrations from Slovena, they just aren't supporting merchant accounts from there yet(They are missing tons of countries and keep adding new ones at a very slow pace), There are no trade restrictions in place between the US and Slovenia(it is a EU country and even a NATO member).

Thus, the OP has 5 options:

1) Release the app for free.

2) Publish through a company in a supported country. (The OP can register a business in any EU country but AFAIK google only needs a bank account, if they need a postal address in a supported country the OP can register a business and get a virtual office in for example germany)

3) Wait, Google should add slovenia eventually. (their list of supported countries is slowly growing)

4) Publish the app through Amazon, Amazon supports sellers in the Eurozone(Which includes Slovenia) and the UK.

5) Get a bank account in a supported EU nation such as UK or Germany, Talk to your own bank or one of the bigger banks in Slovenia, they might have offices or partners in a supported country and thus they can set things up for you (One of the bigger swedish banks provide such a service for companies and individuals selling on Amazon through their german offices). If your bank can't help you then you'll have to contact a foreign bank yourself. EU banks are not allowed to refuse EU citizens from opening an account just based on their nationality (They can refuse based on where you actually live but plenty of banks do offer accounts to residents in other EU countries so it shouldn't pose a big problem if you shop around a bit)

I'd recommend selling through a EU country as you can move capital freely between EU countries. (Banks are not allowed to charge a higher transfer fee for EU transfers than they do for national transfers)