Internationalisation & foreign offices
Expand abroad without losing control. Market-entry strategy, corporate structure, licences, taxation and compliance across Europe and the Middle East — Dubai upcoming — so distance never becomes loss of control.
The challenge
Opening a foreign office looks like a market call; in reality it is a decision about structure, tax and control. Free zone or mainland, which licence, where tax residence falls, how to meet economic substance, who signs and who is accountable: get any node wrong and it costs months and credibility. The real risk is not the launch — it is the aftermath: an office that drifts from headquarters, decisions taken without the centre, tax and reputational exposures that surface too late. Distance, without a design, becomes loss of control.
Our approach
We start with the right question: why this market, with which operating model. Then we design the structure — free zone vs mainland, licences, shareholders and signatories — aligned to the country's tax, economic substance and compliance. We set an explicit cross-border governance: delegations, spend thresholds, reporting and cadences that keep headquarters and the foreign office on the same footing. We land the launch (bank, premises, first hires) and transfer the know-how. One senior counterpart from strategy to execution, with Swiss rigour.
Why Krymax
We do not sell shelf-company set-up: we bring direction. Our roots are in large-scale energy-infrastructure programmes delivered across Europe and the Middle East — environments where cross-border governance, local authorities and real substance were the norm, not theory. We work with a few clients at a time, hands-on and fully confidential. The outcome we aim for: a foreign office active and governed within months, headquarters and office aligned, and a set-up that holds up to auditors, banks and tax — with no dependence on us.
Market-entry assessment: market selection, entry model and a decision-grade business case
Corporate-structure design: free zone vs mainland, licences and shareholder-signatory set-up
Tax and economic-substance map: residence, required substance and cross-border risks
Compliance and KYC: regulatory requirements, anti-money-laundering and recurring filings
Cross-border governance model: delegations, thresholds, reporting and control cadences
Operational launch plan: bank, premises, first hires and know-how transfer
- — You are weighing a new market in Europe or the Middle East and want to know if it truly pays off
- — You must choose between free zone and mainland and refuse to discover licence or substance limits later
- — You already run a foreign office but decisions and cash escape the centre's control
- — Dubai or wider MENA entry: you need structure, tax and compliance done right from day one
Free zone or mainland: which is better?
It depends on activity, clients and tax. A free zone offers full foreign ownership and fast set-up but limits the local market; mainland opens the domestic market and public tenders under different requirements. We start from your operating model and choose the structure that holds up to tax, economic substance and growth — not the quickest to incorporate.
How do you stop a foreign office drifting out of control?
With explicit cross-border governance before opening: delegations and signatories, spend thresholds, periodic reporting and review cadences that keep headquarters and the office on the same footing. Distance is managed with clear rules and data, not improvised trust.
How long does opening an office in Dubai take?
It depends on the licence, sector and bank. A realistic target is an active, governed office within months: we settle structure and compliance upstream to avoid stacking delays on licences, substance and account opening. We give real timelines case by case, with no promises that do not hold.