# Cheapest Freezone UAE



## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

My business license and visa are due for renewal in Sept 2018 from Umm Al Quwain free zone. I see various initiatives announced recently by UAE Govt that would grant 10 year residence visa to some, and yesterday Govt of Abu Dhabi announced a stimulus plan where new companies in Abu Dhabi free zones would not need to rent real/virtual office space for 2 years. All these initiatives may possibly bring down business license costs, but the issue is they come live somewhere towards the end of the year. I do not want to spend another 20000 AED to pay to Umm Al Quwain free trade zone for license & visa renewal. Any cheaper options anyone knows of that gives legal rights to live in UAE with family and work as IT consultant (exports only) in the meantime, let me know.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Sorry but if you think that 10 year licences, and no office space together you need to read a lot more.

The 10 year residency is for employees in specific in-demand disciplines. and IT isnt one of them, nor will it ever be.

And it'll be a while before either get fully implemented IMO.


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Sorry but if you think that 10 year licences, and no office space together you need to read a lot more.
> 
> The 10 year residency is for employees in specific in-demand disciplines. and IT isnt one of them, nor will it ever be.
> 
> And it'll be a while before either get fully implemented IMO.


They announced 10 year visa for "investors & professionals(doctors, engineers, etc.) and their families" with no details specified so far, but the hope is details will be out in next 3 months or so. Agree, IT professionals may not be the ones who make into the list. And it isn't clear whether it will apply for self employed individuals. But since investors are there in the list, that is enough. The devil lies in the detail and will be useful for me only when there is net money saving.


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## decima (May 20, 2018)

Ras al Khaimah recently launched the "Freelancer Permit". I believe it's not possible to post direct links in this forum, therefore please do a google search for the following keywords: "ras al khaimah freelancer permit". It should be the first search result. Depending on your situation, this might be of interest to you.

-Decima


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

currently_indian said:


> They announced 10 year visa for "investors & professionals(doctors, engineers, etc.) and their families" with no details specified so far, but the hope is details will be out in next 3 months or so. Agree, IT professionals may not be the ones who make into the list. And it isn't clear whether it will apply for self employed individuals. But since investors are there in the list, that is enough. The devil lies in the detail and will be useful for me only when there is net money saving.


I should imagine there will be a minimum investment amount for these visas and it won't be small. Elsewhere in the world, minimum investor amounts are between 500,000 and 1 million dollars.


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

decima said:


> Ras al Khaimah recently launched the "Freelancer Permit". I believe it's not possible to post direct links in this forum, therefore please do a google search for the following keywords: "ras al khaimah freelancer permit". It should be the first search result. Depending on your situation, this might be of interest to you.
> 
> -Decima


Thanks for the answer. I know about RAK freelancer permit and talked to them, they give freelancer permits to only media professionals & educators. But here is a part of law which is something I never understood. All Free zones I have worked with in the past and the current one, they have no problem for any of my work contracts outside UAE/GCC. They said there is no legal issue for any resident of UAE to work from home and get paid from outside UAE (or GCC to be safe). If that is true, I am not sure what is the significance of activities. In principle, one can just get a UAE residence visa and start working online as long as you don't conduct any business within UAE or Freezone.


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> I should imagine there will be a minimum investment amount for these visas and it won't be small. Elsewhere in the world, minimum investor amounts are between 500,000 and 1 million dollars.


Different countries have different laws for investors, and honestly many have lot of legal loopholes that let you sometimes bypass investment altogether. Canada is a big example where sometimes you can get residency for free through provincial nomination or minimal investment vs big investment required by some provinces. UK too has some loopholes. And many European countries do offer freelance permits (Germany, Denmark) without investment and countries like Georgia, Bulgaria have very low investment limits.

Each country has pros & cons and lets not debate which one has "fair" pricing, but the point here is UAE Govt is definitely trying to address the issue of exodus of expats and trying to retain the investors and talents within the country. I am just trying to find a deal, if any, for myself. There is no denying that cost of living increases is hurting pockets. And now I came to know I need to pay additional 7100 AED for the new e-channel registration when I renew visa (over and above 20000 AED).

