Is this the cheapest option if you only need personal tax residency in UAE? Are there any special requirements for freelance visa (specific education, work portfolio, clients...etc.)? Does it matter if you don't do any freelancing in 3 years after obtainig this visa?
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FREELANCE PERMITS in Dubai,UAE license cost details and provider
- Thread starter troubled soul
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You are supposed to make 10000 AED each month but I have no idea if that is enforced in any way. I suspect that as long as you pay for the money that they want, so your insurance, their fees, and enter the country and spend some money in it by living there 1 or 2 months you should be good.
There are requirements for freelancer, see the gofreelance visa site, but I think that the above apply as well, they basically want the money. They didn't ask anything to me, I'm a software developer, but I had a freind who works in betting/trading get a freelance visa with no issues, pretending he was doing something else.
The cheapest option is remote working visa, read all this thread for the details https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/th...ai-residency-business-setup-emirates-id.36155
What type of bank account do banks open if you have freelance visa? Regular personal bank account? Are there any annual visits to Dubai Media City (to extend freelance permit), or just a visit every three years + visit to UAE every 6 months?
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yes you get an emirates ID and a 3 Years visa and so you can open a personal bank account with that. It's still unclear to me if the freelancer permits represents an entity or not, because when you do the permit at some point you hire yourself as a manager. But I've opened a personal bank account with CBD where I'm receiving money, mostly from my LLC, and after having sent all the documentation and explained to the bank that I mostly work with foreign companies they didn't complain, they actually offered me to open the account for my company which I'd rather keep on Wise. Also they said that I can't have a credit card since I'm not hired, so it's not clear what that hiring step really means.
Maybe @Fred knows more about this, it's also still unclear to me if the 9% tax on companies applies to freelancers or not, I've read around that it doesn't apply as freelancers are individuals, but VAT do apply (although dividend distribution from an LLC should not be considered towards VAT limits in my understanding).
EDIT - gains from freelancer permit do count for corporate tax.
Do banks or freelance visa provider send anything to your UAE address, or is all communication electronic/online?
The bank follows strict the designation on your Residence Visa - they take a look if you are for example employeed by your own company as a General Manager - there is nothing lower risk then going with the Residence Visa through your own company to have this employee status in front of the banks.
Everything is done online except check book and debit card - some banks can ship it international.
@shikari , thanks so much for your reply! I will look into these specifically the insurance aspect if I do decide to relocate to Dubai (most likely at a later stage). The breakdown helps yes and so did Martins', I will look have a look at the health insurance detail and the rental component . My limited knowledge on bank accounts, I will research this quickly also, thanks for raising the contract validity period. So many strings and moving parts.
10000 AED turnover each month, is this doable when starting off as a fresh freelancer ?. I was unaware of this though. By the way, once the freelancer is all set up and paid for, while being present in Dubai how long would it actually take to find a new gig / client or do these agencies assist in that regard also, silly question.
Is freezone company information (director, shareholders) public in UAE? Is there a company directory/registry of all freezone companies in UAE?
gofreelance has a marketplace and I've seen some gigs go around. It all depends in what business you are in, as usual software developers like me in super high demand, so you have no issues making much more than 10k AED ( the highest I got oferred was 35k a month ), especially if you reside in dubai full time as companies require local substance to be considered Dubai companies. Remember that Dubai still has that hideous thing where pay is based on your passport, at least local companies do so, avoid them if you have the wrong passports but the right skills. In general, as I wrote above, as long as you pay your visa, your insurance, and spend some time in Dubai nobody is ever going to bother you, in my opinion.
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One question for UAE residents: can citizen of EU country and resident of UAE, open personal bank account in EU (not in a country of citizenship)? I'm asking because N26 or Revolut open bank accounts only to EU residents + a few other countries. What about other banks, any limitations?
If you have a proof or residence outside of the UAE you can open Wise, which is whatt I think it's the best emi but it's not a bank. You will also be able to open bank accounts in some countries as a non resident, Caixa in spain usually opens them but you basically need to go there in person and open it.
UAE residents can't open a Wise account, and I don't think you can open revolut either ( and I think wise it's muche better than revolut ) but an ID Card with your address is enough as a proof of residence for wise
Do you know if you can stay in the UAE for 3 years without to have to leave the country?
it's the same as any other visa. The visa is cancelled if you stay more than 180 days outside of the country, so you basically need to visit twice a year to keep it valid and CRS free, and you need 180 days in the country and a tenancy contract if you need the Tax Certificate
for CRS you don't need to stay 180 days, because you are considere a UAE resident from banks as long as your visa is valid, and your visa becomes invalid only if you stay more than 180 days outside of the country. So CRS is not an issue, if you set up things properly, basically you open a bank account with your emirates ID and a brokerage account with an EJARI as a proof of residence. NO CRS messages will be sent.
180 days is the required amount of time you have to spend in the UAE to get a tax certificate and be almost sure to have no problem whatsoever with your country and with your money. It means that you have "paid" taxes on your money and if your home country has a double taxation avoidance agreement with the UAE they can't claim taxes on that money. It also makes the money spendable, because you now have a document which clarifies the source of the funds, which is something that is required in most countries when you buy a house. Remember that regulations varies by country, in Italy if you have a wife which resides in Italy, you are considered an italian resident and will ignore even a tax certificate from Dubai because you have ties to the country.
So if you need or don't need the tax certificate depends a lot on what you want to do.
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