Offshore bank account in Dubai

Offshore account opening

The banking world has become more complicated in the past few years. It is quite difficult to open an offshore bank account nowadays. Banks all over the world implemented new standards of compliance and due diligence, keeping records and minimizing the risks.

Corporate banking has become a real challenge. Is there any way out?

Definitely yes. As long as there is global business and demand for offshore bank accounts, the solutions will be there.

Offshore company bank account in Dubai

Many foreign companies are willing to open Dubai offshore bank accounts. All UAE banks have attractive facilities for international business: stable rate of local currency against USD, online banking, no limits on money repatriation.

However, if you want to open a UAE offshore bank account, we recommend opening a UAE business for it.

Why we don’t recommend you apply for an offshore bank account in Dubai for your overseas company?

1. Banks will carry out more checkups of your company and business - it will end up in waste of time and possible rejection of the account. Bank accounts of international companies are considered as a “high risk” category by UAE banks.
2. You will need to legalize all incorporation documents of your foreign company in the UAE embassy in the country of origin and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Dubai - this procedure is quite expensive. It costs about 800 USD to make full legalization of only 1 document. You will need about 5 of them.
3. Successful ratio of opening a UAE bank account for a foreign entity is generally very low. Banks prefer not to take the risks.

How to open offshore bank account in Dubai

The best way to do it is a business setup in uae. Bank account opening procedure in this case will be easier, faster and cheaper.

Offshore company formation in UAE is the cheapest way of business setup in Dubai. If you open a RAK offshore company, you will be able to apply for an account to the following local banks:

• Mashreq bank
• RAK BANK
• Emirates Islamic Bank

In case you opt for a business setup in UAE free zones, there will be even more bank options:

• Emirates NBD
• First Abu Dhabi Bank
• Mashreq bank
• RAK BANK
• Emirates Islamic Bank
• ADIB 

Establishing a UAE mainland company is the fastest option in terms of bank account opening, but more expensive in annual maintenance. In rare cases, this option requires a local citizen as a sponsor or service agent.

Offshore bank account UAE - what documents are required?

If you have registered a UAE company and are preparing for a bank account application, we recommend applying to 2-3 different banks to make sure your account goes through at least 1-2 of them.

You need to prepare the following documents and information:

1. Personal bank statement - this will show your source of funds
2. If you have another company, prepare a corporate statement and ownership documents. It is always a big plus if you have existing business out of the UAE
3. Proof of residency - recent utility bill or any document from municipality confirming your address
4. Personal CV with relevant experience
5. Business description - short document which will explain the nature of your business and how you are planning to conduct it
6. Estimation of annual turnover and initial deposit to the account to be opened
7. Names of potential clients and supplies and the countries where the business will be conducted

We recommend contacting business setup consultants in Dubai to help evaluate your case and identify the banks where the account opening for you is most likely to be successful.

Offshore bank account Dubai - maintenance

Once your account is opened, it is required to deposit a minimum balance in order to “activate” the account. The amount of minimum balance is always discussed at the initial meeting with your bank account opening officer. Business consultants in UAE are also usually aware of this requirement. 

Your account balance may fall below the required minimum. In this case the bank will charge you some monthly fees for account maintenance. It could be about 10-100 USD depending on the bank and the type of account. 

We do not recommend keeping your account still after transferring the funds to it. Passive accounts often get “frozen” by the banks, because there are no transactions.

Account opening - by yourself or with consultants?

You can definitely prepare all the documents and go to any branch of the bank that you prefer and apply for your account there. 

However, the success of your efforts might be zero - probably minimum balance requirements are too high, or the bank does not open accounts for the type of company that you have or simply considers your business activity as a “high risk”. 

There are many more factors you can face which will make account opening long and inefficient. 

Normally the consultants will be able to:

1. Explain how to open bank account in Dubai
2. Identify the most suitable banks for your particular business and your unique requirements
3. Give references of trusted bankers in a few banks
4. Do follow ups and control the process of account opening