LetsGoToDubai

Hi
I am currently working as IT contractor in UK through my limited company (UK Company) A.
The way this works is, the actual end company B (that I work for) works with a recruitment agency C and pays to that agency
based on the number of days I work and that agency pays me. Now this agency C would pay me in the UK to my limited company and then I would
pay myself a salary/dividend from that company. That a typical way a contractor works in UK (in an outside IR35 arrangement).

I now have a potential offer for a contract in which I will be allowed to work from UAE.
So once I move to UAE, the way this will work is, the agency C has advised they will be able to pay me directly in the UAE, a bank transfer to UAE but they will
pay to a company D that is based in UAE and that company D can pay me (I will not be employed by the the agency, I will be issued a 6 months contract)

Can someone please advise if someone has done it and how to go about setting up company in UAE, what kind of company (D) I need to setup in UAE, is an
umbrella company in UAE an option and and on a high level what sort of taxes I will be subject to, here in UK and in UAE ?

Thanks !

psychopomp1

You do know that you can't just work willy nilly in UAE without a sponsoring party? Is agency C going to be sponsoring you in UAE (ie getting your work visa, health insurance etc)? If so, then why can't they pay you as an individual in UAE to a local bank account?

If agency C won't be sponsoring you then have a look here at setting up your own sole trader business. Given you're only planning on being there for 6 months, not sure It would be worth all the hassle and costs involved though:

https://www.shuraa.com/blog/2020/09/...on-in-uae.html

LetsGoToDubai

Thanks for quick reply. And yes you are right, I forgot to mention the visa sponsorship aspect of this. I will need to arrange for that (visa for me and my family).
The agency C is not going to sponsor me for this as they are UK based and dont have a presence in UAE. They have said they will only pay to a business in UAE and not to a personal bank account since I
am not their employee.
Even though this is a 6 months contract but there is a long term visibility (as is the case with most of the contracts I work).
From what I understand, UK tax wont apply to me in this case and no income tax in UAE either, so we are looking at completely tax income that gets wired to UAE from my agency ?
So if I setup a company in UAE, does it need to be in free zone ? Shall I reach out to these companies who offer company formation service etc ?
Thanks

psychopomp1

In that case I would get proper advice from specialist companies in UAE who help setup new traders who are new to the UAE.

Millhouse

Be careful where you set up and make sure it’s a place where can get a bank account. Avoid RAK and Inzone.

A company, visas and bank will cost 30-35k aed. Anyone charging less will not deliver - take my advice from 20k aed of experience.

TGFKASE

Pretty sure, if you’re only here for 6 months, HMRC will be tapping you on the shoulder as soon as you get back to Blighty..

DeepSix

There are companies that can help you set up a UAE company - freezone. With that they help get a personal and business bank account. These freezone companies cannot be doing business in country - they are offshore companies only so make sure your contract is still with the Client A in the UK

With your Dubai freezone company you can sponsor yourself as your own General Manager and they once you have all that sorted - sponsor your family

From my research - this isnt cheap - last i saw was 8000 euros for a UAE company to sort all this out for you but with this setup it becomes bullet proof for long term use
If you are only working short term - this may be overkill and therefore you might consider a Freelance Permit

Freelance permits are cheaper and get a residency visa with them but you wont be able to get a company business account only a personal one - and if you start making company deposits into them - you're likely to get that bank account shut

Freelance permits are people who have a setup for business outside of Dubai but want to live there - they really assume you need nothing more than a personal Dubai account for living and will be doing transfers from your Offshore setup.

As someone already mentioned - you need to look into the tax implications of what you are thinking about - yes you can become a Dubai resident and keep your residency with only a 24hr visit every 180 days - but that's got nothing to do with Tax residency and HMRC likes to hold onto you for a lot longer unless its a clean break and for a long time

expatIT

Hi

Did you ever manage to find a solution to this? I'm in a similar position and looking for advice