UAE resident + UK LLC / LLP / LTD

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Alenka

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May 28, 2025
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Hello everyone,

I came to Dubai, made a company in Dubai Freezone, but no banks are going to open a corporate bank account for me. Briefly about myself:
- Belarus passport
- I have good statements (~600k USD / 6months) from the bank account in Georgia and EMI (PayPal)
- Sphere: online education
- Dubai Silicon Oasis Freezone
- I will be living in Dubai for more than 183 days this year and I have ejari

Banks in UAE ask for a lot: ejari, real office (flexi-desk from DSO not acceptable), and opening takes about a month.

My solution is to open a UK (or Irish) LTD / LLC / LLP while I can not get UAE business account for my Freezone company. Questions are:

1) Is it better to open a company and connect it to UAE company (as a parent company) or connect it to me (as a person) in order to save taxes and open a bank account?
2) Which banks will acquire me? Could you suggest?
3) My final goal: is to open an account in Stripe and PayPal, accept payments from customers and withdraw them to bank account (or neobank account). I'm not going to withdraw any dividends from that company, will spend all the revenue. Only 3% of customers are based in UK.
 
Alenka said:
Alenka said:
Hello everyone,

I came to Dubai, made a company in Dubai Freezone, but no banks are going to open a corporate bank account for me. Briefly about myself:
- Belarus passport
- I have good statements (~600k USD / 6months) from the bank account in Georgia and EMI (PayPal)
- Sphere: online education
- Dubai Silicon Oasis Freezone
- I will be living in Dubai for more than 183 days this year and I have ejari

Banks in UAE ask for a lot: ejari, real office (flexi-desk from DSO not acceptable), and opening takes about a month.

My solution is to open a UK (or Irish) LTD / LLC / LLP while I can not get UAE business account for my Freezone company. Questions are:

1) Is it better to open a company and connect it to UAE company (as a parent company) or connect it to me (as a person) in order to save taxes and open a bank account?
2) Which banks will acquire me? Could you suggest?
3) My final goal: is to open an account in Stripe and PayPal, accept payments from customers and withdraw them to bank account (or neobank account). I'm not going to withdraw any dividends from that company, will spend all the revenue. Only 3% of customers are based in UK.
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Contact @Fred @CaptK @Gediminas .

They can introduce you to UAE banks. Stripe and paypal, you might use a UK LTD for payments processing?

Your passport might be a problem as Belarus is under heavy sanctions along with Russia right now.
 
KDX said:
KDX said:
Contact @Fred @CaptK @Gediminas .

They can introduce you to UAE banks. Stripe and paypal, you might use a UK LTD for payments processing?

Your passport might be a problem as Belarus is under heavy sanctions along with Russia right now.
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Yes, I'm going to set up a UK LTD. Just interested how is better:
1) As an individual
2) Or as a freezone UAE company
 
Alenka said:
Alenka said:
Yes, I'm going to set up a UK LTD. Just interested how is better:
1) As an individual
2) Or as a freezone UAE company
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Well, you will be taxed 20% with a UK LTD therefore kind of defeating the whole point of being in Dubai. If you use a UK LTD for payment processing, you charge a 1.5% fee for payments processing for your parent UAE company and pay 20% on that 1.5% only.

So, 100k is sent to the UK LTD, UK LTD charges 1.5% fee and the rest 98.5% goes to your parent company immediately. the rest 1.5% you pay 20% tax on and then pay a dividend to your UAE company later.

If you are going to be tax resident in Dubai you can also I guess consider other jurisdictions to incorporate in since theres no CFC or PE rules in UAE. I'd talk to the guys I mentioned since they can probably tailor a solution for your use case.

@CaptK can explain this better to you.
 
KDX said:
KDX said:
Well, you will be taxed 20% with a UK LTD therefore kind of defeating the whole point of being in Dubai. If you use a UK LTD for payment processing, you charge a 1.5% fee for payments processing for your parent UAE company and pay 20% on that 1.5% only.

So, 100k is sent to the UK LTD, UK LTD charges 1.5% fee and the rest 98.5% goes to your parent company immediately. the rest 1.5% you pay 20% tax on and then pay a dividend to your UAE company later.

If you are going to be tax resident in Dubai you can also I guess consider other jurisdictions to incorporate in since theres no CFC or PE rules in UAE. I'd talk to the guys I mentioned since they can probably tailor a solution for your use case.

