December 28, 2024 • 12 mins
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y-TCH886vsQ
In this video, Aaron Henriques clears up common confusion between Visa Entitlements and Visa Applications for free zone business setups in Dubai. Many people, particularly those going through an agency, misunderstand these terms and end up feeling misled. Aaron explains how Visa Entitlements are linked to company trade licenses, allowing a certain number of sponsored visas, and the costs associated with them. He differentiates this from Visa Applications, which are individual requests for residency visas. The video also covers potential hidden costs and the importance of realistic planning, including why you can't use company visas for family members unless they work for the company. Essential viewing for anyone setting up a free zone or mainland company in the UAE.
Mentions: Dubai Residency Visa Process Video - https://youtu.be/unr6sIhTmBQ
Start your business in Dubai with my agency, Handlr Zone: https://handlrzone.com/yt
OR get a direct referral to my contact at the IFZA free zone: https://aaronhenriques.com/ksbc
Follow: https://www.instagram.com/aaronhenray
00:00 Introduction: Visa Entitlements vs. Visa Applications
01:56 Understanding Visa Entitlements
04:43 Diving into Visa Applications
07:38 Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings
12:22 Conclusion and Final Tips
#UAEBusiness #VisaEntitlement #EntrepreneurTips #BusinessSetupDubai #InvestorGuide #UKEntrepreneurs #DubaiVisa #opportunity #motivation #success #businessstrategy #UAEVisa #EntrepreneurGuide #BusinessSetup #InvestorVisa #DubaiBusiness #VisaEntitlement #ResidencyVisa #UKEntrepreneurs #USABusiness #EuropeInvestors #CanadaEntrepreneurs #AustraliaBusiness
Disclaimer at https://aaronhenriques.com/disclaimer
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
people are getting confused about thedifference between Visa Entitlements
(00:04):
and Visa Applications for theirfree zone business setups in Dubai.
So I've put this video together,Because I know a lot of people have
this confusion, and some peopleend up feeling like they've been
ripped off, because they didn'tknow the difference between the two.
this video is really important foranyone who's setting up a free zone
company or a mainland company in the UAE.
(00:25):
Particularly if you'regoing through an agency.
most people who are gettingtheir visas issued will be going
through an agency of some sort.
So it's really important that youunderstand the difference between
these two phrases of Visa Entitlementsversus Visa Applications and what the
difference is because people do use theminterchangeably and sometimes when you
(00:48):
don't understand what the difference iswhen they're quoting you, you may not
understand what you're actually lookingat and think you're getting a great deal,
only later to be disappointed and findout that it wasn't what you thought.
But this also applies even if you'resetting up directly with a free zone.
particularly if they're goingto do your visas for you.
(01:08):
It's important that you know this.
I'll just explain real quick.
One is specific to the company tradelicense, and one is specific to you This
wasn't a planned addition to the channel.
It's just because it has comeup quite a few times recently.
So I thought I'd cover it.
firstly, I'll let you know, because alot of people don't understand this.
When you open up your company inDubai or anywhere in the UAE, it's
(01:31):
your company that sponsors your visa.
you don't get some like magical visathat is only for business owners.
It doesn't exist.
It's the same type of visa thatone of your staff members would
get if you sponsored them to comeand live and work in the UAE.
I'll start with Visa Entitlements.
What are they?
(01:51):
Visa Entitlements are part ofyour company trade license.
what this will allow you to do onyour FreeZone license, for example,
mine that I have with IFZA, It willallow me to sponsor a certain number
of visas as I choose on my license.
IFZA, for example, who I'm set up with,they allow you to sponsor anywhere
(02:12):
from zero visas, which would includeyou, which means you wouldn't be able
to sponsor yourself to many visas,if you had many members of staff who
you needed to sponsor a visa for, forthem to come and reside in the UAE.
If you, as the business owner need avisa in the UAE because you want to
come and live here and you want to takeadvantage of like 0% income tax rates,
(02:33):
for example, if you're UAE Tax Resident,then you will need at least one visa
entitlement on your company license.
