Everything you NEED to know about setting up a business in Dubai | Q&A with expert consultant
Summary
TLDRSummer and her partner interview Shalin, an expert on setting up businesses in Dubai. They discuss the step-by-step process of establishing a company in Dubai or the UAE, including the main options like free zone vs mainland, required costs, visa logistics, tax benefits, and lifestyle perks. Shalin outlines the key differences between business setup routes based on the company's activities. She explains legal considerations around property investments and residency visas. Summer and Matt describe their positive firsthand experience working with Shalin's company for their own Dubai business registration and visa process.
Takeaways
- 😊 There are multiple business setup options in the UAE like Mainland, Free Zone, offshore etc. depending on your business activity and plans
- 💡 It's important to have a consultation to determine the best business setup option based on short and long term goals
- 📝 Free Zone setup is more common for location independent online businesses looking for residency
- 🔍 Mainland setup allows more flexibility to work with local UAE companies but has more requirements
- 💰 Business setup costs vary greatly based on type and number of visasrequired
- ✅ Residency visas allow you to get a local bank account and freedom to enter/exit the UAE
- 👪 Once you get a residency visa, you can easily sponsor visas for your spouse and children
- 🏢 Beyond company setup, you can get help with relocation, real estate, schools etc.
- 📈 No minimum revenue required to setup a business, UAE welcomes startups and large enterprises alike
- 🤝 Expert help navigating requirements and options ensures smooth business setup experience
Q & A
What are the different business set up options available in the UAE?
-The main options are Mainland, Free Zone, and Offshore companies. The choice depends on factors like the business activity, target customers, expansion plans, etc. Free Zone companies can only do business outside the UAE or inside their specific Free Zone, while Mainland companies have no restrictions.
What are some of the benefits of setting up a business in the UAE?
-Some major benefits are - no personal or corporate income tax, easy access to markets in Europe, Africa, Middle East due to strategic location, great infrastructure and lifestyle.
How can someone get a UAE residence visa without setting up a business?
-Options are - getting an employment visa if you find a job, golden visa if you buy property worth AED 2M+, green visa for skilled professionals, or other investment/income-based visas.
What is the process and timeline for setting up a Mainland business?
-It takes about 2 weeks to get the license, then 2-10 days for medical tests and visa stamping. Most of it can be done remotely, you only need to visit for medicals and signing legal docs.
How much does it cost to set up a business with one visa in the UAE?
-In the Free Zone with basic license it can start from AED 18k-20k. For Mainland it's more expensive, around AED 80k-100k+, depending on type of visa.
Does my overseas business need to be a certain size before I can set it up in the UAE?
-No, the UAE welcomes businesses of all sizes and stages, whether you are just starting up or are an established global company.
Can I get a freelance visa in the UAE?
-Yes, there are freezone licenses that allow you to get a freelance or entrepreneur visa, which is suitable for independent professionals.
How can I protect my UAE assets from Sharia inheritance laws?
-You can hold your UAE assets in an offshore holding company or foundation registered outside the UAE. This avoids automatic application of Sharia laws after death.
Can I sponsor my family if I get a UAE residence visa?
-Yes, once you have your own visa you can easily sponsor your spouse and children to also get residence visas.
Do I need a UAE business license just to rent out my UAE property?
-No you don't if you engage an estate agency to handle listings, contracts and other legal aspects. As an owner you can do minor things yourself without needing a license.
Outlines
😊 Intro to the video and walk in Dubai
Summer and the host are enjoying a walk in JBR, Dubai. They made a video to answer common questions they get about moving to Dubai, setting up a business, getting residency, etc. They will be interviewing an expert who helped them set up their business in Dubai.
😃 Options for setting up a business in the UAE
There are many options to set up a business in the UAE depending on the activity, target customers, business structure etc. Can set up in mainland, free zones, offshore. Visa options for employees and residency. Cost effective options for startups.
🏦 Challenges of setting up banking as a free zone company
It can be trickier for free zone companies to get bank accounts compared to mainland companies. But there are some free zones recommended that make the banking process easier.
🤑 Tax benefits and lifestyle perks of living in the UAE
Key benefits like no personal income tax and zero corporate tax (now 9% VAT only on mainland business over 375K AED). Good location to access markets in Europe, Africa, Asia. Amazing lifestyle and activities.
🏠 Best way to buy property as an expat in Dubai
Recommend setting up a holding company offshore to own Dubai properties, gives more control compared to personal ownership under Sharia law.
🔬 Residency visa options in Dubai
Various long term visa options - investor, property ownership, employment. Golden visa allows 10 year residency with proof of property ownership over 2M AED.
📝 Step-by-step process of setting up a mainland business
Involves consultation, license application, visiting notary, medical test, visa application. Expert handles most of legal paperwork. Bank account opening takes longest.
