Moving an online ticketing business to Dubai, where the events are
A UK online ticket-sales business relocating to Dubai, to be close to the events held here. We opened an IFZA free zone company and a corporate bank account for it, arranged two residence visas and an office address, and Stevie made the move.
Speak to us about your situationThe situation
Stevie had been thinking about moving to Dubai for a couple of years. The business already worked in the UK, but the UAE made obvious sense for it — the number of events held here is exactly the market an online ticketing business wants to be close to. This was expansion and relocation together.
Why they came to us
He was referred by a client we already worked with, and after a couple of years weighing it up, the deciding factor was trust.
In his own words afterwards, he "didn't know where to start".
What we recommended
An IFZA free zone company, which suited an online business serving customers rather than trading on the UAE mainland. Stevie's customers buy online, so the company did not need to trade on the mainland, and a free zone company fitted what the business does. For a different business the answer could well be a different free zone, or a mainland company, and our other case studies show some of those.
IFZA is a free zone in Dubai. It describes itself as a "Business Setup Community in Dubai", and it issues both commercial and professional licences. Our page on IFZA company formation covers the free zone itself. The description and the licence types are from IFZA's own site.
At Start Business Services we choose the free zone to suit the business, so the first questions are what it sells and who it sells to. We set it up around what the business does, arranged two residence visas and an office address, and opened a corporate bank account.
The licence matters for the bank account as well. In our experience a bank reads the licence, and the activity on it, to understand the business it is being asked to take on, which is why the licence has to describe what the business really does. Our page on opening a UAE business bank account explains how that works.
The outcome
The company, the two visas, the bank account and the office were all put in place, Stevie made the move, and we handle the ongoing accounting and compliance.
Working with Start Business Advisory was one of the best decisions I made when deciding to move to Dubai. From receiving two visas, to setting up the business and getting a bank account set up, the team made this experience seamless. They walked me through everything I had to do, and it really took the pressure off as I didn't know where to start.
— Stevie
Thinking about a move like this?
Tell us what the business does and where it is heading, and we will tell you whether we are the right firm.
Talk to us