Corporate/Business Bank Account for UAE RAK Free Zone Company + Second Citizenship

[Hank Moody]

Hi, I setup a company in RAK Free Zone in UAE and got Visa + Emirates ID but few banks like Emirates NBD outright rejected the request to open bank account for this company (The talk was finished in 15 seconds lol). I applied online for few banks but no one called me at all.

I need bank account in UAE so that they dont report my transactions to my country (India). I dont even need any loan at all!

I plan to receive funds from Google + Apple + few payment gateways (I havent decided any particular payment geteway yet so Im open for suggestions) and save them to get a second citizenship of one of the countries like St Kitts & Nevis and I apparently I dont want my country to know about it. Few payments are pending from Advertisement Companies since 2 years and I didnt take it because I dont want to receive it in Indian bank accounts.

I need to know which bank will be best for my business? If I go with any Lithuanian EMI will it be a problem while applying for Second Citizenship for countries like St Kitts & Nevis?
Is Paysera good for my business and can I use it for applying for Second Citizenship?

Im too frustrated and losing my mind because of this stupid bank account thingy please help

 

[Hank Moody]

Im living in UAE in hotels since over a month and have no plan to rent a place for a whole year etc. So I cannot provide residential address + utility bill :|

Please help

 

[Fred]

Can't breach enough to go nowadays with minimum Dubai or Abu Dhabi Freezone - everything else will cost you much more at the end of the day then you saved initially.

In 2021 with the pricing you get in Dubai it completely doesn't makes any sense to go with RAK Free Zone.

Anyway you learned your lesson the hard way and hopefully others see and avoid this mistake.

Back to topic - Paysera is your best choice actually and will work for EUR transactions at least. They don't have any problem with Indian Passport however they are no high risk EMI and therefore it's not sure if they keep your account once you change your Citizenship to a Carinbbean CIB one.

With a RAK Free Zone and no substance at all on the personal level either + not bringing 7 figures with you - no bank will onboard you in the UAE in 2021.

 

[Hank Moody]

Can't breach enough to go nowadays with minimum Dubai or Abu Dhabi Freezone - everything else will cost you much more at the end of the day then you saved initially.

In 2021 with the pricing you get in Dubai it completely doesn't makes any sense to go with RAK Free Zone.

Anyway you learned your lesson the hard way and hopefully others see and avoid this mistake.

Back to topic - Paysera is your best choice actually and will work for EUR transactions at least. They don't have any problem with Indian Passport however they are no high risk EMI and therefore it's not sure if they keep your account once you change your Citizenship to a Carinbbean CIB one.

With a RAK Free Zone and no substance at all on the personal level either + not bringing 7 figures with you - no bank will onboard you in the UAE in 2021.

First of all thanks for replying. I really appreciate it.

"everything else will cost you much more at the end of the day then you saved initially." ----------------- In what way?

"In 2021 with the pricing you get in Dubai it completely doesn't makes any sense to go with RAK Free Zone." ------ Im still not aware how much price difference there is for company formation + 3 years visa between those two.

"Paysera is your best choice actually and will work for EUR transactions at least." --------- Will Paysera report account to my country India?

"however they are no high risk EMI" --------- Can you please elaborate so that my noob brain could be able to understand what you are saying?

"therefore it's not sure if they keep your account once you change your Citizenship to a Carinbbean CIB one." ------------ At what point will they know that Im no longer Indian citizen or I changed my citizenship?

 

[Fred]

"everything else will cost you much more at the end of the day then you saved initially." ----------------- In what way?

Minimum Balance and the fact that your business is not really operational at all without a Business Bank Account.

"In 2021 with the pricing you get in Dubai it completely doesn't makes any sense to go with RAK Free Zone." ------ Im still not aware how much price difference there is for company formation + 3 years visa between those two.

Not even 1000$ and RAKEZ is famous for charging you year by year higher price - the renewal rate isn't guaranteed.

"Paysera is your best choice actually and will work for EUR transactions at least." --------- Will Paysera report account to my country India?

Most likely yes - as they are an EMI and you basically try to hide money from India - that's not working with an EMI in the way it works with local UAE Banks. EMI's can potentially just do some reporting to be on the safe side - especially an EU EMI has to comply with high regulation in EU and not with local non-EU regulation like in the UAE.

"however they are no high risk EMI" --------- Can you please elaborate so that my noob brain could be able to understand what you are saying?

