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In This Story
- 01The False Start That Cost Him $1,300
- 02Why GenZone Felt Different Before a Penny Changed Hands
- 03Paperwork, Handled
- 04From “Maybe in 12 Months” to Done in Under Two Weeks
- 05The Detail That Turned Anxiety Into Ease
- 06A Human Being Waiting at the Medical Centre
- 07Beyond Dubai: Building the Bigger Structure
- 08Why Dan Became an Advocate
“Spoiler alert: it was awesome.” That is how Dan Hunter sums up moving his business from the UK to Dubai with GenZone. By his own account the service “exceeded my expectations,” and coming from someone who had every reason to be cautious, that is high praise.
Dan invited our co-founder Kevin McKenzie onto his podcast so people could hear, in his words, “in a bit more of a long form way exactly what that process was like for me.” What follows is his story, told in his own words wherever possible.
If you’d rather hear it in his voice, the conversation plays at the top of this page. Prefer to read? The full story continues below.
The False Start That Cost Him $1,300
Before he ever came across GenZone, Dan had signed up with another company, one that looked legitimate on the surface. He paid $1,300 just to start the process, with the full job quoted at around $4,000 to $5,000. Then the entire thing went nowhere.
“The way I framed it in the video is I said, oh, I got scammed. Did I get scammed? Maybe.”
Dan Hunter
“It was a mistake, and I just cut my losses.”
Dan Hunter
Looking back, he can see the plan was wrong from the start. The agency wanted to set him up in Shams, the Sharjah media free zone, a structure that did not fit what his business needed.
“Now that I know just a tiny bit about what I’m doing, the solution they were proposing to me was nonsense anyway.”
Dan Hunter
It is a familiar trap. An agency without genuine local expertise defaults to whatever free zone it happens to know, whether or not it suits the client. Choosing the right free zone is one of the most consequential early decisions in a Dubai move, and getting it wrong quietly costs founders time, money and momentum. Dan had lost all three before he found us. If you are still comparing providers, our guide to the top business setup consultants in Dubai sets out what to look for.
Why GenZone Felt Different Before a Penny Changed Hands
What struck Dan first was that the value started before the invoice did.
“Even before a penny had changed hands, you gave me a ton of basically free advice. This is what we’re going to do, this is how it’s going to work, this is how it’s going to look, and boom, boom, boom. It just went like clockwork.”
Dan Hunter
By the end of the first call, he had made up his mind.
“We had our initial call and I just thought, yeah, 100%, this is it.”
Dan Hunter
The price sealed it, not because it was the cheapest, but because it made sense.
“We talked price, which I actually thought was quite reasonable. There’s obviously that trade-off between cost versus value, and I think the value is also exceptional as well.”
Dan Hunter
That is the distinction that matters. Dan was not shopping for the lowest number. He was shopping for certainty. GenZone gave him both a fair price and the confidence that the plan behind it was sound.
Paperwork, Handled
For most people, the phrase “UAE government paperwork” is enough to induce a headache. Dan’s experience was the opposite.
“I didn’t really have to do anything. You asked me a bunch of questions, and I filled out a couple of forms. It took me half an hour, and I sent the forms back.”
Dan Hunter
Our operations team, with a dedicated coordinator on his file, took care of everything else. Even when a hiccup appeared, it barely registered as one: one of the authorities kept rejecting a document because Dan had not signed it correctly.
“Which was my fault, nothing to do with you. But imagine doing that on my own. Imagine just trying to deal with the authorities when I haven’t signed this thing correctly.”
Dan Hunter
He put his finger on exactly why it never turned into a problem.
“Where your superpower lies, from what I can tell, is that Dubai works a lot, especially within government institutions, on who you know and how you can expedite a process. If you’re not plugged into that system, I think things can just take forever.”
Dan Hunter
“Because we’re partnered with these free zone authorities and we bring them so many clients, they know us by name. Whenever there’s an issue, instead of being stuck in the middle of paperwork, we get you to the top. We follow up, we make sure it’s done properly, and we tell them we need this done for this date.”
Kevin McKenzie, GenZone Co-Founder
“That went very smoothly.”
Dan Hunter
Behind that smoothness is more work than most clients ever see, and that is by design.
“It is a small boutique team, but at the same time there are actually a lot of moving parts. We don’t like our clients to know that, because that’s not your job. Your job is just to come here, enjoy, make your own money with your own business, and not worry about setting up.”
Kevin McKenzie, GenZone Co-Founder
“The operation you run is deceptively complicated. It’s a well-oiled machine.”
Dan Hunter
From “Maybe in 12 Months” to Done in Under Two Weeks
When Dan first spoke to us, he was not even sure he wanted to move quickly.
“Originally when we spoke, I was thinking, well, I might not do this for 12 months.”
Dan Hunter
Our advice was simple: get the company set up now. There is little downside to having the structure in place and a great deal of upside to being ready when you are. As Dan puts it, “you worked with my time frames,” and from there the pace picked up sharply.
