Understanding the Difference Between a Free Zone and Offshore Company in the UAE
Let's explore the differences between Free Zone and Offshore Companies in UAE. Read our blog to find out more about how an offshore company in UAE can benefit you!
Tax optimization, asset protection and international business expansion are three major benefits of incorporating an offshore corporation. Whether you want to protect your personal assets, utilise tax exemptions, or expand internationally, registering an offshore structure can give your business a strong advantage.
At Offshore Company Reg, we handle the complicated steps for you and make sure that offshore company formation and corporate bank account setup is done smoothly and legally, so you can focus on growing your business with confidence.
With the right help, setting up an offshore company can be simple and stress-free.
An offshore business entity is one that is registered in a nation other than the owners home country. Many entrepreneurs and businesses opt for offshore incorporation due to its advantages, such as:
Tax Benefits Many offshore jurisdictions offer tax reductions for your business through zero or low tax, allowing you to enjoy reduce corporate income tax.
Privacy Protection Offshore companies offer a higher level of confidentiality and financial privacy compared to local businesses.
Asset Protection Protect your wealth from legal disputes, creditors, or business risks.
Business Expansion Operate in international markets without excessive regulations.
Flexibility Offshore countries often have fewer restrictions on types of offshore companies, currency exchange and business operations.
Our team of professionals can help you register your company effortlessly. Book a consultation with company formation experts.
Corporate laws and regulations related to offshore firms vary per country. Understanding and complying with these can be difficult without expert help.
Without proper support, choosing the right jurisdiction, business structure, and legal protection can be overwhelming for business owners. This can lead to poor decision-making and incorporating an inefficient corporate structure that doesn’t suit your needs.
Not all offshore locations are tax-efficient, have a stable economy, political stability, or are suitable for every type of business. Making a poor choice can result in tax burdens and problems with the registration process.
Filling out necessary documents such as legal forms, submitting company documents, and ensuring compliance to reporting requirements can be frustrating and time-intensive.
At Offshore Company Reg, we handle everything for you, from application submission and settling government fees for company incorporation to legal compliance and offshore banking setup.
We help you understand the legal system, guaranteeing completely legal offshore formations with a registered office address and registered agent.
Our team will cater to your exact needs, empowering you to choose the best countries for your offshore company incorporation and banking depending on your country of residence, tax liability & the international markets that you want to access.
Unclear communication can lead to disaster for the offshore incorporation process. Our native English-speaking team place crystal-clear communication as their utmost priority.
We help you open an offshore company with bank account with access to a variety of banking services offering debit cards, credit cards and online transactions, making offshore finance & asset management easy for both physical and online businesses.
Our corporate services include taking care of all document submissions, regulatory filings, and legal requirements. We’ll do the heavy-lifting to ensure a flawless submission with no delays.
After completing your offshore company formation, our team will support with administrative services, renewals, and on-going compliance reminders, free of charge even after you have set up an offshore company!
Can’t see a location you are interested in?
Chances are we can probably help – get in touch with our team to discuss.
Selecting the ideal location can be complex, but our expertise ensures a smooth offshore company formation process.
