kittycat1

Morning all,

Has anyone any experience of being freelance here? Just something I'm looking into at the moment- is all the red tape easy to manage- can you keep a bank account open, rent an apartment etc? Any problems I should be a aware of etc?

Thanks all.

Meow

Are you talking about being a full-time freelancer, i.e. self-employed? if so, you need the right licence. That gives you a visa too.

From memory you get get a freelance licence (depending on what you do) via Media City, Knowledge Village and Studio City in Dubai. Also twofour54 in AD (strict media categories only) or in a Fujeirah freezone. Also look at Virtuzone in Dubai as they seem to be offering reasonable deals.

kittycat1

Thanks Meow. Yes- self employed.

any idea how much that costs? roughly?

Meow

Not cheap. I think initial costs vary between Dhs 5-20k to set up plus an annual fee.

There are people who work as freelancers without the right paperwork, but they are largely with a partner with a visa so can rent. You will also find that some companies will only deal with people with a proper trade licence.

Meow

Take a look here

http://www.vz.ae/

I understand that virtuzone is less restrictive about occupations than other freezones, most of whom are media related.

kittycat1

Thanks meow- Ill have a read through the link now!

lullabelle

Many of my media friends freelance here happily through media city. Some alo get willing companies to sponsor them (through the mediazone) and they work for them as well as working for others. This is probably not legal though...

The TwoFour54 freelance visa is ridiculous - you have to only work for companies under that umbrella. It's 2000 dhs plus a deposit of 5000. I'm sponsored by them at the moment and it's an easy transfer but I really don't want to limit my working options to abu dhabi alone.

There's a RAK freezone too ... A colleague has a company through them as it was very cheap: her office is in Dubai too.

I also looked at that virtualzone website ... Interesting.

Millhouse

Why don't you club together and split the incorporation costs - each company can issue 5 visas...