Software house in Aruba

[publicduende]

Hello,

I am a software developer, and have been working as a consultant in the City of London for a number of years. Very predictably, I have grown tired of the relentless rat race for a higher rate, or a less boring/problematic job.

Together with my wife, I would love to withdraw from this lifestyle and move on. I would like to set up a small software house in a place that is sunny, business friendly, and allows for selling products and services internationally, possibly using the Web and occasional business travel.

For as much as I have read and seen, Aruba seems to tick all boxes, and then some.

The software house would initially be a limited company or sole proprietorship, employing myself and my wife, but aI don't exclude the possibility of hiring local workforce and/or freelancers sourced from known communities/networks.

Does anybody have experience in setting one such company in Aruba? Any advice, or further information would be greatly appreciated.

My current contract is due to expire in June, so this could happen fairly soon.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Vanni

[lizzardo]

You might look at the category on the top of this list.

Arubalisa has posted this link about business:

http://www.arubachamber.com/establishing.htm Establishing a Business in Aruba
See details regarding "authorized capital" or "so-called minimum issued capital."

The other think is to consult an attorney here that specializes in
this sort of thing. There was a link that I think she had but can't
seem to find it at the moment.

Thanks Lisa for all the info!

[Andrea J.]

to ad to lizzardo's post and the reading material she gave the link to............
a work permit is very very difficult to come by, almost impossible.

a residency permit is difficult, but not as difficult as a work permit.

i have questions too
ever been to aruba?
aruba is a great place to visit.

many residents Arubans and non arubans get quite antsy.
sometimes they feel isolated.
it can be compared to "cabin fever".
the island is small, actually tiny compared to many places.
there are about 90,000 full time residents.

lots of folks that are living there as i said, get itchy to get off island every so often.

if i were in your shoes, i would go to aruba for an extended stay 3 months or so and then make a decision about pursuing a career, business and residency there.

andrea
QUOTE=publicduende;165545]Hello,

I am a software developer, and have been working as a consultant in the City of London for a number of years. Very predictably, I have grown tired of the relentless rat race for a higher rate, or a less boring/problematic job.

Together with my wife, I would love to withdraw from this lifestyle and move on. I would like to set up a small software house in a place that is sunny, business friendly, and allows for selling products and services internationally, possibly using the Web and occasional business travel.

For as much as I have read and seen, Aruba seems to tick all boxes, and then some.

The software house would initially be a limited company or sole proprietorship, employing myself and my wife, but aI don't exclude the possibility of hiring local workforce and/or freelancers sourced from known communities/networks.

Does anybody have experience in setting one such company in Aruba? Any advice, or further information would be greatly appreciated.

My current contract is due to expire in June, so this could happen fairly soon.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Vanni[/QUOTE]

[lizzardo]

I think it's a good idea making a major move anywhere to go to
the place for an extended stay to see if you like it. Very good advise.

You can stay up to 6 months w/o filing for residency.

[publicduende]

Hi Lizzardo and Andrea,

Thanks for the prompt replies, good information and good points. I have never actually visited Aruba, but my wife is Colombian and I have lived in Medellin, Cartagena and San Andres. The latter gave me a taste of what it is to live in a warm and fairly laid-back Caribbean island.

From what I have read so far, Aruba sports a more international community and probably has better business infrastructures. One thing I probably didn't make very clear from my first post, I will be developing software from a home office for the first few months, and will have a good chance to evaluate the pros and cons of living in a small, isolated island with a tiny "cultural footprint" compared to that of London UK.

As for getting off every now and then, I don't think I will have problems. Most if not all of my clients will be in US or Latin America, so I will be probably fly away at least once a month. To that we could add at least two yearly visits to Monica's family in Medellin.

To be absolutely honest, the idea of Aruba only struck me a few months ago. Aruba is being advertised quite heavily here in London ("one happy island", "the oooh factor", etc.), and that probably helped conjuring up of a better alternative to San Andres or more "complicated" Caribbean places like Jamaica.

One last question: Lizzardo says that I can stay up to 6 months without filing for residency. Considering I'm a EU citizen (I'm actually from Italy), would that amount to the standard 3-month tourist Visa + a 3-month extension. I have a limited company already set-up in the UK. If I were to work for UK and european clients during my stay in Aruba, would that count as work and therefore be illicit under my non-work Visa?

Thanks very much for your help, and look forward to hearing from you again,
Vanni

[Andrea J.]

i cannot even begin to address your last question
hopefully liz or one of our community members can better address your situation.

many many of us would love to be on island for extended periods of time

GOOGLE "Aruba DIMAS" and see if that bring up any info.
Also too, one of our member Eagle Beach Boy is a Canadian that spends about 3 months on island. you may want to private message him and ask pertinent immigration and visa questions to him. he is retired and does not run any kind of a business there.
EBB's 1st name is gary.

[publicduende]

Thanks Andrea, the very fact that you tendered your help is much appreciated. Beyond any kind information you or your forum friends may want to provide me with, I should really start planning a nice visit, perhaps in a rented flat...

Vanni

[Andrea J.]

your welcome

go to Apartments category

see what is listed

i have been into QUALITY APARTMENTS and they are quite nice.


Go to aruba for a few month, have a blast, fall in love with the place, get a work permit, become very successful, and invite my husband and i to be the caretakers at your beach villa :-)

[malbols]

How about somewhere like Costa Rica ? Beautiful country , amazing people .

[lizzardo]

I think the best suggestion would be to come to the island for
a stay. Meet with an attorney here and find out from them
what the specifics are for your business and if it would
work out for you.

The issue of staying on the island for 6 months is not very
clear (at least to me) right now. I believe that if you
could be cleared for 6 months at the airport or they
would clear you for 3 month and then you would have
to do some simple paperwork for the extra 3 months.

I do not exactly know what they look at and how they decide
at the airport immigrations.

I am very careful on these forums not to make 'absolute'
rules that apply because every case is different and I
am not a residency attorney.