Opening an Offshore Company in the UAE – What You Need to Know

As far as offshore jurisdictions go, the UAE is up there with the favourites. There are many reasons for the region’s popularity, which we will get to. But aside from the company legislation and tax laws, the location makes global business simple.

Positioned in between the West and East, with superb access to transportation links in both sea and air, the UAE stands as a bridge between worlds. Their tenacity in their expansion to become a global leader in eCommerce, has led to many developments within the region that are aimed at making business easy for potential investors.

In the quest to become the world’s eCommerce superhub, the UAE has been constructing dedicated areas which have seen developments that boast some of the world’s most advanced picking, packing and shipping technologies. These areas are largely part of the UAE’s network of Free Zones which offer tax free trade as part of their ease of doing business initiative.

The Business Benefits

A stable and trusted economy, the UAE offers unrivalled protection of confidentiality and rights for investors. The region has established electronic platforms through which companies can be established, making the process quick, simple and advantageous.

Ranking 16th out of 190 countries in the last Ease of Doing Business Index, 1st in terms of business efficiency and in economic performance, 7th, it is easy to see why the Emirates are such a popular choice.

The list of benefits for offshore formation in the UAE are as follows:

• 100% foreign ownership
• 100% exemption on corporate and personal income tax
• 100% repatriation of capital and profits
• No accounting filing requirements and no paid up capital requirement
• Just one shareholder and one director needed to register the company online
• Access to corporate bank accounts is simple with an offshore company; investors can open bank accounts locally and internationally
• Allowed to hold shares in UAE free zone companies and LLCs as well as entities outside the UAE
• Offshore Company can own property in designated areas in Dubai

What You Will Need

With your decision made to form a company in the UAE, you will need to provide certain documentation.

The authorities will need to see address and identity proofs for all directors and shareholders as well as their resumes. Certified Photocopies of these documents will be required to forward to the authority. You should also supply a well-drafted and meticulous business plan for the bank account opening process.

After the documentation has been submitted and approved, a Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA) need to be filed, drafted in English, for review by the relevant authorities. Once approved, you are free to begin your business activity and open a bank account.

At SFM we provide a dedicated account manager to oversee the formation of your offshore company. Our simple 5-step process ensures that the stress of preparing paperwork, documentation and applications is minimal. For a more detailed overview of the UAE check now the offshore jurisdiction list.