Freelancers are independent professionals who are not tied down to a particular place of work and instead work from their homes. They have the freedom to choose their own working hours, decide how much they want to work, and choose what projects they want to take up.
The UAE is one of the most exciting markets for freelancers in the world right now and has one of the fastest-growing freelance economies. The UAE government has launched a number of successful initiatives to draw and keep talent in and around the UAE. Setting up and working remotely from the UAE has become easier due to the introduction of new visas and labour reforms. Additionally, a lot of the burdensome paperwork has been cut, enabling full foreign ownership of a company within the UAE. Many people began working virtually from here, taking advantage of the infrastructure.
The UAE is a desirable location to open a business because of how simple it is to get started and the absence of taxes. There is already a considerably large and agile community of freelancers, remote workers, and digital nomads who contribute to the tech ecosystems in UAE. These people can relocate to a place with fewer regulations, fewer taxes, and a great standard of living. As a result, UAE has grown in popularity, and it has one of the highest rates of independent professionals per capita in the entire world.
If you intend to work as a freelancer in the UAE, this article will educate you about its scope and give you some excellent success tips for choosing the right license.
The pandemic proved that remote distribution of work can be a successful model, thus expanding the market for freelancers, especially in the UAE. Professionals have opted for freelancing as a means of earning additional income and learning new skills.
According to the Freelancing in the MENA 2021 survey by Bayt.com, which covered countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan, 50.2% opined that freelancing offered more career opportunities.
According to a 2022 report by the same agency, 7 in 10 MENA employers are planning to hire freelancers in 2022. The biggest motivations for taking up freelance work include earning extra income (40%) and exploring more career opportunities (23%).
Digital Marketing (37%) and Information Technology (20%) are the fastest-growing industries for freelancers. With the UAE forging ahead as one of the top metaverse economies in the world with its Dubai Metaverse Strategy, these areas will grow exponentially in the UAE.
The Business Acceleration Platform, Expert Market, has put together a new study that showcases the best countries for becoming a freelancer. They compared eight factors—the cost of living, income tax, access to credit, average internet speed, transport networks, free wifi availability, cost of a coffee, and ease of starting a business—that would impact the quality of life for a self-employed person across 57 countries, and the UAE ranked the 4th in the world.
In the UAE, freelance professionals ranging from media and event planners to copywriters and PR specialists will find no dearth of opportunities provided that they have relevant experience. The following are some of the top trending freelance positions in the UAE.
With UAE being a hub for digital innovation, job openings are available in UAE for various digital marketing positions and specializations that include SEO Specialist,Certified Google Ads Expert, Lead Generation Expert, Programmatic advertising, Social media marketing specialist and Content Marketing Strategist.
The UAE has plenty of opportunities for tutors in different skills, ranging from foreign languages, vocal music, musical instruments, ballet, and drama. All you need to be is a qualified instructor in your chosen field. According to their credentials and the level of instruction—beginner, intermediate, or advanced—tutors in the UAE bill by the hour. For offline freelance classes, you need a residence visa too.
As the UAE is an SME hub, skilled and talented freelance graphic designers are much in demand as they are more affordable in comparison to full-timers for startups, small and medium-sized companies. A freelancer has to have an impressive portfolio of work to be able to win clients.
One of the most popular work categories amongst digital nomads, virtual assistants are growing in demand now as most office administration is done online or on the cloud. With a UAE freelance permit, you can work as a virtual assistant anywhere in the world.
As one of the luxury capitals of the world, the UAE has plenty of opportunities for skilled freelance photographers across industries like fashion, tourism, journalism, architecture and construction. Specialising in a niche adds more value to your portfolio.
Businesses prefer employing highly-skilled freelance web designers in the UAE proficient in the latest industry tools, as this way they are able to better afford top talent. The skills that companies look out for in freelance web designers in the UAE are HTML, CSS, Graphic Design, UX Design, and Responsive Design.
If you want to legally offer your services in the UAE, you need a valid freelance permit to work in the UAE. The UAE is a country made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah. Irrespective of which emirate your business license is issued from, you are free to work from anywhere in the UAE or even abroad.
As a freelancer who is just setting up your business in the UAE, you would be wiser to choose a UAE freelance license that is the cheapest. The Northern Emirates offer cheaper freelance licenses in comparison to Dubai or Abudhabi. An affordable freelance license with great visa benefits like that of the UAQ Free Trade Zone will help you cut down costs drastically as you test the market and gain your foothold in the UAE.
With a freelance license and visa from the UAQ FTZ that costs very little, you become a registered freelancer in the UAE, eligible to carry out your chosen profession with full legal support. A freelance license or work permit allows an individual to operate as a freelance professional and conduct business in one’s birth name instead of a brand name or company. This affordable UAE freelance license is designed for individuals who work in technology, media, and film sectors, and is issued to talent roles, creative roles, and selected administrative roles.
Conclusion: With great benefits, including hassle-free visa and licensing services, SME-friendly business policies, and a variety of business activities to choose from, Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ) offers a great, risk-free platform for your freelance business. But remember, the key to successful freelancing is to always know what you're worth and never lower your standards!
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