Developed around the prestigious Dubai Racecourse near downtown Dubai Meydan free zone offers the least expensive option to get set up in Dubai. As is the case under any free zone regime in the UAE it allows 100% foreign ownership, a guarantee against a future imposition of taxes, and no restrictions on hiring foreign labour.
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KEY FEATURES
1 Least expensive freezone in Dubai.
2 Ideal for freelancers and small businesses.
3 No requirement to prepare financial statements or to have the accounts audited.
4 No requirement to deposit capital.
5 Offshore companies cannot hold shares in these companies.
6 Currently only flexidesks are available. Dedicated offices are expected to be available in 2015.
7 The companies have a board of directors in addition to a manager.
LICENSE TYPES
Meydan Free Zone (FZ) offers a choice between operating under a commercial, consultancy or media license. General trade license is not available.
1. Commercial license allows trading and distribution of goods and other. Note that Meydan FZ does not offer warehouse space.
2. Consulting license includes: Management, Human resources, Business consultancy and other professional services. An owner, manager or director has to hold professional qualifications in the relevant field and submit an educational certificate attested by the Ministry of Foreign (MoFA) as part of the incorporation process.
3. Media license includes all kinds of media, advertising and communication services.
Note that dependent on the type of activity additional approvals by government departments may be required.
COMPANY & LICENSE FEES
The company formation fee is AED 27,000. This includes the company registration charges, first year’s license fee, certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association (also if the company only has one shareholder).
In addition, a desk in the freezone needs to be leased for each visa required (a minimum of 1 desk needs to be leased). The annual fee for leasing a desk is AED 6,000. The desk is shared and can be used 4 hours a week. The company needs to open a file with the immigration department. Fee is AED 500 upon which an establishment card is issued.
The company stamp is AED 150. The total 1st year’s fee in case no or one visa is required is therefore AED 33,650.
The annual fee for renewal of the trade license is AED 15,000. Together with the admin desk lease, and the annual renewal of the establishment card, the total annual charges (for no or 1 visa) are AED 21,500.
VISA
Residence visas can be issued to the owner, manager or staff and will be valid for 3 years. Manager, owner, directors and managerial/ higher qualified staff will need to provide a MoFA attested educational certificate. The visa application fee is AED 4,670. This includes the visa fee, typing fees, medical test, residence visa stamping, and Emirates ID card. An additional fee of AED 920 is due if the visa applicant is in the UAE.
A security deposit must be made of AED 2,500 (refundable upon cancellation of the visa).
INCORPORATION PROCESS
Incorporations steps include collection of required documents, preparation of business plan including financial projections, obtaining pre-approval for the business from the FZ and the immigration department,, signing of memorandum of association by the shareholder (or De Hoon & Partners staff if it holds the POA of the shareholder(s), issuance of certificate of incorporation and trade license. Subsequently if visas are required one or more desks need to be leased (one for each visa), and the establishment card and the visas can be applied for.
The company formation process takes about 3 weeks (after receipt of documents), the visa application process 2-3 weeks.
WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU
In order to incorporate the company we need the following documents of shareholders, directors (optional) and manager.:
1. Passport copy.
2. Curriculum Vitae.
3. Utility bill: latest utility bill (Water, electricity or gas bill, telephone bill (fixed line or mobile)), showing your name and current address. Alternatively a tax assessment is also acceptable.
4. Bank reference letter or three months bank statements.
5. If UAE resident: Visa page, non-objection letter of current sponsor, Emirates ID.
6. Proof of qualification: for consultancy licenses an owner, director or manager needs to provide a MoFA- attested educational certificate (relevant to the business).
7. Payment of incorporation fees.
All documents need to be provided in English or with accompanying English translation.
COSTS
De Hoon & Partners can deal with the authorities in order to have the incorporation process and visa application process completed in a minimum of time. For this service we charge € 1200. We can also assist with the visa application process to ensure that the visa is issued as fast as possible. Ask for our rates.
We work with several banks, if you need a bank introduction to maximize the chance your account is approved and opened as fast as possible. You can meet a bank representative in our office and we can deal with submission of corporate documents to the bank once the company is incorporated and trade license issued. Our fee is € 480.
VIRTUAL OFFICE
If you need mail forwarding, telephone answering or telephone forwarding service then ask for our “virtual office” information sheet.
COMPANY ADMINISTRATION
De Hoon & Partners is specialised in the administration of companies, in particular in ensuring that management and control is firmly located offshore and in helping to maximise economic substance offshore as well as properly documenting this. We can sit on the companies board of directors and provide professional management, do the bookkeeping of your company, prepare annual accounts (although not required in Meydan FZ), do the visa processing, and arrange the annual renewal of the trade license.
STARTUP CONSULTANCY
Dubai is one of the best places in the world to do business. It has no tax and VAT, it has low import duties and few immigration restrictions. It has a government that is pro-wealth creation, strategically located and a well developed professional and logistics infrastructure. But if you are unfamiliar with the local market and way of doing business in the UAE it might be expedient to involve an expert when you are starting up. De Hoon & Partners can provide an expert with many years experience doing business in the UAE, a wealth of contacts, and who has navigated the waters here. Do you need hands-on guidance with selecting the location, carefully consideration which business license to get, finding a local sponsor if necessary, obtaining bank financing or venture capital funding, ensuring the necessary legal agreements are in place, hiring a management team, knowledge of local markets and how to broker deals, and providing you with a wealth of relevant contacts? Call us and we can set up a 60 minute consultation (€ 120).
