Where Your Business and You Can Move to for Permanent Residence: Options for Any Budget

According to the survey conducted at the end of April by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 27.1% of Ukrainians are ready to move to the EU or the USA.

Many entrepreneurs and highly qualified specialists are thinking about changing their place of residence. Managing Partner of K.A.C. Group Volodymyr Harkusha told “Minfin” about the four most common options for business emigration.

Where to Transfer the “Intellectual Asset”

New tax rules for start-ups, spelled out in the so-called “Bill 1210”, made many IT experts consider relocation.

For people with an “intellectual asset” who are not particularly attached to the conventional sweet heart of Zhytomyr, whose occupation is not tied to a specific point on the map, countries such as Estonia are recommended.

The category of such people includes not only IT specialists, but also designers, marketers, and representatives of other similar professions. There are two options for obtaining a residence permit (t?htajaline elamisluba) in Estonia in exchange for investments:

investments in a commercial enterprise in the amount of at least 65,000 euros;

investments in their own company of at least 16,000 euros (in this case, it is necessary to prove their usefulness to the Estonian economy).

In both cases, companies must exist at least four months prior to submission of documents. Having received a residence permit (renewed annually), you can apply for permanent residence after five years.

Estonia, along with the Czech Republic, is becoming a large IT hub, where specialists from the former USSR work and live.

Where to Start a Small Business

Slovakia is a place of re-domiciliation (transfer) of conventionally medium-sized businesses (together with their owners) from Ukraine. When an entrepreneur who does not have a business that allows them to move to the UK wants a measured and calm life, they choose Slovakia.

It is quite possible to organize an understandable and predictable business such as a hotel, restaurant, service station in this country. The applicant for a residence permit must provide proof of own funds – about 3,000 euros. In addition, the company’s account with a bank in Slovakia must contain:

about 4000 euros for a private entrepreneur;

about 21,000 euros for a company.

A residence permit is issued for three years, five years later you can apply for permanent residence, and ten years later – for citizenship. Since we are talking about business emigration, in order to extend the residence permit, you must bring about 13,000 euros per year of net profit, as well as confirm the purchase or rental of housing in Slovakia.

Emigration for the Rich

Business emigration for wealthy entrepreneurs who decided to change their place of residence radically can be made to such countries as Cyprus or Malta. The cost of the issue and the time frame for its solution differ from the first two options.

Cyprus. The candidate must have at their disposal a capital of 2,5 to 5 million euros, which they plan to invest in the Cyprus’ economy. A foreigner applying for a Cypriot residence permit must confirm the legality of his income with the relevant declarations.

You also need to provide a justification for how your money will work for the Cyprus’ economy. The holder of a Cypriot residence permit has the right to visa-free entry to 157 countries of the world and the right to reside, study and work in all EU countries.

The residence permit is issued for a year and is renewed annually. There are disadvantages:

before obtaining permanent residence, a foreigner cannot leave Cyprus for more than three months;

they cannot issue an invitation to enter Cyprus for relatives.

After receiving permanent residence, a foreigner is practically equal in rights with a Cypriot citizen, but they cannot take part in elections and apply for public office.

Malta. Another option for “wealthy emigration”. A foreigner must enter into an agreement with an Authorized Mandatory. After that, you need to issue a residence card for a period of 12 months, providing documents about yourself and your family, documents on the state of your funds and the sources of their origin.

An “entry ticket” for obtaining a Maltese residence permit is 650 thousand euros + 50 thousand for each family member to the National Economic Development Fund of Malta, which is not returned to the investor for the entire duration of their residence permit.

A kind of compromise can be the purchase of real estate in Malta in the amount of about 400 thousand euros. Still, the question of its implementation, in case of refusal from the Maltese residence permit, is decided only by the foreigner themselves.

In Malta, there are certain tax benefits for both individuals and companies registered there (refund of 34 taxes withheld).

Where to “Transport” the Business

An option whose purpose is not to radically change the territory of residence, but rather to change the tax residency of both personal and own business. We are talking about the United Arab Emirates. There are two types of visas available:

6-month multiple entry visa;

2-year visa. It differs from the first type by the requirement to confirm the availability of financial resources to support the applicant and their family and to pay an annual license fee.

A resident visa is granted for investments in real estate in the amount of AED 1,000,000 (about $272,3 thousand). An alternative is the creation of a company in a free economic zone. In this case, the budget starts at 70,000 AED (about $19 thousand).

In this case, a foreigner can obtain the status of a tax resident of the UAE, as a local company or individual. In both cases, this makes it possible to enjoy a zero-tax rate, as well as tax preferences under treaties for the avoidance of double taxation between the UAE and other countries. A residence permit is issued for three years with the condition of confirming the presence of a foreigner every two months.

If a citizen of Ukraine seriously decides for themselves to change their place of residence and, in general, decides on fundamental changes in their life, it is important to pay attention to technical issues.

The most basic one is the legal confirmation of the sources of income (with attached documents) with which they are going to start their business in a new place, as well as the issues of tax residency, when the question of where you are physically and where are your “points of vital interests” are will not matter.

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