In recent years, e-Residency (or digital residency) has been made available in several countries. Notably, Dubai and Estonia were among the first to make it possible to digitize one’s identity and residency. After all, technology and digitization are two of the crucial elements of the new era.
There are many countries that are digitizing not only in terms of identity but also in terms of services.Â
We, therefore, examine the difference between VCC in Dubai and E-Residency in Estonia, so that you can understand the power of digitization.
What is an e-Residency?
By definition, the e-Residency represents a digital identity that is officially issued by your government. It allows you to access all the services of a given country. For example, in Estonia, you can use government services and a transparent business environment.
This comes in handy, especially for digital entrepreneurs, who can run their company online without having to move physically and frequently. You can take advantage of automated online banking, virtual office, and accounting solutions.
In Dubai, however, this is called Dubai Virtual Commercial City. This provides a business license and a range of providers customized to your type of business. Thus, entrepreneurs can do business in the Emirates through their own digital portal.Â
Structural differences
The differences between the e-Residency in Estonia and Dubai are evident from a structural point of view and from the way in which the various legal and commercial environments operate.
In fact, UAE often requires commercial licenses that have to be renewed periodically. On the other hand, Estonia does not require particular renewals. Consequently, in the UAE there is the limitation of having to renew your license from time to time, having to maintain good relationships with the government.
On the other hand, this system allows you to quickly close a business if you no longer want to follow the entrepreneurial path.
Otherwise, in Estonia, it can take up to 6 months to close your business.
VCC and e-Residency main differences
The main difference between the Dubai Virtual Commercial City and the e-Residency lies in the extent of the program. The Dubai VCC, in fact, is limited to selected countries only.
On the other hand, the e-Residency accepts applications from all countries. Therefore, whoever manages to obtain the e-Residency can carry out his activity without any limitation to a specific economic area, having also the right to digital identity to interact with legal and commercial environments.
Also, the VCC foresees only one shareholder, while the e-Residency has no limits on this aspect. Â
Applications
Another difference can be seen in the applications of the two digital identities.
Dubai VCC offers the online application and in-person identity verification at more than 100 locations worldwide. It requires you to validate your ID card and complete a background check. It also does not automatically grant residency or visitation rights and does not require you to visit the issuing country to start a company.
The limitation is that you must be a resident and pay taxes in one of the selected countries.
The Estonian e-Residency, on the other hand, works like this:
- you can make an online application and an in-person collection of your digital ID;
- it requires identity validation and a background check;
- it does not grant residency or visitation rights;
- it does not require you to visit the issuing country to start your business;
- you can be a resident of any country in the world.
Therefore, the main difference lies in the origin of one’s residence.
Conclusions
The digitization of government processes and identity is very useful for various countries, mainly those that want to develop from a technological point of view.
Such tools make it possible to optimize times and improve bureaucratic procedures.
For more information, just follow the useful links below.
Useful Links
- VCC Dubai
- e-Residency Estonia
The e-Residency in Estonia and Dubai Virtual Commercial City are digital identities provided for individuals and entrepreneurs