💰 Cost of setting up a business in Dubai with visa
License itself is cheap (from 6K AED), the visa adds main cost. Basic freezone package with 1 visa from 16K AED. Cost varies based on business activity, number of visas.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡business setup
💡residency
💡tax benefits
💡business license
💡free zone
💡Golden visa
💡bank account
💡family visas
💡concierge services
💡Sharia law considerations
Highlights
There are multiple options for setting up a business in the UAE depending on the activity, target market, and plans for growth.
Free zones cater to specific industries and provide cheaper setup options for international businesses.
Mainland licenses allow complete freedom to work with local and international companies, but have more setup requirements.
Corporate tax is 0% in free zones and will be 9% on the mainland over 375k AED starting June 2023.
The UAE offers easy access to markets in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Property investments can be protected from Sharia inheritance laws by using offshore holding structures.
A golden visa for property investors allows 10 years residency with few visits required.
The business setup process can be done remotely, with only a week or two visit required for medical tests and signatures.
A basic free zone company with visa can cost as little as $5,000 total.
It's possible to transfer or replicate an existing overseas company in the UAE.
Visas are available without needing to set up a business, through employment, property purchase, or other investments.
Bank account setup tends to be the most difficult and time consuming part of the process.
The UAE supports entrepreneurs at all stages and business sizes.
There are flexible remote work visa options available.
The culture supports entrepreneurial success and thriving businesses.
Transcripts
summer and I are just enjoying a walk
along one of our favorite spots here in
jbr and so we've put together a full
video because we get so many questions
about how we moved here how we set up
our business how we've got residency so
we decided to sit down and host a
podcast style interview with the company
that helped us get set up yeah so we
asked a lot of your questions it was
great wasn't it step-by-step process
yeah how to set up a business here and
other ways to get residency so I hope
you guys enjoy it here we are you now
join us in the podcast studio so we're
going to take a deep dive into the
process of setting up a business in
Dubai we'll leave a Google form in the
description if you'd like to find out
any more information or set up a
business yourself you can check that out
today we are with shalin who is an
expert in setting up businesses here in
Dubai we also use shellin in the company
last year to set up our own business
here but yeah we're just going to do
loads of questions simplify it Go step
by step through the process okay so the
first question is how would our viewers
go about setting up a business here in
Dubai so there are multiple options
obviously the UAE is quite large
everyone knows about Dubai but there are
actually seven Emirates so depending on
what the business is how they're going
to be operating there are many many
different options so different types of
jurisdictions which will work for
different types of businesses so the
first thing that we need to kind of
establish which we would have done with
you guys is obviously the activity what
the business is actually going to be
doing who they're targeting
um if it's something that's in a
specialized kind of industry there are
specific free zones for example that
cater to the needs of those types of
activities yeah and one of the things
that we found when we were moving here
and a decision that we had to make is
are we going to be doing business here
in the UAE or is the business purpose to
do international business because that
does make a difference and we actually
chose to do a Mainland business because
we do conduct business here in the uee
so that's also something for them to
think about right exactly and you don't
need to Rack your brains obviously
trying to figure that out that's a big
part of what I do as Matt and some
themselves know I will run through that
with you and figure out what's going to
be the best route so in terms of the
jurisdictions there are different ways
of setting up as Matt has touched on
we've got Mainland free zone offshore so
depending on what's going on we can
obviously have that discussion as you
guys know
um the legal structure so you can own
the business as an individual you can
own as a corporate owner you can also do
a subsidiary you can do a branch so
there's multiple different kind of
options the great thing about the UAE is
obviously you know everyone here sees
the glitz and the clamor and everyone's
doing really well as we know and it's
all glamorous and great but it does
cater to everyone at all levels you know
whether you're a startup whether you're
expanding
um whether it's your 25th Branch around
the world there is an option for you so
with that being said obviously there are
different options for you know offices
warehouses if you're not that big and
you don't need that space yet we've also
got options which are really really cost
effective and means that you don't
necessarily need to get an office
depending on how many staff you've got
and you know how quick you plan on spend
expanding those kind of things so when
it comes to visas obviously as you guys
know you live here you're going to need
them but in terms of employee visas we
can help with those as well and that is
very flexible you know Growers you wish
to grow but a lot of the driving force
for a lot of people that are moving the
business here
as well as getting away from tax as we
know yeah um is for residency purposes
so even if you're just looking to set up
a business for the Visa there are
options there as well that have really
really cost effective and adding to that
how often does the person that's got the
Visa need to be in the UAE for The
Residency do they need to live here a
certain amount of time or how many days
a year do they have to be here so it's
not necessarily a daisy year situation
it's more a period of time that you have
to show that you've entered the UAE so
if you've got a Visa that's two years so
it's an investor or an employee visa for