“You guys were great in terms of just pressing the accelerator pedal and getting everything done in record time.”
Dan Hunter
Once his forms were in, there was a pause of about a week, and then his company was set up. His residency followed fast.
“I don’t think it was even another two weeks before I had my residency. Everything set up.”
Dan Hunter
- 01Forms sentHalf an hour of his time
- 02About a weekThen the company is set up
- 03Under two weeksHis residency is issued
- 04DoneEverything set up
Dan’s timeline matches the one Kevin walks every client through.
“Within one week, have your business registered. One week, entry permit, flying to Dubai. One week residency and banking, or two weeks, depending. And done.”
Kevin McKenzie, GenZone Co-Founder
That is why a full Dubai company setup with GenZone typically takes 3 to 4 weeks from start to finish, and why, for Dan, the machinery behind it stayed invisible.
The Detail That Turned Anxiety Into Ease
Dan is honest about the human side of relocating, and it is the part of his story that lands hardest.
When he booked his flights, we sent him a pack of documents, including a map of the airport and a photograph of exactly where to go.
“It was like even an idiot like me couldn’t mess it up.”
Dan Hunter
He needed it. By the time he landed in Dubai, he had not slept or eaten for 24 hours.
“I’m not a great flyer, so I was super anxious. I was in a new place, and all I had to do was just look at the document, and it’s like, oh, boom, that’s where I’m going. It was so simple.”
Dan Hunter
“You don’t realise the value in them until you actually need them.”
Dan Hunter
On paper, an airport map is trivial. After 24 hours without sleep in a new country, it is everything.
“Even I managed to do it, so it was a very, very simple process.”
Dan Hunter
A Human Being Waiting at the Medical Centre
The support did not end at arrivals. Every Dubai residency requires a medical exam, and Dan was still strung out from the flight when his came round.
“I was like, oh man, I’ve got to do my medical, which you arranged again in record time. I asked for a morning appointment, and it was arranged for the next day in this beautiful facility.”
Dan Hunter
And he did not face it alone.
“I was met at the medical centre by a human being, somebody that works for GenZone. He dealt with the appointment. I didn’t have to do anything, I just tagged along and he sorted everything out, all the paperwork, all the appointment, then took me to do my biometrics. It could not have been simpler.”
Dan Hunter
That single touch of a real person, physically there, handling the process while the client simply follows, is what elevated the whole experience for Dan.
“Just having that kind of chaperone there, it felt like I’d paid $100,000 for the service.”
Dan Hunter
Beyond Dubai: Building the Bigger Structure
Dan’s ambitions did not stop at a UAE company. He needed his business to work across borders, and that is where Kevin, the man Dan calls “Mr Fix It in Dubai,” went further.
“He’s also helped me set up a tax structure for a US business that integrates legally with the Dubai company. There’s a whole bunch of stuff we could talk about, maybe for another one.”
Dan Hunter
“As I say, I call Kevin Mr Fix It. Anything you need in Dubai, he can sort you out.”
Dan Hunter
A Dubai company is powerful on its own, but for globally mobile founders the real advantage comes from designing how it connects to the rest of their operation, tax, accounting and compliance included, so the whole structure holds together cleanly rather than being stitched from mismatched parts.
Why Dan Became an Advocate
By the end of the process, Dan had gained more than a company and a visa.
“That’s why I’m such an advocate. That’s why I wanted to get you on the podcast. I wanted to meet you and just say thanks, man.”
Dan Hunter
“It really went so smoothly that I’m a real advocate for you and what you do.”
Dan Hunter
For Kevin, it struck a personal note.
“It means a lot to me, honestly. When I first did this process for myself, I didn’t use an agency because I didn’t trust them, and it was terrible. We wasted money, wasted time, and I was always thinking, I wish I could have someone that could help me with the process. I always wanted to give a good experience for people.”
Kevin McKenzie, GenZone Co-Founder
Coming from someone who had already lost money to a provider that let him down, Dan’s endorsement carries weight. He did not become an advocate because the process was cheap or fast in the abstract. He became one because, at every anxious moment where something could have gone wrong, GenZone had already thought of it.
That is what a boutique, end-to-end service is meant to feel like. And across the 2,300+ companies we have formed for founders in 50+ countries, it is what it does feel like.
Thinking About Your Own Move to Dubai?
Dan’s story is not unusual for our clients; it is the standard we hold ourselves to. Whether you are moving to Dubai from the UK or from anywhere else, GenZone handles the company formation, the free zone selection, the residency, the medical, the banking and the on-the-ground welcome, so you can focus on your business instead of the bureaucracy.
And if, like Dan, your business reaches beyond the UAE, we can take you further. Alongside our Dubai service, GenZone also provides premium US LLC formation for globally mobile entrepreneurs, with US banking support, Stripe applications and non-resident registration, structured to work in harmony with your Dubai company rather than against it.
If you are ready to make your own move, start your formation on the GenZone portal. Just like Dan, you can rely on our expertise, our network and our commitment to getting it right the first time.