Thanks Samri. What about setting up a free zone company in other emirates like RAK or Sharjah. Any disadvantages to that? And how many directors or shareholder can a company like the one you specified have? they all get visas right? which free zone dptg setup in? Thanks.
Free zones have cropped up everywhere, there's also Abu Dhabi and Fujairah in addition to the two you mention. They're pretty much all the same in terms of licensing fees, so your deciding factor would be the rent of the office they all require you to take. Rents at Abu Dhabi's media-biased free zone, as well as Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village continue to be exorbitant compared to market prices. Dubai Airport's Free Zone is also expensive rent-wise, and I'd expect the Sharjah Airport's Free Zone to be the same. I know many people who've set up in RAK and Fujairah, but live and work in Dubai. Theoretically there shouldn't be any disadvantages with having a Residence Visa from RAK or Fujairah, but you never know. Somewhere down the line you might need a piece of paperwork done in Dubai that requires you to have a Residence Visa FROM Dubai. Not likely but possible. The other minor disadvantage is having to drive to RAK or Fujairah every time you need to renew your licence, your visa renewal, medical tests, etc. But that's like every 3 years, and only one or two hours's drive. In terms of personnel, free zones tie the number of visas you can obtain to the space of the office you rent. Usually you need 80-100 square feet per visa. So a company that rents 1200 square feet can have 12 people on its visa roster, between directors/partners and employees. DPTG is based in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and the rents here are bearable. An offshoot of the DMCC is the JLT (jlt.ae). With a JLT license, you can choose practically any activity. With a DMCC licence, you are restricted to market-related activities, commodities etc. You may also want to consider VirtuZone (virtuzone.ae). They issue licences on behalf of the Fujairah free zone, but they have offices in Dubai and elsewhere. Unlike other free zones, they do NOT require you to rent an office. You can work from home, or you can use their desk space every now and then (they allocate you a number of hours per month I think). They're the cheapest option for a startup with a limited number of people, but for the money they charge, you might as well pay a little more and get your own office. One final option is to obtain a normal licence in Dubai, from the Dubai Economic Department. Most licences would require a local partner, but if you choose a "Professional Licence", you don't need one. You just need what they call a "Local Services Agent", whom you pay a lump sum each year. You get 5 visas maximum I think with a Professional Licence. You're in charge of all the financial and operational matters, but for visas and government paperwork you have to run to your Local Services Agent.
these are islamic countries right? what happens if I want to go to the local strip club after a nice long day at the office? ..will I get my head chopped off?
Oh brother. Too much fox news? Other than saudi arabia, no muslim country these days practises sharia law. In a place like dubai you are free to do anything you please... except public drunkeness and having sex on the beach or in public view. you may end up with some jail time for those 2. but i would guess you would guess you would do jail time public lewdness even in london. By the the rules of sharia(wherever it's practised) on matters of adultery and other things go something like this: 1. If you're unmarried and commit adultery. A whipping 2. If you're married and commit adultery . If the wife forgives you're clear. She may also settle financially. She does have a nuclear option of having you executed. But mostly such matters are settled. Males may exercise this option if the wife in unfaithful. 3. If you steal, you either get yourself forgiven by the victim, settle financially or if the victim doesn't settle you lose your hand. Again, mostly financially settled. Though I wish it would be practised more on the blankfeins of the world. It would be an effective deterrant if he was walking around like that. 4. If you're guilty of rape, unless you are forgiven by the victim or reach a settlement, it's death. The death penalty is only practiced on murders(if settlement can't be reached), rapes and rarely adultery. The law is basically simple. An eye for an eye, limb for a limb Cheers
Just saying - if a trader can't show 80k, and DPTG is used to dealing with traders that can't show 80k, then this is a particular kind of "trader" they attract. How much was that computer and internet desk fee?
It looks like the UAE is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to censorship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_Censorship_World_Map.svg This is something you might want to research if you want to move there.
You're absolutely right... Both Sweden and Denmark suck bad...! I visited both countries as a tourist...! I'll put it to you all this way... It's pretty much like visiting Canada only everything is more expensive... Nothing to do, nothing to see and nobody to talk to...! As for the Viking thing... Please... It's all such bullshit! Scandinavia is like a colony of really hardcore puritan Protestants with a few atheists and neo-pagans walking around mumbling some crap about Odin... or "Oden" as the natives call him! BS... Not a Viking in sight... Also, judging by the population which mostly looks Semitic mixed with Asians that somehow turned blonde and some obvious Celts, I doubt that the so called "Vikings" were ever real... More likely that the real Vikings were Russians if you ask me...! Oh yes... And your language... Even more horrible than Turkish!
Kuwaiti gets 10 years for Twitter blasphemy http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47673850#.T8zdTlJQRKo By Sylvia Westall updated 2 hours 20 minutes ago Print Font: KUWAIT ââ¬â A Kuwaiti man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media. Shi'ite Muslim Hamad al-Naqi pleaded innocent at the start of the trial last month, saying he did not post the messages and that his Twitter account had been hacked. The written verdict, delivered by Judge Hisham Abdullah, found Naqi guilty of all charges, a court secretary told Reuters. The sentence was the maximum that 26-year-old Naqi could have received, his lawyer Khaled al-Shatti said. The judge found him guilty of insulting the Prophet, the Prophet's wife and companions, mocking Islam, provoking sectarian tensions, insulting the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and misusing his mobile phone to spread the comments. "The prison sentence is long but we have the chance to appeal," Shatti said. Under Kuwaiti law, the defense can file an appeal within 20 days of the verdict and jail sentences have been reduced in the past for similar convictions. The civil plaintiff arguing the case against Naqi, as well as some Kuwaiti politicians, had called for Naqi to be executed in a case that stoked sectarian tensions in the Gulf state. "This verdict is a deterrent to those who insult the Prophet Mohammad, his companions and the mothers of the believers," civil plaintiff Dowaem al-Mowazry said in a text message. He had argued in court that Naqi must be made an example of. Dozens of Sunni Muslim activists and lawmakers protested against Naqi shortly after his arrest and he was attacked in jail by a fellow inmate, according to the Interior Ministry. Sectarian tensions Naqi did not appear in court on Monday. He was in the central prison where he has been held since his arrest in March, the court secretary said. He appeared in previous sessions in a wooden and metal cage, guarded by armed men in black balaclavas. The activists who protested against him accused Naqi of links to Shi'ite regional power Iran, something he has denied. Shi'ites are thought to number between 20-30 percent of Kuwait's 1.1 million nationals. Vocal members can be found in senior positions in parliament, media and business. Although Kuwait has largely avoided the sectarian violence and pro-democracy uprisings seen elsewhere in the region, it is concerned its Shi'ite minority may turn restive. Authorities have been closely watching Shi'ite-led protests in Bahrain and unrest in eastern Saudi Arabia, home to more than two million minority Shi'ites. Naqi's lawyer Shatti argued that even if his client had written the remarks, he would be guilty of a "crime of opinion", not of threatening national security, which carried the 10-year jail term. Kuwait's parliament, where opposition Islamists have grown in influence, endorsed a legal amendment last month that would make insulting God and the Prophet Mohammad by Muslims punishable by death instead of the current maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. Sheikh Sabah recently blocked a proposal by 31 of the 50 elected members of parliament to amend the constitution to make all legislation in the Gulf Arab state comply with sharia law, suggesting he is willing to resist pressure from Islamist lawmakers. (Additional reporting by Mahmoud Harby and Ahmed Hagagy; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Angus MacSwan)