example then you have to visit the UAE
at least once within a 12-month period
otherwise immigration will automatically
cancel your Visa right so it could be
you come in for two days but just
because you've entered that you have to
go through the immigration process and
the other thing that to kind of consider
from I think it was September they
released a new kind of initiative where
if anyone is outside of the UAE for more
than six months they have to reapply for
entry so it's like an online form and
you have to explain why you've not been
in the UAE for six months so we briefly
touched on Mainland free zone and
offshore obviously when people are
coming over setting up a business
they're thinking which option should I
go for is there a specific one that's
the best or what are your thoughts
that's a question that I get a lot but
it's very very kind of unique and
specific to the individual you know how
you're going to be operating the
business you guys mentioned earlier
about setting up a Mainland business
because you're operating from here so
that's exactly what we need to consider
when setting up something for someone if
it's purely international business you
know everything's online nothing's going
to happen in the UAE but you want to
live here you want to be able to invoice
from here then a free zone is 100 the
best way to go you know it's the
cheapest option it gives you your
residency allows you to operate from a
tax-free environment
still zero percent on free zone
international business anyway
but if you're someone that's gonna be
expanding the business in the UAE then
you absolutely have to look at the
mainland license you know you've not
really got a choice because that's the
only way you can operate locally
completely freely with no restrictions
you know Target government entities if
that's what your client base is going to
look like
it really really depends on the business
so there's not really a right or wrong
it's very unique to the business to the
person you know and what the kind of
short and long-term plans are so to
clarify if I was coming over moving to
Dubai I have an online business maybe I
do graphic design or social media
marketing for companies all across the
world but I want to live here yeah I
could probably do free zone yeah and
then say if I was coming here and
offering my services maybe as a
videographer actually working with
companies in the UAE going and filming
for them would that mean I'd have to be
a Mainland company because I'm doing
transactions with UAE businesses so that
there are such thing as gray areas as
well so someone like that could
potentially be deemed like a freelancer
you know and then they're working under
their license so for example if someone
wanted to come and do some content work
through you guys they could potentially
work underneath your license even if
they're like license is in a Mainland
license so this is what I mean it's all
very unique circumstance based so as you
guys know we'll have a long conversation
about kind of what the short-term plans
are what the long-term plans are what is
likely to happen you know situations
that might have a slight chance of
happening and then I can give this the
scenarios as well but yeah it's not
really a
question that's easy to answer just
because it is so individual yeah so guys
if you do have further questions on that
make sure to fill out your details in
the form below as shellin said
everything is so unique here so it's
best to just call her run through your
situation and you can obviously advise
what's best for them all right Charlene
so there's a lot of info there so if you
need to sum up again the main difference
between Mainland and Free Zone yeah so
the fundamental difference between the
two routes is
if you're doing international business
free zone is the way to go so a free
zone license will cover you for free
zone business and international business
a Mainland license leaves you completely
clear to work with anyone whether it's
in the UAE or internationally so you can
do business with other Mainland
companies government entities other free
zones and international businesses so
Mainland is the one where you've got the
most Freedom free zone is a bit more
restricted not always a bad thing again
depends on your business plan and how
you're actually going to be working
because that could definitely just
tickle the boxes yeah that makes sense
and once you set up let's say a free
zone yeah and then you decide that you
want to do more business here in the UAE
yeah can you change that license so
there's not necessarily a way to change
it because there are different governing
bodies so the free zone is its own
jurisdiction so you can either
have a branch of that existing free zone
or set up a brand new business which is
in the mainland that can get a little
bit complicated just because the name
might not be the same you have to go
through the process of getting a bank
account and everything set up again so
it's effectively like starting from
scratch but again this is why we have
such a big conversation at the beginning
on the kind of short and long term plans
because if this is something that's
likely to happen in the first year my
advice is going to be just Dive Right In
and do the license that you need so you
can just keep going because there's no
point in building the business and then
getting to a point where actually now I
need to close this and start again that
makes sense I have two more points to
add on this section
um we'll go into the costs more in
detail later but free zone is a more
cost effective way to set up the
mainland right
and then another question that I've had
from a lot of people coming here is the
setting up of bank accounts when you're
a free zone company versus Mainland so
is it known to be a lot harder as a free
zone company to get a bank account here
in Dubai
I mean to answer that simply yes you
know free zone is always a little bit
trickier we have well obviously I've
been doing this for a few years so for
me I've got my preferred free zones that
I recommend my clients and they're
always driving forces and normally the
main driving force is that exact point
you know making sure that you know I can
do the license quite easily for them get
them their visas that's fine but what is
the point if they cannot operate yeah so