Your company license will beissued before you have a visa.
So your visa entitlement will be issuedat the time that you set up your company.
Now, for people who might be temptedto be like, well, do you know what?
(02:57):
My business plan shows that I'mgoing to grow to like 50 members
of staff in the first nine months.
So let me just ask for50 Visa Entitlements.
Now, firstly, you're going tobe in for a bit of a surprise.
Don't do that.
Be realistic.
And here's why.
Each visa entitlement costsyou more money per entitlement.
effectively a visa entitlementis saying this is how many people
(03:21):
that you can have sponsored by yourcompany to UAE at any one time.
I'm not even sure you'd be able tosponsor 50 visas on a FreeZone licence.
think with my free zone theycap it out at 10, but I'm not
100% sure on that to be honest.
Plus, as I've mentioned in previousvideos about free zones and the
differences between mainlandcompanies, There are rules and
regulations for you to adhere to.
(03:42):
with IFZA who I'm set up with, youcan have up to three sponsorship
entitlements on your license, beforeyou would need a physical office.
So if you had a fourth one, youwould require a physical office
with IFZA for you to be ableto have that company license.
Now, it doesn't matter even if you'vetaken the Visa Entitlements, but you
(04:03):
haven't actually sponsored any visas.
It doesn't matter.
It's all about the maximum numberthat you can sponsor based on
your license with the free zone.
So with IFZA, if you did have fourentitlements, you would require an
office space, a physical office spacefor your company, even if you'd only
(04:23):
actually sponsored two visas a year later.
So that's why it's important to notjust be like, okay, well, I'll ask for a
hundred visa sponsorship entitlements onmy license, and then I know I'm going to
be fine for at least the next six months.
So what are Visa Applications?
Well, that is your individual visaapplication for your visa here in the UAE.
(04:44):
It's got nothing to do with thecompany license other than the fact
that the company cannot sponsoryour visa application unless it
has sufficient Visa Entitlementsremaining on its license to do so.
So your residency visa application in theUAE, most commonly you'll be designated
either a General Manager, if you're owningthe company, an Investor or a Partner,
(05:09):
there are differences between them.
I'm not going to get into that herecause it's not the purpose of the video.
There will be one comingin the future about that.
And of course, there's also rules andeligibility criteria and all sorts that
you need to adhere to, which is wherehaving an agent who is actually honest
and reliable early on may be helpful,or make sure you ask the free zone
directly if you are going to go directabout the specific rules about you,
(05:33):
because they may not get to that untilafter the company license is set up.
And it's not their responsibility toensure that you are actually eligible for
you to be able to get a visa in the UAE.
So to sponsor the residency visaapplication, first of all, you need
to have enough Visa Entitlementsremaining on your company license.
(05:55):
Once you've submitted the initialapplication, what happens next is an
e-visa is issued to the visa applicant.
that e visa will allow them to enterthe UAE and they must complete all of
the necessary criteria like the medical,the biometrics and the Emirates ID
application all of that within 60 daysof the e-visa are being issued otherwise
(06:19):
it will all just be cancelled and you goback to square one and that's the exactly
the same whether it's for you as thebusiness owner or if it's for one of your
staff members that you plan on hiring.
Now to get the e-visa issued it mightonly take seven to ten working days so
you want to make sure That you're notautomatically applying for your e visa
or starting your visa application forthe UAE, until you know that you're going
(06:43):
to be ready to actually enter the UAE.
Because you may just end up spending alot of money on your Visa Applications.
And actually you miss the deadlinewithin the 60 days and you have
to start again and pay again.
Now as part of the visa applicationthere are also other costs
that you might not think about.
Because there are costs for yourmedical, like I've just mentioned, for
your Emirates ID application You'veobviously got your transport costs,
(07:06):
your hotel costs, all that stuff is notcovered usually, unless it specifically
states it is, but do not assume it is.
