Starting a Business in Sudan: The Business Name
by Youngsoo
This summarizes the procedures and costs associated with setting up a Business Name (Isim Amal) in Sudan, and with it getting residential permits.
I have written it from my own actual experience.
I registered the business as:“Candaca Nubian House and Tourism”.
Background
We had been in Khartoum for three years, with me having a student’s visa through the Korean Instute of foreign Languages (KIFL). Our visas were due to expire on the 19 May 2009. Our passports had just been renewed and two of my sons had just received their own passports, as previously they had been on their mother’s. This meant us paying a bit more than we would have otherwise. In January I first started consulting lawyers about setting up a business.
There are three types of business in Sudan.
1. The Company: Here you need a Sudanese Partner, you can make branches elsewhere in Sudan, you pay more tax, but you can have shareholders and it can provide an ‘Investment Card’.
2. The ‘Business Name’: This is a small business which does not need a local partner. It seems it can give either an ‘Investment Card’ or a ‘Labour Card’. I chose to have a ‘Labour Card’.
3. The local authority Business Name (Mahalia): The procedures are similar, but you need authorization by the local commercial community.
Registration of Business NameDate / Cost
2009 Mar 22 / Consultation with lawyer (Dr Hamid)
March 25 / I met the lawyer again and provided these documents:
· A letter of release from KIFl,
· A copy of my passport,
· 2 photos,
· A Business Plan with the reason and purpose for the business (in my case I said I was interested in Tourism in Sudan), with details on past business experience,
· A letter of recommendation from a Sudanese citizen (which the lawyer wrote),
· Three possible names for the company
March 29 / I had to sign a letter for the lawyer
March 31 / I received a ‘Business Name’ certificate in both English and Arabic
April 1 / I paid 1500SDG for fees and the lawyer’s expenses / 1500
Note: Ask for copies of the lawyer’s receipts, and be clear about the fees you are expected to pay for the work you require, from the beginning. What you want is the Company Certificate, a Labor Card (or Investment Card) and the Certified Company Letter.
I still needed to get a stamp with the Business Name on it and letterhead paper with a logo.
Labor Card (Kart amal) and Visa
April 28 / I met Mahumud (an agent) and gave him:· A copy of the Business Name certificate in Arabic
· A photocopy of my passport
· A letter from me in Arabic authorising the agent to work on my behalf for the Labor Card
· Two photos
May 10 / I received a phone call from the Agent asking for 507.50SDG for the ‘Employment Authorization’ Card (Labor Card)’. I gave him 510SDG. / 510
May 14 / I received the Labor Card from Mahumud and after negotiation I gave him 350SDG (he first wanted 500SDG) for his work. A friend and I then went to the Immigration Office in the Ministry of Investment and asked what documents were need to get a Business Name Residential Permit (visa).
· AIDS tests for me and my wife (200SDG each). The result took 2days. Next I needed the following documents:
· Completed forms for visa extensions,
· The Labor Card copy and the original,
· The Business Name Certificate copy,
· A letter asking for the visa, written on the letterhead paper with the company stamp,
· A letter from KIFL,
· 2 photos,
· A photocopy of the passports
· A copy of the current visa / 350
200
200
May 17 / I got the ‘Certified Letter’ of the Company. This is available from the Commercial General Registrar at the Ministry of Justice. This letter is to prove that your company is registered and legal. In order to get the Certified Letter, we wrote a letter requesting it and I went with a friend. Without his help it woould have been impossible. Many times they said to us “go here, go there!” / 50
May 18 / Mujamire (a helper) suggested that we should apply for just my passport first as otherwise it would be too complicated.
I wrote a letter to Immigration only mentioning my name. We took this to the Ministry of Investment Immigration Office at Mogran, Khartoum. With the documents we included the result of the AIDS test and the letter. The cost for the work permit Residental Permit was 310SDG.
On the same day (late in the afternoon) I got a one year visa, valid like the Labor Card until 10 May 2010. / 310
May 19 / I next applied for a visa for my wife and first son. The papers were just like mine, but I added a copy of my new visa and a copy of the letter from KIFL which mentioned all the family members. I went to the Burri Immigration office because the Ministry of Investment was 60SDG more expensive than the Burri office. My wife and son’s visa cost was 409SDG. I saved some money so I gave to 50SDG to Mujamire. / 409
50
May 20 / I went to renew the car license at Omdurman Saura. After that went to Burri to pick up the visas. My wife and first son’s visa was the same like mine. I had to apply separately for the other two boys as they have their own passports. I wrote a letter to Immigration for Sem and Nuri. Immigration asked us to get a letter from Foreign Registration office. They wrote a letter on my behalf to the Foreign Registration Office. They did this for free
May 21 / Mujamire asked several officials at the Foreign Registration Office about my sons’ situation. They had been able to get a visa before as they had been on their mother’s passport. Now I had to get a letter from Registration. In order to get the letter, I needed to provide one photo each, and the same documents as I did for the visa. The cost was 121SDG. For the actual foreign registration itself, I needed to complete a form, provide a photocopy of their passports and letter from the Company and a guaranteeing Sudanese person, However he or she must have their ID card (Butaakat shakhsiiya) and a copy with them. The cost for each was 99SDG and 5SDG for the stamp. / 121
198
10
May 24 / I re-applied at the Burri Immigration Office for Sem and Nuri’s passport visa. I now added the letter from Foreign registration office. The cost for one passport was 169SDG and 1 SDG for stamp. Note: there is a difference in cost as the children accompany the husband / 340
25 May / We now all have visas until May 10 2010. Al-hamdulila. / 4248SDG
Notes
l It was a mistake not to accompany Mahumud to the Labor Office, to see how it all works.
l When you have the Company Certificate, you should ask for the Certified Letter of your company’s registration (see above). Otherwise it is very hard to get it by yourself.
l If you need a letter, ask a friend to type it up at an internet café. One paper is usually 2SDG
l Get copies of your passports, visas, letters, Certificate of Business Name, Certified Letter of your company, letters from your previous company or school, Labor Card, letters from your own company (if you have one) etc for as many as there are in your family. At the government office one copy costs 0.50SDG.
l It’s always better to have many photos. They do not necessarily have to be of good quality.
l I still need to apply for a Tax Identification number. Right now, I have no idea at all how to do this!
l For a single, or multiple Exit and Reentry Visa, Residential permit, Exit visa or whatever, there is always a different price between you and your wife and children.
l I recommend my friend Mujamire as your helper. He has good English, and has worked for 3 years at the Ministry of Investment Immigration, and the Acropolis hotel. His elder brother is Muhamir (a lawyer). He knew the system well in the government offices, without paying any bribes. He is Wadi-Halfa Nubian. Of course, he is honest but does not yet know HIM.
l The most important note is to “Enjoy it as much as you can”.