for me the free zones that I recommend
sometimes they might not be the cheapest
free zones they're still more cost
effective than mainland of course but
they are kind of an all-round good
choice so you know ease of operating I
tend to try and find the ones that do
not require nocs do not require Office
Space
easier with the banking process those
kind of things so for me it's very much
important to think about the whole
journey rather than just setting up the
cheapest option and I always tell
everyone that because it's not just
about the initial costs for sure and I
think for us that's what was so helpful
about working with you guys is if we had
to set it up all on our own we would
have no idea but we had so much advice
and like you said thinking of the future
of the business too now moving on to one
of the main reasons people come to Dubai
of course that's the benefits so could
you run us through them yeah of course
so I think the one thing that the UAE is
famous for is probably the tax side of
things which is why a lot of us Brits
end up running here as we all know and
so corporate tax is still zero percent
for international business but they have
introduced from the 1st of June nine
percent corporate tax
frustrating for those of us that have
been here and experienced zero for so
long but obviously compared to the rest
of the world we're still the lowest tax
rate anywhere when it comes to personal
income we're still all safe which is
obviously great still paying zero
percent there's no capital gains or
anything else like that where we have to
consider kind of long-term tax issues
for us to ourselves individually
but from the the business perspective
like I said the nine percent is only on
local business anyway so and is the nine
percent corporation tax that's coming in
is that over a certain amount who wants
your business hits a threshold of like a
hundred thousand or so the threshold is
375 000 Dirhams okay
the details on that I'm not 100 sure on
we do have a tax and accounting team who
will be able to specify exactly which
income will be taxable what's going to
be exempt you know what the the levies
are those kind of things I'm not a tax
expert sorry guys but I can obviously
put anyone that wants to talk about that
side of things in touch with an expert
that will be able to run through those
things but the 375 is around a hundred
thousand US dollars so up to that is
zero percent and then over that
potentially yeah then there's some tax
implications that obviously just need to
be dealt with again not everything's
going to be taxed anyway if it's you
know the majority of the businesses
outside of the UAE that's going to be
exempt anyway it's just a case of doing
your annual Audits and making sure that
you know whatever's coming in is taxed
appropriately one of the other reasons
that a lot of people
you know end up coming over to the UAE
other than the tax and the Sunshine is
the fact that we are so strategically
placed you know in terms of doing
business
Europe Africa the Far East we have
access to so many markets and I think
obviously you guys will probably realize
a bit more as you operate more and more
in the region the reach here is just
incredible you know as well as the other
benefits that's something that really
really benefits a lot of the businesses
that set up here and expand into the
region another benefit of moving to the
UAE as Matt and I know is the lifestyle
which was a huge factor for us moving
here I mean firstly the sunshine is
incredible people here are amazing
there's so many people all around the
world make new friends and just meet
such different people we've met a lot of
entrepreneurs people setting up their
own business so it's great to surround
ourselves with like-minded people and
then also there's just like an endless
list of things to do here isn't there
there's so much I mean I think we're
coming into an era where if you set up
your business right you can spend time
in different locations and that's one of
the main attractions for me about being
here in Dubai especially with the
license like we've talked about earlier
in the podcast you don't have to be here
for all of the year and so what works
really well for summer is to spend part
of the year in the UK and Europe and
then part of the Year here in Dubai and
then you're really enjoying the Best of
Both Worlds and that for us so far has
been working so well like we love
spending time here we've met such
amazing people
um because it's in the center of kind of
the world we flew to Australia last year
that was a direct flight and then
obviously you get a direct flight to the
UK just yes great location on the map
with tax as well I know a lot of people
are looking at investing in property
here in Dubai so if you guys have
followed us for a while you know summer
and I have bought property in the UK in
a combination of in our personal name
and also in a company and it's a
question that often comes up around
being in Dubai you know should you
structure your property investments in
your personal name is there a more
efficient and smarter way to do it you
know incorporating it with a company
obviously we've got the benefits here of
no capital gains tax on the income as
well which makes massive difference if
you're an investor in the UK you know
all about that so perhaps you could tell
us some more about the best way to
structure setting up property in here
yeah absolutely
um so again this is going to be very
individual you know where the person is
a tax resident will massively impact
this but obviously for us back home with
properties over there we have to think
about capital gains inheritance tax as
well as the kind of short-term income
tax that we have to pay on rental income
so over here we don't necessarily have
the income issues so the day-to-day kind
of short-term tax issues aren't a
problem regardless of whether you own it
personally or not
but the the issues I think come up more
so for expats that aren't Muslim that
are in the UAE so for example
if I wanted to buy property here or you
wanted to buy property here it's more
the longer term so
everything will come under Sharia law so
the way kind of around that which a lot
of my clients will do is to set up a
passive kind of vehicle in an offshore
jurisdiction so like a holding company
or a foundation so a foundation sits