This is a common mistake that people makeand they didn't realize they had to pay
yet more money And then they'll blamethe agency or the free zone directly.
But actually, it wasn't them at all.
It's just the fact you didn'task or didn't read the terms
(07:28):
and conditions or whatever.
You just assumed.
So this is of this video, is soyou're not making that assumption,
so that you can at least know to ask.
Typically with our clients or thosethat go directly with IFZA, you may
find that It's about 800 dirhams.
Let me just check that on the calculator.
which is about $215 USD or £175British pounds, for your medical and
(07:53):
your Emirates ID application and thebiometrics is normally included in that
cost for you, plus also whatever yourflights and hotels and stuff will cost.
And you also need to bear in mind thatthere's no guarantee that your visa
application will actually be successful.
It is an application.
checks are done on you backin your home country, there
(08:14):
are eligibility criteria here.
You may not pass the medicaltest, which is a general screening
questionnaire, plus also a blood testto check for HIV and also a chest
x ray to check for tuberculosis.
I've actually done a video beforeon the visa process, which you can
find a link to in the description.
I might be able to put it on thescreen somewhere for you to go and
(08:36):
watch that process if you want toknow more about how that works.
But they may reject your application,and again, it's not the fault.
of whoever's processed your applicationfor you, particularly if it's
something that hasn't been disclosed.
So although from my personal experienceso far, it's been very rare to see
any, Visa Applications declined,there are certain nationalities
(08:57):
which will automatically be declined.
if you put through the applicationand some agencies will still
process your application, knowingfull well it's really unlikely
that is going to be successful anddon't expect to get your money back.
You're just never going to see itagain because they've done their
bit in processing your application.
So please be careful, do your homework.
(09:20):
If you need to find out whatthose countries are, I've
got a whole list of them.
Contact me at Handlr Zone and the teamwill be able to help you out with that.
And there are some other exclusions, butI will talk about that on another video.
So bringing this all backtogether, why is it important?
It's important because peopleget confused between Visa
Entitlements and Visa Applications.
Sometimes agents, agencies,or you just may generally be
(09:44):
using it as a general term.
It's not a general term.
If something says that X amountof Visa Entitlements are included
in the cost and you think, Ohgreat, I've got a great cost here.
You may not realize that doesn't actuallyinclude your visa application, or it may
do, if they've used it as a general term.
So, you need to check that, becausethe cost of the visa separately may,
(10:06):
significantly increase your overallfees, if you didn't realize that wasn't
the visa entitlement, and actuallyyou had to pay for it all separately.
Which is often the case.
And the advisor, particularly ifyou've not asked the question,
may assume that you know.
So if you've gone to a free zonedirectly or you used an agency, they
may not realize that you don't knowthe difference between the two things.
(10:28):
Assuming that you do, you're assumingthat you know what it is, and because
of the lack of communication, you'renow going to be faced with extra costs
that you weren't expecting as with allthings in Dubai, they're not cheap.
Cost may vary, but they're just not goingto be cheap, particularly if you're using
an agency to do it, which, as I've said,most people, that's the way that they go,
(10:50):
because it's quite an in depth process.
if you don't know how to navigate it,you're going to be stuck, basically.
And one other common misunderstandingthat I'm going to cover right now
is your company Visa Entitlements,they're not intended for you
to sponsor family members.
Unless your family members, ofcourse, work for your company,
they are company sponsored visas.
(11:11):
They're meant to be for staff members,for the owners and staff members.
So if you've got a partner or a child ofyours who is not actually working for the
company and they don't own the company,Those visas are not intended for that.
There are separate visas to that.
And also importantly, even if you dohave one of your children who work
(11:32):
for your company, which is quitecommon, to be honest, I've seen it
more and more of late where they'reunder 18, they cannot get sponsored
under the company sponsored visa.
