How to relocate a business to Dubai

The United Arab Emirates is a country with unique business opportunities. Tax benefits, confidentiality, legislative protection and economic growth – all this allows you to work quietly and get maximum profit. Kalinka Group experts will tell you about the advantages of registering a business in the UAE and how to relocate to Dubai.

Advantages of relocating a business to Dubai

The Emirates is on the OECD white list, which indicates its impeccable international reputation. Dubai ranks 61st among 1000 cities in the ranking of the most attractive places in the world for entrepreneurs. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2022 from StartupBlink, which presents a study of the global ecosystem for startups, the UAE ranked 27th out of 100 countries in 2021, rising by 16 positions in 2 years.

More than 3,000 Russian companies operate in the UAE. They relate mainly to the real estate, manufacturing, trade and telecommunications sectors.

So, what are the advantages of Dubai for business relaxation:

• A friendly country, so Russians can work and open companies – they are always welcome here.
• There is no income tax, dividends, wages, capital gains, and VAT is only 5%.
• Stable dollar exchange rate for more than 20 years.
• Active development of cities.
• Free air communication with Russia and other countries.
• Dubai is a major trade and logistics hub for the countries of Africa and Eurasia.
• The UAE does not provide tax information to other countries.
• Investment protection by the government.

Another nice bonus is that Russians can get a resident visa when investing in a business. Its validity period is 3 years, after which it can be updated. An important condition is to stay in the country once every 180 days. The investor can also open sponsorship visas for family members.

Stages of starting a business

To start working in the UAE, you need:

1. Choose a place. It is clear that it depends on your business.
2. Get a license, permits and registration. In order to provide services and deliver goods to the domestic market of the Emirates, a company registration is required. Any business is subject to licensing. It is required to provide a development plan, confirm the experience and qualifications of the founder, the presence of a physical and legal address.
3. Choose a service company that provides administrative and legal support. She will take over accounting and tax accounting, immigration procedures and registration of employees, opening bank accounts.

For the company that will produce products, the procedure is different. Additionally, you need to submit the project for consideration to the Ministry of Economy, which issues a preliminary permit for the registration of production. Then you need to coordinate everything in the departments that are prescribed in this document. The manufactured products must be certified. This requires laboratory tests for compliance with standards, expertise, registration with the Municipality, the Ministry of Health and other bodies.

What to consider when starting a business in the UAE

In the Emirates, you can quickly register a company. The investor will easily do this in 2-3 months. But you need to take into account the following nuances.

Choosing the place of business registration

	Offshore	Frison	Local company (Mainland)
Property	100% from a foreign investor	100% from a foreign investor	51% for a UAE citizen for the trade industry or 100% for the service sector
Place of registration	Free Economic Zone	Free Economic Zone	Mainland
Field of activity	Outside the Emirates	There are no restrictions for the B2B sphere, for B2C, too, if the service sector, and for the trade industry – only outside the Emirates	There are no restrictions

To determine the place and type of company registration, you need to answer the question "Will I work inside the UAE?". If yes, then the Mainland option is preferable, especially for companies in the field of healthcare and law (for example, beauty salons, private medical clinics, gyms, law offices).

If the company does not work with the domestic market, import products, and its owner does not plan to live in the UAE and get a resident visa, then it is worth looking at the offshore option.

The most convenient option is freezone. Free economic zones were introduced in the UAE to attract investors. The advantage is that in such a place a foreigner can fully own a company, and a simplified scheme is used to maintain documentation. Now there are more than 50 SEZs. Each is managed by a separate regulatory body that issues licenses and registers companies. As a rule, frisons specialize in individual industries. For example, in the Building Material Zone, you can open a company that will deal with building materials. Dubai Aid City is the best option for registering a charitable foundation. DIFC (financial direction), Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City are also popular.

Choosing the type of company

Before starting the business registration procedure, you need to think over the organizational and legal form of the company. To choose from:

Sole Proprietorship. This is an analogue of the Russian individual entrepreneur. The company is wholly owned by one individual.
Civil Company. Doctors, lawyers, accountants can open a civil company in Dubai, but 51% of the business must be owned by a citizen of the UAE.
Limited Liability Company. In a Limited Liability Company, all profits and losses are divided among the shareholders. 51% of the shares must be owned by a citizen of the Emirates. Foreign investors prefer this option if they register a legal entity outside the frison. A contract is signed with a local resident, where it is indicated that he does not interfere in management and does not make a profit. For participation, he receives a fixed monetary reward.
A branch of a foreign company. It is wholly owned by the parent company.
The most profitable option is a company with registration in freezone, where the investor will own 100%. He has the right to obtain a resident visa for himself and can apply for registration of family members.

Opening an account with a local bank

For a citizen of a European country, opening an account takes a week, and for a Russian – a month.

There are several international banks in the Emirates, and each has its own requirements. For example, sometimes you need to provide your resume with a description of experience, a business plan, corporate documents. A prerequisite for opening an account is renting a room. The Bank requests a legal address.

Expenses for opening a company

Let's look at payments using the example of an IT company. To open it , there will be the following expenses:

• Annual license – on average 1 – 2 thousand dollars.
• Rent of premises. If the office has an area of 100 sq. m, then it will cost 20 – 30 thousand dollars per year. Instead, you can get a virtual legal address for 1 thousand dollars on average.
• Insurance for the owner of the company – an average of 3 thousand dollars.
• Obtaining a visa is about 2.5 thousand dollars.
• Insurance and permit for each employee – more than 2 thousand per year.

Do not forget about the authorized capital. In some friezes there are requirements for its minimum.

Since it is necessary to submit a large package of documents when registering a company, it is better to use the services of a consulting company. These expenses should also be included in the list.

Regular checks

Be prepared for the fact that at all stages of opening a company and further doing business, departments will request documents for verification. In the free zone, this is handled by the supervisory authority, tax services, banks, etc.

Getting a Tax Certificate

If the founder of the company has lived in the Emirates for 6 months, then he can get a tax certificate based on a bank statement. The document confirms tax residency in the UAE. It operates in European countries and is useful for those who wish to avoid double taxation. If the owner of a company in Dubai is a tax resident of Russia, then he needs to submit reports to the tax service of his country.

Assistance from Kalinka Group in relocating business in Dubai

Entering the international market and doing business in Dubai requires a deep understanding of the legislation, peculiarities and traditions of the country, which are unusual for people from the post-Soviet space. Before opening a company, we recommend getting advice from Russian-speaking specialists in order to avoid mistakes and unnecessary actions, since each emirate has its own rules and regulations.

Competent selection of a consulting company is the key to success for any business. Kalinka Group has been operating in this market for more than 20 years, and our expertise is formed on the basis of in-depth research and experience.

We provide a full range of services:

• company registration;
• opening a bank account;
• immigration support for owners, employees and their family members.

Kalinka Group offers assistance in relocating business to Dubai and solves the problems that arise in the process of organizing the company. We have great opportunities and an impeccable reputation – contact us, we will always help.