Company Formation in the UAE and Residency - what are the exact costs?

[karishi]

Will you also need a NOC for contracts which are not from UAE companies?I mean, I' already freelancing and I want to put all my contracts in the UAE, is that possible?Or does the freelance visa limit you to jobs inside the UAE?

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

No, I don't think so. It's just a cheap way to get you a residency visa. But for a lot of "official" stuff in the UAE, you'll need permission from your employer. So it's just easier when you have your own "true" freelance license and you're not just an employee.

 

[BlueMist]

@BlueMist they say the visa is for 3 years but the Trade License is valid for 1 Year. Does that mean it would be AED17995/year or every 3 years?
[...]

Every year you need to renew trade license visa. You would have to check what are the annual fees for renewal. But yes it could be AED 18,000 per year for trade license renewal + e-channel renewal AED 1,100, so around AED 20,000 every year. Every 3 years you have to do: residence visa renewal (AED 4500) + medical (AED 300) + Emirates ID (AED 370).

 

[onemansomewhere]

UAE is expensive just if you are doing a small business. Average annual costs of maintaining a residence permit there is approx 5000 Eur.

Problem is something else: Just having a residence permit does not make you a tax resident..

 

[karishi]

UAE is expensive just if you are doing a small business. Average annual costs of maintaining a residence permit there is approx 5000 Eur.

Problem is something else: Just having a residence permit does not make you a tax resident..

yeah, but like I wrote above it solves the CRS problem, if you are a freelancer or have a company in the UAE and have a bank in the uae, and visit twice a year, you are a uae resident and you are not reported. In my case this is good enough, as I have an online business with clients outside of the country where I'm resident, which at that point has no way of knowing what I'm really making. Of course you have to live under the radar, you can't splash money around.
It all depends on how much are making, If you earn about 100k a year ( in good years, so probably not this one ) and live as a digital nomad, 5k a year in expenses for a long term solution to CRS is not bad, currently I have an offshore company + nominees + Transferwise and the cost is 2k. So for 3k more I have a more solid solution, that's good value for me, as TW could start reporting next year for what I Know.