somewhere between kind of a trust and an
operating company so you've got a bit
more control over who the beneficiaries
are and that could effectively just be
wrapped around your properties here so
this is really good for I think all
expats in the UAE or anyone with assets
in the UAE whether it's a business
whether it's a property you know any
kind of assets at all can be wrapped in
this what that does is then gives us
control over our assets so Sharia law is
not automatic it's not a given you know
I'm not sure how many of your clients
will know much about how it works but
you know assets can get Frozen if
someone passes away which can be an
issue so for example if you guys get
married one day and then Matt was
unfortunately to die then that could
cause a problem
okay I've just gone down a very bad oh
no carry on I'm finding this really no
I'm finding this interesting okay fine
so for example if Matt was to pass away
um then that could cause a problem for
you so if all the assets are even if
they're in both of your names you've got
to consider what's going to happen
because you know the assets will be
frozen so even if there's a will in
place this kind of just gives you that
added layer of protection and he gets to
dictate you know if I pass away 50 of
whatever we've got is going to you end
off whereas you know Sharia law has some
different rules which us as westerners
aren't necessarily used to so you know
assets can be passed to family members
just because of
what sex they are regardless of whether
you've spoken to them interesting 10
years so for westerners who are now
living in the UAE
there's an extra layer of things that we
need to consider but it's also very easy
to protect ourselves from these things
it's just having the knowledge and
making sure that we do what we need to
do to
so can you set that up after you've
bought the assets or do you have yeah
absolutely that's within it okay so you
can if you've already got property here
and it's in your personal name and you
then want to change it over then
absolutely we can do that we'll just set
up the entity and then there's a
transfer but you're effectively gifting
it to yourself because it was founded by
you so say if somebody was coming over
to Dubai and they wanted to buy a
property yeah could they get a Visa
because they've purchased a property
yeah so what we've just touched on with
the foundations and holding companies
that wouldn't necessarily allow for this
route but if they did have at least one
property in their own name Equity needs
to be at least 2 million Dirhams which
is
400 000 550 yeah 500 something like that
um so if they were to own a property and
they've got that amount of equity then
we can actually apply for a golden Visa
so if it was a case of don't actually
need to set up a business I just want an
investment there I want to be able to
come backwards and forwards open a bank
account those kind of things then
absolutely there is that route and that
option when it comes to it and how long
is a golden Visa so golden Visa is 10
years validity which is the longest Visa
that you can get so obviously there's a
lot about citizenship by investment and
stuff around the world the UAE you can
never get the passport
right so I think you come through
marriage but I don't know much about
that so I can't really sell you quite a
SAT sorry
in terms of the actual residency that is
the longest that you can get
um which is great and it gives people a
bit more kind of freedom to come and go
as they please
um and just makes life a little bit
easier open a bank account get settled
in even if you're not living here
full-time come and go and you know you
don't have to do your medical tests
until
10 years down the line do you only need
to come into the UAE once a year is that
the same as the so the immigration rules
would pretty much be the same with all
visas anyway it's just more their
process and internal kind of system if
you haven't been in they're gonna wonder
why
um I'd have to double check if there's
anything kind of special with the golden
visas but typically most of the Visas do
allow you know do require you to at
least have visited once a year but as we
know there are worse places in the world
to have to go it's quite easy to come
here once a year and come here even once
for an amazing holiday yeah and does
that golden Visa is that easier to bring
your family in because obviously we've
mostly talked about it from a business
an individual perspective a lot of
people will be looking to bring their
family over as well so how do visas work
with bringing family so any Visa that
you get so for example if you are
married and you've got two children and
you want your whole family to be able to
come over here or at least have
residency you know whether you're living
here full-time or not
what would happen is for example if the
father set up a business or had a golden
Visa or had some form of Visa employee
whatever it is
that person can then sponsor his wife
and his children
very very easily so there's not really
any restrictions with that at all
um but the the main kind of thing is get
the first visa and then sponsor the
others so whatever length of time so for
example if someone got a golden visa and
they want to sponsor their wife and
their kids they would also get a golden
Visa they'd get the 10-year in line so
it would be like an extension of their
visa so the dad would have a golden Visa
wife and kids will have the same length
of time does the couple have to be
married to have the sponsorship or if
you've been like a partner for 10 years
is that legible
so unfortunately not there does have to
be the legal kind of agreement when it
comes to sponsoring the spouse so you
have to be married legally lastly I
think we'll cover sort of the experience
Matt and I had last year setting up our
business and what we kind of did in the
process so the first thing we did we
actually went into the office chat with
you guys talked about our business and
our goals for the future and then you
guys did all like the paperwork stuff I
don't know the the like legit stuff but
then we went to a notary was that right
a notary site why don't you explain what
the legal stuff is okay that's fine look
to be honest I don't really want to
delve too much into the legal stuff
because it's not something that people
need to get stressed out about or