Jurisdiction | In Person | Secretary | Auditor | Local Reg Address | Local Reg Agent | Corporate Tax | Public Registry | Tax Exempt | Bearer Shares | Annual Return | Annual Tax Return | Economic Substance | Certified Poa | Business Plan | Property Tax | Annual General Meeting | Eu Access | Min Shareholders | Min Directors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on non qualifying income 0% on qualifying income) | No | Yes (on qualifying income) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on domestic rental income) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No (must maintain record of all transactions for past 5 years) | No | No | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within anguilla) | No | Blacklisted | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (1.75% if thresholds exceeded) | No | No | No | Yes | Yes (yes if earnings exceed 6m usd) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within belize) | No | Greylisted | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person in bvi) | No | Greylisted | 1 | 1 | |
Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (no (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within cayman islands) ) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (0% for holding companies) | Yes | Yes (ibc exempt from domestic taxation provided no domestic business carried out) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within cyprus) | Yes (can be held online) | Full Access | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within delaware) | No | N/A | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | Yes (yes for financial institutions and large companies) | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on non qualifying income 0% on qualifying income) | No | Yes | No | No | Yes (strict reporting requirements) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (9% on rental income from within uae) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within hong kong) | Yes (within 6 months of annual tax return) | Greylisted | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on non qualifying income with 0% on qualifying income) | No | No | No | No | Yes (strict reporting requirements) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (classed as non qualifying income) | Yes (must be held in the uae) | Cleared | 1 | 2 | |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within malaysia) | Yes | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No (records must be kept for 5 years) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within marshall islands) | No | Blacklisted | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within mauritius) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (directors only) | Yes (1 2% annual license tax (on company networth)) | No | Yes (must be held with registered agent for 5 years) | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (2% stamp duty) | No | Blacklisted | 1 | 3 | |
No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on non qualifying income 0% on qualifying income) | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (9% on income generated) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | N/A | Yes (must be held with registered agent for 5 years) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within saint kitts & nevis) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No (unless ibc chooses to pay income tax) | Yes | Yes | Yes (optional) | No | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within saint lucia) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No (must keep records of transactions for 5 years.) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within saint vincent & grenadines) | No | Cleared | 1 | 1 | |
No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No (ibc must keep a record of transactions for 5 years) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within samoa) | No | Blacklisted | 1 | 1 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within seychelles) | No | Greylisted | 1 | 1 | |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (on domestic income only) | Yes | Yes (foreign income & purchase / sales of securities) | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (liable to stamp duty / gst & annual taxes for ownership) | Yes (must be held in singapore to maintain tax residency) | Cleared | 1 | 2 | |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (0.25% 1.25%) | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No (no (ibc´s cannot own or trade with any physical asset or person within the bahamas) ) | Yes | Cleared | 1 | 1 |
We’ll help you find the best offshore company and bank account for your business. Schedule a 30-minute discovery call with our specialists to learn more!
Years of Experience — We have helped hundreds of businesses register companies offshore.
Trusted Global Network — We work with top offshore jurisdictions and banks.
Fast & Reliable Service — Get your company registered quickly without any hassle.
Value for Money — Clear, competitive pricing without any additional costs.
Committed Assistance — Our staff is here to help you at every step of the way.
Variety of Additional Services — Including nominee services or offshore trust structures through our partners.
Typically fees include registration fees, government fees, registered office fees, registered agent fees. The cost will vary depending on the jurisdiction, business structure, any licenses or regulations as well as additional services such as nominee directors or nominee shareholders.
Our team will need certified copy of your proof of identity (passport, national ID card), proof of address and any other corporate documents if there are corporate shareholders or directors.
Every jurisdiction has their own advantages and disadvantages; it is important to consider these against the types of business activities you plan to carry out to ensure that your setup is purpose-built to accommodate your business goals.
An Offshore Entity is only used for Illegal activities like Tax evasion & Money laundering
The term ‘offshore’ is often misunderstood as being unlawful, however these companies can be used to legally reduce tax obligations from both a personal and corporate tax perspective, accessing certain business licenses, entering new markets or safeguarding their assets.
Foreign banks have limited service offering and are hard to transact with
We work with a range of banking institutions that offer multi-currency facilities, online banking, debit cards and even crypto facilities. Whether they are in the European Union, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom or different jurisdictions with leading financial centres.
Foreign Banks have limited usage, with limited available account types or business activity restrictions
There are a variety of banking service providers with a vast range of corporate bank accounts for international companies from every industry, payments it all comes down to choosing the right banking partner in a strategic location.
Offshore companies are ONLY for High-Net-Worth individuals
The BIGGEST myth of them all! Offshore company structures vary in setup and annual fees depending on the country of incorporation, but in many jurisdictions they can be set up cheap and quickly, such as British Virgin Islands, St. Vincent or Marshall Islands.
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