jagz

Hi ,

I'm still scratching for something good in career..

I'm just curious whether it is possible for a Non-UAE citizen to open a Company? I'm looking to start a IT Consulting company much like one in U.S and do consulting in Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc.., Saudi, Qatar..,

Are there any restrictions to open a company and do consulting for self.

I've heard about free zones and internet City but still not very sure how far it is doable.

Any body have any experience in running a small company? pls share your views.

Thanks,

Jammy_Dodgers

Right,
Setting up in the free zone is the way you want to go unless you want a local sponsor owning 51% of your company.
Jebel Ali is your best bet for one reason. They are currently HUGELY oversubscribed for office space and are currently building loads more, but these will not be ready for a year or two.......However, if you put down a 10,000 or 20,000 DHS deposit they will allow you to set up a company,give you a trade licence, allow you to get residency AND let you legally work from home.

If you choose not to take the office when it is complete is all you loose is your deposit..in the mean time you have been working from home for a year or two with no extra overhead ...bargain !!!!

Great or what!!
I spent 7 years as an independant consultant to KPMG, Accenture,Deloitte and PWC.....PM me if you want any more info or if you are serious about setting up
Rgds
JD

jagz

Hello Jammy,
Thanks for your information.
I will PM you more details..

LakesLassie

Jebel Ali Free Zone is also the most expensive! The Free Zones sound great at first, but there are trading restrictions so you have to really do your homework.

Another option is using a consultancy like www.linksdubai.com. A couple of Mr LL's clients have come to Dubai using their service and it's worked out great. Possibly a better bet if it's just going to be you working on a self-employed basis with no company assets etc.

jagz

Hi,
Thanks for the information.
It looks a good alternative instead of Freezone if Im gonna be one man army for the company.
I'll investigate further and post the dtails.
thanks again.

sammykona

This linksdubai.com idea sounds very intriguing. I have been looking at freezones but they seem to cater more to large companies with employees etc.
I work from home on the couch and don't need an office :-)
Would I still be able to open a local business bank account, get a merchant account to accept credit cards online etc.?

Jammy_Dodgers

Work from home on the couch !? hhhmmm
what is it exactly that you do !?

sammykona

hah

No, not a retired porn star :-)

IT stuff ... software, consulting etc.

LakesLassie

Have a look at the links website & if you still have questions, send them an e-mail. As I said, a couple of Mr LL's clients have used them and so far so good.

Face81

Hello Jagz. Welcome to the forum.

I guess JD is the expert when it comes to this sort of q, but all I can say is that u should try and get in touch with the authorities at Dubai Internet City and get them to sort u out. Trywww.dubaiinternetcity.com

Enjoy the forum!