overthink because we do as you know take
care of it which is why you don't know
what it's called or what was going on so
it's fine so obviously we have the
initial consultation as you've mentioned
as we spoke about earlier that is very
much to kind of understand you
understand your business understand the
driving force so that is for me probably
the most crucial part of making sure
that whatever we're going to do is the
right thing you know not only for the
next six months but for the foreseeable
future and if it's not then that's fine
we can obviously make a plan for the
kind of longer term as well so if we
know that this is something that's going
to suit you for the next 12 to 24 months
and we know that at that point
something's going to shift we can
pre-prepare I'm surprised I managed to
say that without a stumbling one thing I
loved about the process and you guys
sorted all of that for us we then went
to a notary to do some signatures we had
a driver come and pick us up when we got
to the building they showed us where to
go where to wait we definitely didn't
have to stress or worry about anything
it was a very hands-free experience so
that was one thing I loved about the
process it was very easy wasn't it yeah
and that initial conversation that we
had you mentioned we went into the
office but most people they can do that
on Zoom yeah do that over the phone it's
really I think what people might be
interested in is how much time you
actually physically need to be here yeah
because a lot of people were setting up
a business here would also have
businesses in other places they'll be
very busy you know as we are so let's
say they have a call with you and they
you know want to move ahead with setting
up like a Mainland business at what
stage would they need to come over to
the UAE to actually do the medical tests
and things like that yeah I think like
with the initial process that can be
done on teams face to face on the phone
most of our work gets done on WhatsApp
here as we are now used to very
different to the UK but now you know
there's so many ways of getting through
the initial aspect when it comes to
setting up the license as you guys know
most of it was over email a lot of the
kind of documents will be sent over
email will have a WhatsApp group to make
things kind of easier to understand if
you need to do teams calls or anything
we can do that during the process with a
Mainland license you guys will be
completely familiar the only time we
physically need you when we're doing the
license is for the notary because you
need to physically go to the government
office and sign everything
so we do have a way around that as well
so for people who are very very busy as
a lot of our clients are we do have ways
to get that done without them here via a
power of attorney so we do have options
for people that are very very busy that
process as you guys know will probably
take about two weeks on average
obviously depends on what the business
type is if there's an office involved if
there's external approvals so that can
vary but on average it's about two weeks
to kind of get the license issued at
that point we obviously start the Visa
process which you guys are familiar with
as well so you get to go and give some
blood and have an x-ray yeah so that was
really interesting
um very seamless experience though it
was very seamless
um so we had to we got picked up one
morning went to kind of a government
building and there was actually separate
areas wasn't there so you went to the
men's section I went into the women's
section maybe I waited for 10 minutes
then I had a little blood test or they
took the blood out and then got changed
into little blue kind of apron thing and
then had a chest x-ray
um and probably in and out within 30
minutes very seamless driver took us
back to our apartment and there was
another time where we had to give our
passports and they came and collected
them and then dropped them off so we
didn't even need to do anything for that
we just literally gave our passports so
was pretty seamless but that was about
it
yeah I mean look there's always going to
be some physical things that you need to
do but we do try and make everyone's
life as easy as possible where possible
especially if you're just moving here as
you guys know there's already so much
that you need to think about where you
can live how things work here setting up
bank accounts and getting into the swing
of 40 degree heat yeah every day and we
um we met the other day and we were
talking about just all of the other
things as well that you can help with so
it isn't just the setup if you if
someone is looking to move over here and
wants everything taken care of like from
finding a property yeah correct me if
I'm wrong helping with schools and all
that stuff can you we have a concierge
team so we can't physically do
everything in-house but we tend to have
contact so even if we can't coordinate
it we've got people that we can put you
in touch with for certain things if
there's like an overall relocation
package that you'd like the concierge
team will just kind of put something
together for you the great thing about
our company is we do have specialist
departments dealing with different
things like everywhere so the concierge
team are very much there to make people
like use life easier and touching back
on the process so once we did the
medical is that then when the Visa is
issued after that and then it's pretty
much the process is done and we can go
and apply for bank account so the
physical process the physical part of
the process is obviously the medical
yeah and then you pass your passport
over to one of our Pros they'll go and
deal with the the Visa side of things
and get all of that sorted before giving
you a passport back in your Visa or done
and tested so that part of the process
for someone that is not in the UAE for
any of the other process can be done
between five to ten working days depends
if you do VIP and what the process is
there but typically speaking if they
don't take any extras whatsoever they
would need to be in the UAE for two
weeks got it okay and we should touch on
how long it took us from start to finish
so from the moment that we went to the
office had a sit down to doing the bank
accounts which was actually probably one
of the most lengthy processes out of
