Dubai Residency By Company Registration

As one of the world’s primary business destinations and one of the most profitable and bankable cities on Earth, Dubai has long been a favorite with businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors from all around the globe in the past two decades. In this article we are going to review some of the investment opportunities in the United Arab Emirates and discuss the process of getting Dubai residency by company registration.

The United Arab Emirates – namely its main two cities Abu Dhabi and Dubai – through hundreds of millions of investment throughout the years have become the business hub of the Middle East and as a result, gaining residency of Dubai – among other United Arab Emirates cities – has become vastly popular with high-net-worth individuals who also are business owners and wish to live and reside in Dubai.

And so here we want to open that up and check out the different aspects of establishing a company and gaining residency through that in Dubai; The following is the list of topics we will talk about in this piece:

• The process of acquiring Dubai residency by company registration
• Types of licenses for obtaining Dubai residency by company registration
• Requirements & Costs of gaining Dubai residency by company registration
• Advantages of owning a company and residence permits in Dubai
• Final word

Dubai Residency By Company Registration:

Before getting into any details, it needs to be said that establishing a business in the United Arab Emirates is a rather complicated process.

We will try to explain the essential parts of it but do not forget that this is just to give an idea of the whole procedure and if and when you decide to start or move your business to Dubai, it is necessary to get help from professionals such as the qualified agents at Jasper Real Estate.

Now that we have got the customary promotional and also cautionary message out of the way, let us get started.

The process of acquiring Dubai residency by company registration:

As we said, navigating the business world of Dubai for a foreigner can be a bit tricky, at least at first; but let us start with the basics.

First and foremost you need to choose a jurisdiction which can be one of these three options: Mainland, Freezone, or Offshore which each one has its own pros and cons. Generally though it is recommended to choose the jurisdiction that best suits your business and its customers; But what is the difference between them?

Mainland or local company setups in Dubai permits you to have complete ownership of your company which was not possible until very recently and you are also allowed to do business anywhere in the United Arab Emirates.

Freezone company setups unlike Mainland companies do not require to have a physical office space which can be an enormous plus given the price of property in Dubai especially if you are just starting your company. In this type of company you can have complete ownership of your company.

And finally there are Offshore companies by which you cannot operate in the United Arab Emirates and you can only be a shareholder of such a company and this type of company is not authorized to issue any resident visas.

After determining your jurisdictions, you must apply for a Trade License either with the DED or the Department of Economic Development which is specifically for Mainland companies or from a Freezone Authority which are obviously for a Freezone company).

In order to set up shop in Dubai, you also need to buy or rent office space, of which there are a few different options available among the different types of properties in Dubai.

And finally you must have a corporate bank account and the required permits and documents – which we will talk about a little bit later – to make everything official.

Gaining a residency in Dubai is also possible through buying shares of an existing company with a value of at least fifty thousand Arab Emirates Dirham.

Once you have purchased your share, the company will sponsor your visa which is valid for three years and it can be renewed time and again at the end of each three years.

The owners of this visa can sponsor their family members who again are allowed to apply for renewable three-year residency visas. Although in order for your family members to join you in Dubai (or any other six Emirates for that matter) you must be earning four thousand Arab Emirates Dirhams a month at the very least.

Types of licenses for obtaining Dubai residency by company registration:

In the previous part we talked about how you need to determine what type of business you have which is needed to acquire the type of license that fits the bill.

Generally there are four main types of business licenses in Dubai which are Commercial, Industrial, Professional and Tourism.

The Commercial License is for companies that focus mainly on trading, such as buying and selling. The Professional License is for companies that offer services such as consultation, engineering or medical assistance.

The Industrial License is for companies engaging in manufacture, production, or any other other industrial-related activities. And finally The Tourism License is for companies that engage in… well, tourism! Companies such as travel agencies, hotels, and tourism operations fall directly under this category.

The real difference between these licenses lies in their function and also of course their costs. Each license gives certain privileges and establishes certain restrictions for the companies that are under its umbrella.

Requirements & Costs of gaining Dubai residency by company registration
As always there are certain bureaucratic procedures and legal issues that must be done in order to have a professional business. This part may seem complicated because of all the abbreviations and names but it is rather simple.

The documents needed for starting a business in Dubai are the Passport or Emirate IDs of all the company members, an MOA or Memorandum of Association which explains the company’s legal structure, an NOC or No Objection Certificate from your sponsor which is not needed for FreeZone businesses and a POA or a Power of Attorney if a representative/lawyer is applying.

The costs of starting a company in Dubai can vary depending on a lot of factors such as the scale of your company, the size of your office space, the field of your activity. The least expensive types of companies still set you back a minimum of twenty thousand dirhams and that is besides the annual expenses that need to be taken care of.

Advantages of acquiring Dubai residency by company registration
There is an immensely long list of reasons on why starting a business in Dubai and gaining residency through it is a great idea; but for now let us just go through some of them.

Dubai gives access to the global market including the Arab, Asian and African countries; This city is a commercial hub and other than probably North Korea, there are not a lot of countries who you cannot reach through your business which says a lot about the United Arab Emirates political and economic stability.

By the same token, the United Arab Emirates and specifically Dubai is a very safe place and Dubai is basically a crime free zone in the Middle East.

Dubai has a state of the art infrastructure and the strategic geographical location of the city makes the transportation of people and goods through land, water and air as easy as it can be; It is no surprise then that the biggest container ports – the port of Jebel Ali – and one of the busiest airports – Dubai International Airport – in all of the world belongs to Dubai.
And last but definitely not least, Dubai is a tax haven which puts zero tax on literally everything including personal income, corporate income, capital gains, inheritance and export & import.
On the other hand, having a residence permit in Dubai comes with its special package filled with perks and merits some of which include the chance to be united with your young children and parents, having access to health insurance among many others; If all that does not convince you, we do not know what wil!

Final word

With its excellent infrastructure, tax incentives, and talent pool, entrepreneurs can take advantage of these opportunities to expand their business in this rapidly growing region. These factors have helped make Dubai one of the most attractive destinations for setting up businesses in the Middle East.

Owning, running and being responsible for a business is a tall order and is not for everyone. Yet if you are already a business owner or have the ambitions of starting your own business, there is nary a better place than Dubai in all of the world.

We are sure that there are still some questions unanswered which given the complexity of the matter is only natural; if you feel the need to gain more detailed information about acquiring Dubai residency by company registration, make sure to contact the lawyers at Jasper Real Estate to have your inquiries answered.