Redomiciliation to Qatar

27.06.2024

• Tax Preferences 
• English law 
• Possibility of obtaining a residence permit in Qatar
• Access to international markets
• Steps to Redomicile to the QFC
• Costs of Redomiciliation to Qatar are 

Continuing our series of articles on the redomiciliation, today we will discuss a rather exotic jurisdiction such as Qatar.

Qatar is a small peninsula located near Saudi Arabia and the UAE and it is one of the richest countries in the world due to its significant oil and gas reserves. 

If the jurisdiction of the company's current registration allows outbound redomiciliation of company, than such “relocation” could be possible into the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). QFC is an onshore financial centre located in Doha, the capital of Qatar. It is quite an attractive place for international investors due to its robust financial institutions and stable and innovative economy. Furthermore, the redomiciliation to QFC offers several advantages, which we will describe below. 

Tax Preferences 

In Qatar, corporate income tax is levied at a rate of 10% on profits earned by a company within Qatar. Therefore, Qatar does not impose taxes on worldwide income, including dividends received by the company abroad and the disposal of shares/stocks abroad.  

However, it is important to consider that taxes may need to be paid in the country where the company paying out the dividends or whose shares/stocks are being disposed of is incorporated. In such cases, it is advisable to check whether a double taxation treaty exists between Qatar and the foreign jurisdiction, as such treaties may provide preferential tax rates compared to national legislation. To date, the Qatari government has concluded double taxation avoidance agreements with more than 80 countries.

English law 

A legal, judicial and regulatory framework of Qatar is based on English common law, with an independent court, regulatory tribunal and dispute-resolution centre.

Possibility of obtaining a residence permit in Qatar

Director, shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries can obtain a residence permit after the redomiciliation to Qatar. It is not required to reside permanently in Qatar for obtaining and maintaining this permit. However, the director will need to be regularly present in Qatar to obtain a work permit and a work visa: with a travel-intensive job, visiting Qatar at least once every few months (currently, every six months) for a period of a few days (preferably from 5 to 7 days) is recommended. 

Access to international markets

The redomiciliation of a company to the QFC will enable the structuring of business in Qatar and access to the markets of the Middle East and North Africa.

Steps to Redomicile to the QFC

The redomiciliation process is complex and requires gathering documents and information from both the jurisdiction the company is leaving and the jurisdiction to which the company is moving, in this case, Qatar. 

Thus, in the jurisdiction from which the company is redomiciling, normally it will be necessary to prepare corporate documents, notify creditors of the redomiciliation, conduct an audit, and obtain certificates from state authorities confirming that the company has no outstanding taxes, insurance premiums, or other obligations. Once all the required documents have been collected, the registrar will issue consent for the company to redomicile to another jurisdiction.

In Qatar, it will also be necessary to gather documents for the QFC to issue a Certificate of Continuation to the redomiciled company. 

Therefore, the basic redomiciliation process to the QFC consists of several stages:

Preliminary Stage 

At this stage, preliminary negotiations are being conducted with the QFC, and a list of necessary documents for the redomiciliation is being determined. The QFC provides the requirements that must be met to successfully complete the redomiciliation of the company to Qatar.

Additionally, before the company is registered, the QFC conducts Enhanced Due Diligence on the company and its ultimate beneficiaries to ensure there are no sanction risks*. This due diligence is carried out by lawyers engaged by the QFC to make a decision on the company's redomiciliation to the QFC.

Main Stage 

At this stage, an application for company registration is directly submitted to the QFC, along with all necessary documents. Registration fees and application fees are paid, and if the QFC has no further questions, it issues a Certificate of Continuation.

Subsequently, the company is going to be deregistered from various registries in its original jurisdiction based on the Certificate of Continuation. After this process, it can be considered that the company redomiciliation procedure has been successfully completed.

Costs of Redomiciliation to Qatar are 

1. Expenses directly related to the company’s redomiciliation procedure: 
   • these include fees for consultants and auditors in both the originating and destination jurisdictions;
      
   • the cost of auditors in the originating jurisdiction for the preparation of financial statements and obtaining certificates confirming the payment of all taxes to the state budget.
      
2. Expenses related to the maintenance of the company after its redomiciliation to Qatar:
   • ongoing expenses include bank account maintenance;
      
   • office rental costs (the company must have office space, which must be located in one of the buildings designated by the QFC);
      
   • the costs of a local service provider (in the QFC, a holding company must either: (i) use the services of an authorized QFC corporate service provider or (ii) the secretary and/or director must be residents of Doha at the time of submitting the application for the redomiciliation; there is a mandatory requirement for the director to have a Qatar ID for subsequent work in the company);
      
   • the cost of an accountant;
      
   • the costs of the annual license (both for holding company and for companies engaged in other types of activities);
      
   • the costs of the electronic keys / Computer Card;
      
   • the costs of the legalization of corporate documents (Qatar is not a party to the Hague Convention regarding document legalization, therefore, consular legalization will be required).

In the following articles, we will discuss the features of other jurisdictions where the redomiciliation is possible.

Authors and contacts: 

• Egor Zelianouski, LL.M, senior lawyer at REVERA law group - e.zelianouski@revera.legal
• Darya Sadovskaya, lawyer at REVERA law group - d.sadovskaya@revera.legal

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