everything and we did that once we had
our Visa it was around two two and a
half months I would say yeah
that was quite good because that worked
with our time frame obviously we were
new to the UE we're actually living here
here in Dubai for that time yeah so I'd
say if our goal was absolutely set the
business up faster than we could have
100 but it was actually like after the
first meeting let's think about how we
want to structure this let's spend some
time there's no rush if you want to take
a bit longer to figure it out and we
wanted to make sure we got the right
bank account so we visited several to
make sure we had the right setup you
know for us make sure we chose the right
bank which you guys helped with you
recommended the ones that are good to go
to that each have certain benefits so
like the banking side of things
obviously going to be a bit more painful
than it would be back home for anyone
but as you guys you know knew from the
beginning we manage your expectations
and let you know what to expect with
that side of things it's not going to be
like back home it's not you know here's
a company's house certificate here's my
passport can I have a bank account a
little bit more of a process here
because we are all guests in the country
so
that process will be handled by the
banking team they are amazing similarly
to the experience you would have had
with me I'm sure you would have had the
same experience with the banking team
you know have the consultation this is
the minimum balance this is the the
banks that kind of Pop to my head these
are the transactions that we're likely
to do you know whatever it may be they
will then guide you as they did with you
um and then take it from there but the
banking is probably the longest part it
is it's the Money Talks process where
the more you have the more your business
is going to do the easier it is you know
and you might have to go for a few
applications and different banks but the
great thing is obviously one you've once
you've established a trading history
here yeah you've done some good business
for a year or so you can always change
Banks if you prefer a different one at
the end of the day but I think the great
thing with digital Banks now is they all
have an app really that is what I was
about to jump into we've got some great
digital options now as well which lets
people get started probably quicker than
when you guys set up so nice we've
evolved a few days ago I put on my
Instagram story to ask me questions
about setting up a business here in
Dubai so we've got a few questions that
we're going to answer today so the first
question
which everybody wants to know because
it's about money and costs so how much
approximately do you need to set up a
business in Dubai yeah great question so
we want to get straight into the good
info so summer and I set up last year
process in its entirety took about two
months and we spent ten thousand US
Dollars on that and that was for
everything to be done we got a few like
upgrades in the package didn't we some
good VIP service so it doesn't have to
cost that um but the best person to
speak about that of course is Sheldon
just to clarify that we got a Mainland
company with two Visas underneath so the
Visas are the more expensive part and
obviously we had two of them under our
business but yeah tell us more about
well exactly that you clearly don't need
me here guys so
you are completely right so the Visa is
what brings the cost up so in terms of
the actual license themselves and that's
a business license what you need to be
able to operate the cost of those are
relatively cheap especially if we're
looking at a free zone so if we're
looking at a free zone license something
very basic maybe a creative you know
marketing agency or something like that
you can get something like that very
very cheap from like six thousand
Dirhams which is the equivalent to what
eighteen hundred dollars yeah
so in terms of the Visas it's just more
that side of things that bring up the
cost so if you're planning on living
here or if you're not but you want a
local bank account the Visa is something
that unfortunately we can't really avoid
um so yeah it's just it varies but you
can get a business license that's
relatively cheap anyway so you could get
the business license that's
less expensive than the overall cost but
then you can't set up the bank account
you can't do the business here so it
can't it doesn't make sense it's the
Visa that is kind of necessary yeah and
but look there are entrepreneur packages
where you get the business license and
the Visa which start from around
it's
16 000 Dirhams in the Free Zone again
that's not going to suit everyone
because of the type of business you know
how they're operating if they need more
than one Visa but if it's a One Visa
package then there are options which are
relatively cheap
next question for you shalin can you
move an already Trading Company from the
UK to the UAE I mean there are a few
follow-up questions I'd obviously ask to
that you know what is it what are they
planning on doing closing that one
moving it over but the short answer that
to that is yes you know if you want to
set up a subsidiary a branch or just
replicate what you've already got going
on then absolutely and following from
that um somebody's asked me how do I get
a visa for Dubai and to live here
without setting up a business so there
are quite a few options when it comes to
getting a Visa here the kind of simplest
one is an employee Visa so if you've
been offered a job over here you'll get
your employee Visa they'll take care of
everything provide you with medical
insurance all of those kind of things
and the other side of it is more kind of
a personal route so you know investor
visa property if you purchase property
and you want to go down that route you
can get golden Visa there's something
called a green Visa which has just been
released so there are other options when
it comes to visas but again it's just
going to depend on your circumstances if
you're an entrepreneur if you've
invested locally what your income is
that there's going to be different
routes and different options but
absolutely you can get a Visa without
setting up a business I wanted to ask
you because a lot of people I feel do
social media they're maybe influencers
or they have a social media business
