Do you know someone who has moved to Dubai, posting amazing pictures of Jumeirah Beach on Instagram and claiming to be living a tax-free lifestyle? If you are wondering how this is possible and what the secret is, keep reading as we break down exactly what is going on and how you can benefit from it.
Essential Insights for Professionals Migrating to Dubai
In this blog, we will be discussing some essential insights for professionals migrating to Dubai. We will touch on what UAE zero tax residency is and who it is suitable for. We will also explain why you need a UAE company incorporation, along with the process, cost, and timeline of achieving it. Quick disclaimer: this blog is for information purposes only and is not financial or immigration advice. So, with that out of the way, let’s get started.
What is Zero Tax Residency?
Zero tax residency is a process where you become a resident of another country that does not tax you on personal or corporate income. One popular form of this arrangement is where investors from countries like Germany, France, the Netherlands, or the UK become residents of Monaco, a European country that doesn’t tax its residents. However, it’s typically a place for extremely wealthy people due to the financial commitment required—around 1 million US dollars in a Monaco bank account and a high-priced apartment rental. An amazing alternative to this is Dubai’s zero tax residency, which offers all the benefits of Monaco at literally one percent of the cost. If Monaco’s residency costs 1 million US dollars, in Dubai, we only require ten thousand dollars to get everything done, making it much more affordable.
Am I Suitable For It?
Now, let’s talk about who is suitable for Dubai’s zero tax residency. Let’s apply a litmus test to see if it’s a good solution for you. Firstly, you’re an investor or entrepreneur running a successful business. Secondly, you live in a high-tax country such as the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, or any European Union or North American region, with an annual personal or corporate income tax bill of 100,000 US dollars or more. Lastly, your business is location-independent and serves clients globally. If you answer yes to all these questions, book a call with SetHub to get an analysis of your situation, as you could be a good candidate to move your work and yourself to Dubai and enjoy tax savings along with Dubai’s comfortable lifestyle.
How to Obtain Dubai Residency
The next section is about how to get Dubai residency. UAE residency can be acquired in a few ways, the most common being setting up a company and obtaining an investor or employee visa. These visas are valid for three years and are easily renewable. You can also sponsor as many family members as you like. The three-year UAE residence visa allows you to enter and exit the UAE freely and gives you resident rights. To maintain residency, you only need to be in the UAE one day every six months. However, to be recognized as a UAE tax resident in your high-tax home country, you’ll need to spend over 183 days in Dubai, at least for the first year.
Moving on to the process and timeline required to make you a UAE tax resident. This is a multi-stage process, starting with free zone company formation. This step is simple and fast. You submit your basic ID documents, pay the incorporation fee, and the company is set up within a week. It’s a 100% remote process, so you don’t have to travel to Dubai to complete it. Once your company is established and you have the company incorporation documents, you’ll need to come to Dubai for fingerprinting, a blood test, and signing bank account forms. You’ll receive your UAE residency in two weeks, but you can travel back earlier if needed. Your UAE residency will be valid for three years and is easily renewable.
The UAE residence visa allows you to be a resident of the UAE, but you’ll still be taxed in your high-tax country if you’re still living there. To truly become a tax-free global citizen, you’ll need to move yourself and your business operations to Dubai. After living in Dubai for 183 days, you’ll start the process with your home country’s tax authority to delist as a tax resident, enabling you to enjoy a zero percent taxation lifestyle.
What is the cost?
Now, onto the cost of achieving all this. The starting cost for the first year is around 7,000 to 8,000 dollars for a single person, with an annual government fee of around 5,000 dollars from the second year onwards. If you have additional family members, the cost will increase slightly. The breakdown includes the company formation and immigration setup cost, which is about 7,000 dollars. The residency visa for investors is around 1,500 dollars, renewed every three years. For each additional family member, there’s an extra cost of 1,500 dollars every three years. This is one of the most cost-effective methods compared to global golden visa programs.
The company setup option gives you a three-year renewable investor visa, but there’s also the UAE Golden Visa program, a 10-year investor visa. For this, you must either invest two million dirhams or around half a million dollars in Dubai property or a startup, which could be your own. Many professionals planning to migrate to Dubai choose this route due to Dubai’s attractive property market. The Golden Visa is also advantageous as it doesn’t expire if you’re outside the UAE for over six months, unlike the three-year investor visa, which requires a visit to Dubai every six months to keep it active. With the Golden Visa, you can sponsor multiple family members, including your spouse and children.
How Can SetHub Help?
So there you have it, we’ve given you a generalised overview of some insights you should know about if you plan on migrating to Dubai. However, based on your case and your own personal USPs, it may be possible for you to obtain even more benefits by moving to Dubai. That is where SetHub comes in. We recommended scheduling a call with us so that one of our experts can profile and understand your case a little better. Armed with this information, we can then revert back to you with the best possible plan of action to make your migration process sweeter and smoother! We have years of experience in helping expats like you migrate to Dubai, so schedule a call with us now and we’ll get this process started for you within one business hour.