"therefore it's not sure if they keep your account once you change your Citizenship to a Carinbbean CIB one." ------------ At what point will they know that Im no longer Indian citizen or I changed my citizenship?

You are a high risk client as you show up with a 0% tax company and a 0% tax passport from the Caribbean.

There is a huge risk involved for the EMI - especially if you buy a passport.

Don't even bother to argument against this or question it further with "why" - paysera charges you one time 100 EUR and monthly 10 EUR so they don't really earn much from you like a high risk EMI does with charging you % on inward and outward transfers. So Paysera could just say the whole structure is above there risk appetite and close down the account because they charge too less fees from you that it doesn't makes sense to accept the involved risk.

I like to bank with Paysera as they are a mainstream EMI that doesn't accept classic Offshore Jurisdictions but Tier 1 Offshore Jurisdictions like Dubai - however I know that banking a Dubai Company with German Passport with them is already the highest of there risk appetite and you are always on the edge of account closer as the Paysera guys knows exactly that they effectively bank a Dubai Free Zone Company with the same remarks like a Seychelles company for example.

All this headache you don't have with local UAE Banks as it's a full resident case and no red flags rise if you want to open a Bank Account for your RAK Free Zone - however even local UAE banks dosn't bother with opening you an account simply because of lack of substance and reputation. And if you don't have substance or reputation you should have at least some 7 figures bringing with you and if you don't have this either - well what's then in for the bank - nothing. Just headache with the Central Bank for not even really earning some money from the account.

 

[Hank Moody]

Minimum Balance and the fact that your business is not really operational at all without a Business Bank Account.


Not even 1000$ and RAKEZ is famous for charging you year by year higher price - the renewal rate isn't guaranteed.

Most likely yes - as they are an EMI and you basically try to hide money from India - that's not working with an EMI in the way it works with local UAE Banks. EMI's can potentially just do some reporting to be on the safe side - especially an EU EMI has to comply with high regulation in EU and not with local non-EU regulation like in the UAE.


You are a high risk client as you show up with a 0% tax company and a 0% tax passport from the Caribbean.

There is a huge risk involved for the EMI - especially if you buy a passport.

Don't even bother to argument against this or question it further with "why" - paysera charges you one time 100 EUR and monthly 10 EUR so they don't really earn much from you like a high risk EMI does with charging you % on inward and outward transfers. So Paysera could just say the whole structure is above there risk appetite and close down the account because they charge too less fees from you that it doesn't makes sense to accept the involved risk.

I like to bank with Paysera as they are a mainstream EMI that doesn't accept classic Offshore Jurisdictions but Tier 1 Offshore Jurisdictions like Dubai - however I know that banking a Dubai Company with German Passport with them is already the highest of there risk appetite and you are always on the edge of account closer as the Paysera guys knows exactly that they effectively bank a Dubai Free Zone Company with the same remarks like a Seychelles company for example.

All this headache you don't have with local UAE Banks as it's a full resident case and no red flags rise if you want to open a Bank Account for your RAK Free Zone - however even local UAE banks dosn't bother with opening you an account simply because of lack of substance and reputation. And if you don't have substance or reputation you should have at least some 7 figures bringing with you and if you don't have this either - well what's then in for the bank - nothing. Just headache with the Central Bank for not even really earning some money from the account.

$30k / 100k AED (thats 6 figure in AED) payment is ready to be made to my bank account in UAE if I have the account in the first place. I will receive this payment after opening the bank account. So will they consider / allow it and open bank account for me?

Would bank statements from India which shows monthly payments from Google / Apple (about $500 to $1000) have any positive impact on the success rate?

 

[Hank Moody]

I keep forgetting to ask: If I open a savings account in UAE then can I receive direct payments from Google/Apple or any other company directly to my savings account?

 

[NicolasMaduro]

Did you try Mashreq NEOBiz - Built for your business

 

[Fred]

Did you try Mashreq NEOBiz - Built for your business

Without substance again not possible - they are pretty ignorant so something customized like a 1 month stay confirmation of his Hotel wouldn't work either.

 

[Hank Moody]

Did you try Mashreq NEOBiz - Built for your business

I didnt try yet.

Without substance again not possible - they are pretty ignorant so something customized like a 1 month stay confirmation of his Hotel wouldn't work either.

How can I message you? I guess there is no PM option on this forum.

 

[NicolasMaduro]

Without substance again not possible - they are pretty ignorant so something customized like a 1 month stay confirmation of his Hotel wouldn't work either.