where they can work online maybe they're
a graphic designer what would the be the
best route for them would they set up a
free zone company as a freelancer and
trade under that what would you
recommend this is a really difficult
question to answer without having some
more context so it depends on who
they're invoicing who they're targeting
how they're going to be operating you
know where's the money actually coming
from where are they physically going to
be doing things you know I know we had a
bit more of a personal conversation
about you guys and doing some filming
here so again if they're planning on
filming locally they will likely need
some external approvals to be able to do
so if they do go down that route the
free zone license is going to make it
that much harder so it really depends on
the business right so best thing to do
is basically just contact you yeah and
then you'll give them advice on where to
set up the business next question we had
was what was our biggest lessons that we
learned from setting up a business here
in Dubai yeah so one thing I would say
that I didn't realize would take so long
was setting up the bank account I do
feel like it's known here that the bank
accounts are quite difficult to do but
you basically we applied for a few then
we had to go into the branch and yeah we
finally did set it up but that was
definitely a lengthy process
yeah another lesson I would say is just
knowing that there is yearly costs
associated with running a business in
Dubai it's not just a one-time setup but
that's as to be expected it's just your
license renewal it's very easy to get
set up and maintain and I think the
costs again vary on what business type
you have set up and how many people you
have within that business another
question we had from you guys is around
what level your business needs to
already be operating at to move out here
or do you need to have something there
established do you need a minimum
Revenue amount so perhaps you could talk
to us about that yeah of course that's
really easy to answer the answer to that
is no no expectations you know the UAE
with all its Glitz and glamor is still
very much inviting and accepting and
very much has the platform for everyone
at all levels so whether you're starting
up and it's a brand new Venture you've
never had a business before and this is
your first time trying
you can definitely do that if you are a
Fortune 500 company by all means come
over as well
and somebody's asked is there a strong
freelancing scene in Dubai I'd say yeah
quite a lot of young people especially
coming out here we've met quite a lot I
think that that's it isn't it I mean a
lot of these questions are geared at
like the specifics of setting up but
when you're wanting to move somewhere
you've got to really think of of why
that is and you know it's like-minded
people it's living within a culture and
environment that you feel that you can
both enjoy and really thrive in and what
we found is opportunities are abundant
here everyone wants to do you to do well
they want to see you do well which is
not necessarily the same as everywhere
you know growing up in the UK especially
in a smaller town when you start to have
success not everyone loves it you will
get people that are a bit like oh that's
strange especially when you're young so
if you are young and you are getting
success obviously that's awesome for you
and if you want somewhere where people
around you are gonna
um you know be a priest of that I think
the body could be the spot next up we've
got a question from someone considering
living here in Dubai but working and
employed but online based job or UK
employer so is there something available
for someone like that so they did make
quite a few changes to visas obviously
we all lived through the joy that was
covered so there were quite a few
changes for people and you know as Dubai
opened up quite quickly in comparison to
other places they did make some
amendments to be able to get people to
come over here be able to work from here
so there are definitely options for
people who are being paid by overseas
entities and
visas that are outside of the norm I'm
not in the Visa team I'm not an expert
but we do have a division within the
business that can help with that side of
things so if anyone does want to kind of
go into more specifics about Visa
options and I can definitely put them in
touch with the right person next
question is do I need a business license
to rent out my home by an estate agency
when I'm not using it so maybe it's like
a holiday home he comes here a few times
so if it's going through an estate
agency then no not at all as long as
you've got a third party doing the
contracts doing the maintenance doing
everything else and absolutely not but
it's your own property anyway so even if
you're going in and cleaning it yourself
not really breaking any rules it's just
more the documents and the kind of legal
side of things last question is are you
accepting new clients to help set up
their business here I mean very short
answer to that is yes definitely no of
course
um a big part of our role is obviously
Consulting and bringing on more people
and helping them expand into the UAE so
yes if you need help get in touch we can
definitely vouch of how good it is
because Matt and I did it all last year
and we just wanted to bring you here in
so you can give us all your expert
advice because although we went through
the process we still don't 100 we can't
explain it super simply can we because
it's quiet the full authority to explain
on it and that's exactly why you're here
but it was really important to us that
we set up the business it's been a year
since then we wanted to try everything
ourselves before we recommended anything
or before we talked about it to you guys
so yeah we've hoped you enjoyed this
video
thank you for having me guys no worries
and thanks everyone for watching make
sure to like And subscribe and also the
Google form is down there if you do want
to chat with Charlene on the phone and
she can advise you on which kind of
direction is best for your situation
yeah thanks again thank you really
appreciate it thanks you guys for
watching uh hit the like button if you
enjoyed the video make sure to subscribe
and we'll see you guys in one of my next
videos
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