They must be under yourdependence visa, your spousal
visa process, which is separate.
there are lots of rules and aroundthe spousal visas who qualifies and
(11:52):
whatever, essentially you need to bemarried, legally married, and they
need to be your children that you'responsoring to bring into the UAE.
if you're interested in the spousalvisa and the dependence visa process,
Let me know in the comments becauseI might be able to do a sit down with
someone who's actually been throughthat process to talk about that process
with you So you can understand inmore detail how it actually works.
(12:15):
So anyway, that's the end of this video.
If you do want help getting yourfree zone company set up here
in Dubai, I've got a couple ofoptions for you in the description.
Have a look, click on theone that suits you best.
And if you have any other questions,leave them in the comments because
it's most likely other peoplealso have those same questions
and they just haven't asked them.
(12:37):
So ask away.
It may form the basis ofanother video in the future.
Anyway, my name's Aaron Henriques.
Thanks for staying with me.
Like, subscribe, comment, share withsomeone who you think this might be
helpful for, and I'll see you next time.
Bye.
people are getting confused about thedifference between Visa Entitlements
(00:04):
and Visa Applications for theirfree zone business setups in Dubai.
So I've put this video together,Because I know a lot of people have
this confusion, and some peopleend up feeling like they've been
ripped off, because they didn'tknow the difference between the two.
this video is really important foranyone who's setting up a free zone
company or a mainland company in the UAE.
(00:25):
Particularly if you'regoing through an agency.
most people who are gettingtheir visas issued will be going
through an agency of some sort.
So it's really important that youunderstand the difference between
these two phrases of Visa Entitlementsversus Visa Applications and what the
difference is because people do use theminterchangeably and sometimes when you
(00:48):
don't understand what the difference iswhen they're quoting you, you may not
understand what you're actually lookingat and think you're getting a great deal,
only later to be disappointed and findout that it wasn't what you thought.
But this also applies even if you'resetting up directly with a free zone.
particularly if they're goingto do your visas for you.
(01:08):
It's important that you know this.
I'll just explain real quick.
One is specific to the company tradelicense, and one is specific to you This
wasn't a planned addition to the channel.
It's just because it has comeup quite a few times recently.
So I thought I'd cover it.
firstly, I'll let you know, because alot of people don't understand this.
When you open up your company inDubai or anywhere in the UAE, it's
(01:31):
your company that sponsors your visa.
you don't get some like magical visathat is only for business owners.
It doesn't exist.
It's the same type of visa thatone of your staff members would
get if you sponsored them to comeand live and work in the UAE.
I'll start with Visa Entitlements.
What are they?
(01:51):
Visa Entitlements are part ofyour company trade license.
what this will allow you to do onyour FreeZone license, for example,
mine that I have with IFZA, It willallow me to sponsor a certain number
of visas as I choose on my license.
IFZA, for example, who I'm set up with,they allow you to sponsor anywhere
(02:12):
from zero visas, which would includeyou, which means you wouldn't be able
to sponsor yourself to many visas,if you had many members of staff who
you needed to sponsor a visa for, forthem to come and reside in the UAE.
If you, as the business owner need avisa in the UAE because you want to
come and live here and you want to takeadvantage of like 0% income tax rates,
(02:33):
for example, if you're UAE Tax Resident,then you will need at least one visa
entitlement on your company license.
Your company license will beissued before you have a visa.
So your visa entitlement will be issuedat the time that you set up your company.
Now, for people who might be temptedto be like, well, do you know what?
(02:57):
My business plan shows that I'mgoing to grow to like 50 members
of staff in the first nine months.
So let me just ask for50 Visa Entitlements.
Now, firstly, you're going tobe in for a bit of a surprise.
Don't do that.
Be realistic.
And here's why.
Each visa entitlement costsyou more money per entitlement.
effectively a visa entitlementis saying this is how many people
(03:21):
that you can have sponsored by yourcompany to UAE at any one time.
I'm not even sure you'd be able tosponsor 50 visas on a FreeZone licence.
think with my free zone theycap it out at 10, but I'm not
100% sure on that to be honest.