Would they accept any Company that has substance in UAE. Ie. owner is actual resident and have office in UAE. Do they accept RAK FZ or what is your experience?

 

[JimBeam]

Did you try Mashreq NEOBiz - Built for your business

Mashreq asked for either office lease contract (no flexidesk) OR my tenancy contract for me personally during the opening of my business bank account for my Dubai free zone company. I singed a paper that I'll provide tenancy contract within 90 days and they have opened the account. I rented a place and sent the contract and Ejari - and that was it. So without that - it's pretty hard as the bank wants you to have at least one address (either for company or for you personally). After account was open everything works for 3 years now without any issues. Hope this helps.

 

[kriyazen]

There are "consultants" in the UAE who can help create "substance/presence" and open bank account. In my case, the FZ (not RAK, though) hooked me up. I'd try to ask in the FZ.

 

[Marc Rich]

Hi, I setup a company in RAK Free Zone in UAE and got Visa + Emirates ID but few banks like Emirates NBD outright rejected the request to open bank account for this company (The talk was finished in 15 seconds lol). I applied online for few banks but no one called me at all.

I need bank account in UAE so that they dont report my transactions to my country (India). I dont even need any loan at all!

I plan to receive funds from Google + Apple + few payment gateways (I havent decided any particular payment geteway yet so Im open for suggestions) and save them to get a second citizenship of one of the countries like St Kitts & Nevis and I apparently I dont want my country to know about it. Few payments are pending from Advertisement Companies since 2 years and I didnt take it because I dont want to receive it in Indian bank accounts.

I need to know which bank will be best for my business? If I go with any Lithuanian EMI will it be a problem while applying for Second Citizenship for countries like St Kitts & Nevis?
Is Paysera good for my business and can I use it for applying for Second Citizenship?

Im too frustrated and losing my mind because of this stupid bank account thingy please help

If you are an Indian Citizen, I strongly do not recommend to go for St Kitts Citizenship, they have in the past alerted Indian authorities of Indians holding St Kitts Passport & this can happen again in the future. There are far more better options so that India will not be able to know you have a second passport.

 

[Fred]

There are "consultants" in the UAE who can help create "substance/presence" and open bank account. In my case, the FZ (not RAK, though) hooked me up. I'd try to ask in the FZ.

 

[Fred]

If you are an Indian Citizen, I strongly do not recommend to go for St Kitts Citizenship, they have in the past alerted Indian authorities of Indians holding St Kitts Passport & this can happen again in the future. There are far more better options so that India will not be able to know you have a second passport.

I know a lot of Indians holding St. Kitts passport - all of them did re-announced the Indian Passport as they are not allowed to hold dual-citizenship. So if they re-announce - Indian Authorities anyway know the deal.

The last thing you can recommend somebody is to f**k around with his home country by hiding your 2nd Citizenship if it's not allowed.

 

[Marc Rich]

I know a lot of Indians holding St. Kitts passport - all of them did re-announced the Indian Passport as they are not allowed to hold dual-citizenship. So if they re-announce - Indian Authorities anyway know the deal.

The last thing you can recommend somebody is to f**k around with his home country by hiding your 2nd Citizenship if it's not allowed.

yes, you must renounce and receive OCI in this case, no way around it. But many Chinese for example do not want to renounce, in this case they go for Vanuatu

 

[Hank Moody]

Can I receive money from companies like google etc in my savings account if they allow me to open any savings account without first opening a business/corporate account?

 

[Fred]

Can I receive money from companies like google etc in my savings account if they allow me to open any savings account without first opening a business/corporate account?

Depends on the amounts.

There are plenty of Pakistani Car Rental Guys having no business registered and using personal account however they make maybe 10k AED a month.

As soon as you receive more then 5-10k$ per month from Google and frequently every bank asks if you conduct business with your personal account they tell you to stop it and if you keep ignoring it they close you down.

 

[Hank Moody]

Depends on the amounts.

There are plenty of Pakistani Car Rental Guys having no business registered and using personal account however they make maybe 10k AED a month.

As soon as you receive more then 5-10k$ per month from Google and frequently every bank asks if you conduct business with your personal account they tell you to stop it and if you keep ignoring it they close you down.

I understand but what I dont understand is how is it considered as conducting business with personal account as Im only receiving money. A man gotta earn money and he saves in his savings account right? Its not like I will be paying salaries or commissions etc