For those looking for cheaper freezone options, I just found Ajman Media City freezone as the cheapest so far (11500 AED with 1 visa). They don't have a website yet and are understaffed at this point. Hope they will be able to scale up by Sept. I will go with it most likely unless a better option is found.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

currently_indian said:


> Different countries have different laws for investors, and honestly many have lot of legal loopholes that let you sometimes bypass investment altogether. Canada is a big example where sometimes you can get residency for free through provincial nomination or minimal investment vs big investment required by some provinces. UK too has some loopholes. And many European countries do offer freelance permits (Germany, Denmark) without investment and countries like Georgia, Bulgaria have very low investment limits.
> 
> Each country has pros & cons and lets not debate which one has "fair" pricing, but the point here is UAE Govt is definitely trying to address the issue of exodus of expats and trying to retain the investors and talents within the country. I am just trying to find a deal, if any, for myself. There is no denying that cost of living increases is hurting pockets. And now I came to know I need to pay additional 7100 AED for the new e-channel registration when I renew visa (over and above 20000 AED).
> 
> For those looking for cheaper freezone options, I just found Ajman Media City freezone as the cheapest so far (11500 AED with 1 visa). They don't have a website yet and are understaffed at this point. Hope they will be able to scale up by Sept. I will go with it most likely unless a better option is found.


Hi,
Don’t forget your potential VAT obligations - if you have a UAE registered company - even if all your revenue or costs are outside the UAE.
If your turnover (or purchases in the past 12 months) exceeds the VAT threshold - you will need to register.
Cheers
Steve


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi,
> Don’t forget your potential VAT obligations - if you have a UAE registered company - even if all your revenue or costs are outside the UAE.
> If your turnover (or purchases in the past 12 months) exceeds the VAT threshold - you will need to register.
> Cheers
> Steve


Yes, VAT is another new overhead this year that I had to deal with. After 7-8 repeated rejections, follow-ups, & documents submission, I was able to get exemption from VAT filing for my company as it was 100% export outside GCC. If I open a new company in other Free zone which is cheaper, I would have to go through the entire exercise again. I hope things to be further simplified this year that also results in real cost savings. Currently there is a new 7100 AED fees for e-channel visa registration (of which 5000 AED is refundable deposit) and then an additional 1300 AED fees per annum. This applies to all free zone companies in Northern Emirates.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

currently_indian said:


> but the point here is UAE Govt is definitely trying to address the issue of exodus of expats and trying to retain the investors and talents within the country.


Not really.

They want more FDI and they wont get that unless people can have a degree of certrainty over a long period of time.

They do not however care about people who spend many years here just working, and then leave.

Its not about you or I, its about the millionaires who wont come here, and the companies who would never set up anything substantial. My company for example is a FTSE 100 high profile employer and has a presence here and they always ask if we would set up manufacturing here - we just laugh at the suggestion as the local people arent remotely skilled enough, or willing to work the way they themselves ask us to work, the imported talent is transitory and can be thrown out at a moments notice, and we would have to give up 51% of the company to someone who does nothing for it (not happening under any circumstances)

But they remain welcome to buy our stuff in the UK. But we are lucky enough to have worldwide presence with a queue of people who want us to set up in their country and dont expect to stteal half your company for the privilege.


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## currently_indian (Feb 24, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Not really.
> 
> They want more FDI and they wont get that unless people can have a degree of certrainty over a long period of time.
> 
> ...


While 100% foreign ownership relaxation is certainly good, almost all the big companies who found a business opportunity are already here. Those companies found too many workarounds, from setting up in Free zones and tying with professional local service agents. Some more may come under relaxed rules depending upon business opportunities

For the millionaires, they base their decision to move on a number of factors(business ties to their home, kids education/career, etc.) not just the duration of visa. Any investor gets a 3 year visa through free zone or buying a property, and there is no issue in visa renewal, unless you are a proclaimed offender or on a blacklist. Immigration system is much much better in UAE compared to USA or UK where well settled immigrant visa holders(and sometimes even Green Card holders) are deported from the airport after random questioning. In UAE, one can enter/exit using smart gates with no/minimal human interaction.

The middle class that are living here, they spend huge amount of money, and often pay AED 10000-20000 pa via indirect taxes(including housing). The impact of exodus creates pressure on any economy with the first victim being housing which has spillover effects on all sectors of economy. The main motive of recently announced measures is to boost economy and prevent this exodus. Obviously the devil lies in the detail, which I am still waiting for.


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