Plus, as I've mentioned in previousvideos about free zones and the
differences between mainlandcompanies, There are rules and
regulations for you to adhere to.
(03:42):
with IFZA who I'm set up with, youcan have up to three sponsorship
entitlements on your license, beforeyou would need a physical office.
So if you had a fourth one, youwould require a physical office
with IFZA for you to be ableto have that company license.
Now, it doesn't matter even if you'vetaken the Visa Entitlements, but you
(04:03):
haven't actually sponsored any visas.
It doesn't matter.
It's all about the maximum numberthat you can sponsor based on
your license with the free zone.
So with IFZA, if you did have fourentitlements, you would require an
office space, a physical office spacefor your company, even if you'd only
(04:23):
actually sponsored two visas a year later.
So that's why it's important to notjust be like, okay, well, I'll ask for a
hundred visa sponsorship entitlements onmy license, and then I know I'm going to
be fine for at least the next six months.
So what are Visa Applications?
Well, that is your individual visaapplication for your visa here in the UAE.
(04:44):
It's got nothing to do with thecompany license other than the fact
that the company cannot sponsoryour visa application unless it
has sufficient Visa Entitlementsremaining on its license to do so.
So your residency visa application in theUAE, most commonly you'll be designated
either a General Manager, if you're owningthe company, an Investor or a Partner,
(05:09):
there are differences between them.
I'm not going to get into that herecause it's not the purpose of the video.
There will be one comingin the future about that.
And of course, there's also rules andeligibility criteria and all sorts that
you need to adhere to, which is wherehaving an agent who is actually honest
and reliable early on may be helpful,or make sure you ask the free zone
directly if you are going to go directabout the specific rules about you,
(05:33):
because they may not get to that untilafter the company license is set up.
And it's not their responsibility toensure that you are actually eligible for
you to be able to get a visa in the UAE.
So to sponsor the residency visaapplication, first of all, you need
to have enough Visa Entitlementsremaining on your company license.
(05:55):
Once you've submitted the initialapplication, what happens next is an
e-visa is issued to the visa applicant.
that e visa will allow them to enterthe UAE and they must complete all of
the necessary criteria like the medical,the biometrics and the Emirates ID
application all of that within 60 daysof the e-visa are being issued otherwise
(06:19):
it will all just be cancelled and you goback to square one and that's the exactly
the same whether it's for you as thebusiness owner or if it's for one of your
staff members that you plan on hiring.
Now to get the e-visa issued it mightonly take seven to ten working days so
you want to make sure That you're notautomatically applying for your e visa
or starting your visa application forthe UAE, until you know that you're going
(06:43):
to be ready to actually enter the UAE.
Because you may just end up spending alot of money on your Visa Applications.
And actually you miss the deadlinewithin the 60 days and you have
to start again and pay again.
Now as part of the visa applicationthere are also other costs
that you might not think about.
Because there are costs for yourmedical, like I've just mentioned, for
your Emirates ID application You'veobviously got your transport costs,
(07:06):
your hotel costs, all that stuff is notcovered usually, unless it specifically
states it is, but do not assume it is.
This is a common mistake that people makeand they didn't realize they had to pay
yet more money And then they'll blamethe agency or the free zone directly.
But actually, it wasn't them at all.
It's just the fact you didn'task or didn't read the terms
(07:28):
and conditions or whatever.
You just assumed.
So this is of this video, is soyou're not making that assumption,
so that you can at least know to ask.
Typically with our clients or thosethat go directly with IFZA, you may
find that It's about 800 dirhams.
Let me just check that on the calculator.
which is about $215 USD or £175British pounds, for your medical and
(07:53):
your Emirates ID application and thebiometrics is normally included in that
cost for you, plus also whatever yourflights and hotels and stuff will cost.
And you also need to bear in mind thatthere's no guarantee that your visa
application will actually be successful.
It is an application.
checks are done on you backin your home country, there
(08:14):
are eligibility criteria here.
