All You Need To Know About Offshore Company Registration in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates, an economically sound country, is a global hub of commerce and one of the renowned jurisdictions in the world for incorporating offshore companies. Starting a business in the UAE can lead to high profits and global customer reach as the country offers a business-friendly environment.

Offshore companies in the United Arab Emirates are fully exempted from taxation and are permitted to open banks accounts within the country as well as abroad. One or more person initiates the process of offshore company registration in the UAE; natural or juristic, submitting a signed application form to the registrar of offshore companies with the relevant mandatory documents.

The main features/benefits of offshore companies in the UAE includes:

• Low or zero taxes
• Ease of international operations
• Freedom from state regulation
• Multi-currency funding of accounts out of the country
• A higher level of confidentiality; information on directors and shareholders will not be disclosed
• The shareholder of the company is eligible to operate the company
• A director of an offshore company in the UAE can be nominal and have any citizenship
• It is registered faster as it has a faster incorporation process
• An offshore company can be in virtual form. An offshore company by law cannot have an office in the UAE. However, it may own real estate properties which are approved by the authorities of the UAE or own shares in other companies.

Below is a step-by-step guide to register an offshore company in the UAE.

1. Decide a Company Name

The first and important step is choosing a name for your offshore company. It is recommended that three names must be suggested for the company out of which one name will be finalized by the registration authorities.

Ensure that the company name ends with Ltd., LTD., Limited or LIMITED only.

2. Confirm the Scope of Activity

By default, every offshore company is a General Trading firm. Others may include consultancy, investment in property or to act as a holding company.

3. Finalize the Shareholders, Director and Secretary

One shareholder, one director and one secretary is allowed, each of which can be an individual or a corporate entity. The legal name, address, contact details and other mandatory documentation may be required.

4. Choose the Capital

There is no limit on the capital that can be invested in the business in case of setting up an offshore company in the UAE. The capital of the company can be any amount divided into any denomination.

5. Documentation

Below is the list of the documents that are required for the process of offshore company registration in the UAE:

• An authenticated Passport copy of the shareholders and the director
• Original proof of address (in case of a utility bill, telephone bill, etc., it should not be older than 3 months)
• Bank reference letter
• A brief resume of shareholders

6. Application Set

The application form along with the above-mentioned documents needs to be duly signed by the director, secretary and shareholders. It is important to include a signed Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Share Certificates.

7. Submission of the Application Set

The piled up documents are then submitted for registration. The process of registration normally takes 3-4 working days on average. Once it’s done, you will receive a Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Share Certificate.

You can now authoritatively participate in business dealings.

8. Opening a Bank Account

Opening a corporate bank account in a bank in the UAE is permitted. Following documents are required:

• Bank form
• Passport copy
• Original bank statements of the last 6 months

Growing your business offshore is an excellent way of handling a business. If you have a business idea in mind, you can get a free consultation by clicking here.