Virtual offices are quite trendy since the setting up of the first e-commerce businesses online. Virtual offices are so much easier to make and also they cost much cheaper on the long haul. Still there are some official and requirements together with some know-how which is important to know before setting up such office in Dubai.
There are 2 types of virtual offices: the marketing address and the full virtual business. Let us see what you need to set these virtual offices up.
Virtual offices with marketing address:
In this meaning, the marketing address means normally a virtual office in a Dubai business centre, as there are so many. The namely address is the address of a P.O Box and some companies offer monthly services together with the setting up of these companies in Dubai. As this type of business is virtually non-existent in every meaning its member can’t get neither a visa because of the business activity neither can they open a corporate bank account or do any business activity in Dubai. Here, you pay for the P.O box and agree with someone to handle or to forward your post to your actual country. Those companies who want to sell themselves as a Dubai company for some reasons use this opportunity. The cost of setting up these structures will be around AED 450 per month excluding additional post handling services and costs.
When setting up one of these virtual offices you will need to opt for a normal business licence and create a corporate bank account, which means that these mean real, legal business in Dubai. The business set up enables the company owner to opt for a residence visa as soon as the setting up has officially finished. It is vital to know that these sorts of “Real” Virtual offices can only be set up in the Free Trade Zones of the Northern Emirates. This company will need a proper business plan and a project proposal as well. If you check through the free zones of the Northern Emirates, you will see if they issue licence for small businesses with a proof of capital which will be between AED 100.000 and AED 185.000 as a one-time investment. Different costs apply for each type of real virtual businesses: for E-Office without actual office address or office will cost around AED 25.000. With the visa, it will cost around AED 40.000 in all. It is important to know that Dubai Free Zones do not offer this service yet, but you can look around in Ras Al Khaimah though. Dubai Free Zones all require an actual office. Dubai Free Zones act just as the Dubai authorities in connection with the normal companies, with the required capital and the fulfilment of every requirement. In the Business centres, there are hotline business centres specifically for those who have an e-company or marketing address virtual offices so that they can go there and deal with business as they can with all the office facilities they might need.
Virtual offices can give a great way for companies to start a small business in the UAE to see how it goes and if everything is promising then they later can even physically more there in Dubai. By far you need to look around in the other UAE free zones such as RAK and wait with your normal office to go to Dubai ultimately.