@CaptK can explain this better to you.
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Sure,

1. Can I transfer money to Google and Facebook if my UAE company owns UK company? I don't want to withdraw UK LTD money to UAE company because I don't have a corporate bank account. I want to earn&spend them, and once I get UAE bank account I will just spend UK entity money on advertising.
2. As I understand, UK has 19% corporate tax. But I can pay a salary to myself and have 0% effective corporate tax, isn't it? So that all revenue will be expenses. And in UAE I don't have to pay income tax (0%).
 
Alenka said:
Alenka said:
Sure,

1. Can I transfer money to Google and Facebook if my UAE company owns UK company? I don't want to withdraw UK LTD money to UAE company because I don't have a corporate bank account. I want to earn&spend them, and once I get UAE bank account I will just spend UK entity money on advertising.
2. As I understand, UK has 19% corporate tax. But I can pay a salary to myself and have 0% effective corporate tax, isn't it? So that all revenue will be expenses. And in UAE I don't have to pay income tax (0%).
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Yes that would work. So the company will be payment processor and marketing arm.
 
He wouldn't because there will be expenses coming out for marketing and other expenses.
 
CaptK said:
CaptK said:
Yes that would work. So the company will be payment processor and marketing arm.
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Thanks for the advice. Could you suggest if it's better to register the company as a UAE company or as an individual?

And a question: UK LLP or UK LTD? I saw @Fred advised here that UK LLP works better with UAE company - Ldt. in UK for EU - HQ in UAE as F.Z.E

However, I'm not sure that it works so nowadays because for UK LLP you can't get an address, so PayPal and Stripe may decline you. That's why I consider UK LTD.
 
My structure works with a limited but you can use an LLP. Issue with that is you require 2 partners where with limited only one.
 
CaptK said:
CaptK said:
My structure works with a limited but you can use an LLP. Issue with that is you require 2 partners where with limited only one.
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My UAE company + me as Individual? Will that work?

Do I have to transfer money to my parent UAE company? And when? Like in 1 year? What's the period I'm able to spend that money on expenses?
 
From what you said you will be predominantly using the company for paying expenses and forwarding the profit for services rendered by your UAE company.
 
Hi, I actually can help you.

Just set up UK LLP, it will give you an address lol, why do you think it won't? That's what I use and it will work with PayPal and stripe.


Use you and your UAE company as a partner, that's it.

You will have to rent a real office and not a flex desk to have a corporate account in Dubai.

For Belarus citizen, they might ask you for a big deposit like 50k$.

Just use EMI's and withdraw to your personal account, you won't get taxes for your LLP and no taxes at all, but you will have to do the accounting.

You can just spend the money from EMI's or withdraw it to your personal account, Stripe also works for UAE companies and some EMi's too, so why do you even need a UK company?

DM if you need help, I live in Dubai we can meet and I can help you 🙂

Last edited: Mar 15, 2022
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yngmind said:
yngmind said:
Hi, I actually can help you.

Just set up UK LLP, it will give you an address lol, why do you think it won't? That's what I use and it will work with PayPal and stripe.


Use you and your UAE company as a partner, that's it.

You will have to rent a real office and not a flex desk to have a corporate account in Dubai.

For Belarus citizen, they might ask you for a big deposit like 50k$.

Just use EMI's and withdraw to your personal account, you won't get taxes for your LLP and no taxes at all, but you will have to do the accounting.

You can just spend the money from EMI's or withdraw it to your personal account, Stripe also works for UAE companies and some EMi's too, so why do you even need a UK company?

DM if you need help, I live in Dubai we can meet and I can help you 🙂
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Hello, I can't DM you
 
I can't see you getting a bank account easily with the UAE company as a partner in the LLP. Even if you are the owner of the UAE FZ, (regardless of the citizenship issue).

Unless @yngmind can elaborate which banks he has accounts with under this structure outside of the UAE.
 
CaptK said:
CaptK said:
I can't see you getting a bank account easily with the UAE company as a partner in the LLP. Even if you are the owner of the UAE FZ, (regardless of the citizenship issue).

Unless @yngmind can elaborate which banks he has accounts with under this structure outside of the UAE.
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You will be able to get an EMI, but not a real bank account with LLP structure.
fbsworld said:
fbsworld said:
No, do not do that! For an UK LLP, put 2 individuals resident in the UAE, not your UAE company, otherwise it will be under ESR...!
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Not sure what is ESR, it's kinda hard to find someone to put in the partners, I just use some of my companies, like US LLC or Estonian OU as partners because it's cheap.

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I understand your structure, what I would like to know is which EMI's you have been successfull with in getting a bank account with.

That has been my biggest headache with similar structures especially when the clients does not live in the EU.
 
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