Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Working in Dubai

Hi- I am an expat based in the UAE and am thinking of starting an online magazine. The content in the magazine will initially be available free of charge but I am going to get advertisers and charge for subscription eventually. What kind of visa will I need for that? I am currently on my husband's residence visa. Thank you.

Will you be appointing staff also?

Go for a a FreeZone package. If you don't need a physical office, then for < 20,000 AED you can get a virtual office + 4 visas.

Check freezone websites or visit them directly. Better dont fall in to the hands of agents.

When you make your webzine a paid service, you can think about payment-gateways from UAE based banks. They will assist you in getting through the formalities that time.

Thanks for your reply. Initially I will not be hiring any staff- I will be doing all the work myself.

Would I need to get a visa if I am not charging for subscription to the website, i.e. if I dont charge any money at all? Initially I want to get it up and running and see if I et enough of a readership before I start making bigger monetary investments. Please let me know what you think. Thanks again!

If you are not making money, then you can run this website from anywhere in the world. No visa required.

I don't think you would need any licensing to charge fer subscriptions either...not sure. I don't even think there is any license as such for online businesses, is there? you'd probbably need a license tho for offering big advertisment packages cuz the companies mite probably ask for physical contracts.

Best of luck, start the website and see what happens
I could be your first visitor

all the best to your plans, that is a great idea

Thanks! Still trying to figure out how I can make some money via this ezine as I don't have a very good sense of the use of online advertising in the UAE. If anyone has any information on that it would be much appreciated.