You may not pass the medicaltest, which is a general screening
questionnaire, plus also a blood testto check for HIV and also a chest
x ray to check for tuberculosis.
I've actually done a video beforeon the visa process, which you can
find a link to in the description.
I might be able to put it on thescreen somewhere for you to go and
(08:36):
watch that process if you want toknow more about how that works.
But they may reject your application,and again, it's not the fault.
of whoever's processed your applicationfor you, particularly if it's
something that hasn't been disclosed.
So although from my personal experienceso far, it's been very rare to see
any, Visa Applications declined,there are certain nationalities
(08:57):
which will automatically be declined.
if you put through the applicationand some agencies will still
process your application, knowingfull well it's really unlikely
that is going to be successful anddon't expect to get your money back.
You're just never going to see itagain because they've done their
bit in processing your application.
So please be careful, do your homework.
(09:20):
If you need to find out whatthose countries are, I've
got a whole list of them.
Contact me at Handlr Zone and the teamwill be able to help you out with that.
And there are some other exclusions, butI will talk about that on another video.
So bringing this all backtogether, why is it important?
It's important because peopleget confused between Visa
Entitlements and Visa Applications.
Sometimes agents, agencies,or you just may generally be
(09:44):
using it as a general term.
It's not a general term.
If something says that X amountof Visa Entitlements are included
in the cost and you think, Ohgreat, I've got a great cost here.
You may not realize that doesn't actuallyinclude your visa application, or it may
do, if they've used it as a general term.
So, you need to check that, becausethe cost of the visa separately may,
(10:06):
significantly increase your overallfees, if you didn't realize that wasn't
the visa entitlement, and actuallyyou had to pay for it all separately.
Which is often the case.
And the advisor, particularly ifyou've not asked the question,
may assume that you know.
So if you've gone to a free zonedirectly or you used an agency, they
may not realize that you don't knowthe difference between the two things.
(10:28):
Assuming that you do, you're assumingthat you know what it is, and because
of the lack of communication, you'renow going to be faced with extra costs
that you weren't expecting as with allthings in Dubai, they're not cheap.
Cost may vary, but they're just not goingto be cheap, particularly if you're using
an agency to do it, which, as I've said,most people, that's the way that they go,
(10:50):
because it's quite an in depth process.
if you don't know how to navigate it,you're going to be stuck, basically.
And one other common misunderstandingthat I'm going to cover right now
is your company Visa Entitlements,they're not intended for you
to sponsor family members.
Unless your family members, ofcourse, work for your company,
they are company sponsored visas.
(11:11):
They're meant to be for staff members,for the owners and staff members.
So if you've got a partner or a child ofyours who is not actually working for the
company and they don't own the company,Those visas are not intended for that.
There are separate visas to that.
And also importantly, even if you dohave one of your children who work
(11:32):
for your company, which is quitecommon, to be honest, I've seen it
more and more of late where they'reunder 18, they cannot get sponsored
under the company sponsored visa.
They must be under yourdependence visa, your spousal
visa process, which is separate.
there are lots of rules and aroundthe spousal visas who qualifies and
(11:52):
whatever, essentially you need to bemarried, legally married, and they
need to be your children that you'responsoring to bring into the UAE.
if you're interested in the spousalvisa and the dependence visa process,
Let me know in the comments becauseI might be able to do a sit down with
someone who's actually been throughthat process to talk about that process
with you So you can understand inmore detail how it actually works.
(12:15):
So anyway, that's the end of this video.
If you do want help getting yourfree zone company set up here
in Dubai, I've got a couple ofoptions for you in the description.
Have a look, click on theone that suits you best.
And if you have any other questions,leave them in the comments because
it's most likely other peoplealso have those same questions
and they just haven't asked them.
(12:37):
So ask away.
It may form the basis ofanother video in the future.
Anyway, my name's Aaron Henriques.
Thanks for staying with me.
Like, subscribe, comment, share withsomeone who you think this might be
helpful for, and I'll see you next time.
Bye.
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