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Setting Up a Mainland Company in Dubai
Starting out in business and embarking on a rewarding new life in the United Arab Emirates can be made easier by our comprehensive project-managed service. We will guide you through all the essentials of setting up a company on the Dubai mainland.
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Whether you have never previously established and operated your own business in a part of the world such as Dubai, or you are a more experienced entrepreneur with an interest in how the ownership of a mainland company in this Emirate could work for you, our team at Cranbrook Legal can hold your hand through every stage of the process.
The UAE is an extremely exciting part of the world in which to live and work, and setting up a Dubai mainland company could bring you a multitude of benefits. Those advantages include the opportunity for 100% ownership of your company, as well as a high level of flexibility in terms of location and who you trade with. There are also tax advantages that you can benefit from.
That’s before you even consider all the infrastructure, entertainment, and lifestyle opportunities presented by the happening city of Dubai, which is the most populous of the country’s seven emirates. So, you will also be able to tap into a very inspiring and stimulating business environment, not to mention a skilled and motivated local labour force.
However, there is a lot that you will need to think about when you are looking to establish a mainland Dubai company – including achieving compliance with stringent rules and regulations, securing visas for the employees who will help grow your company, and much more.
That is why it could make so much sense for you to partner with Cranbrook Legal as you look to establish and grow your company on the UAE mainland. Our capable and seasoned experts will assist and guide you at every stage, to help ensure you have a rewarding time in Dubai and your local business fulfils its potential.
We can well understand that the various complexities of setting up an onshore Dubai company may be daunting or overwhelming for you. Thankfully, our team here at Cranbrook Legal is here to hold your hand through every stage of the process, for a pre-agreed fixed fee.
With so much needing to be done in order to put in place the foundations for your mainland company and support its subsequent growth – ranging from choosing an appropriate business activity and picking out the ideal business location, right through to securing an office space and obtaining a mainland trade licence – you will benefit greatly from having our experts by your side.
From fulfilling eligibility requirements to gathering the necessary documents for key processes such as opening a business bank account and getting approval for visas, there is so much that our specialists will be able to help you with in your capacity as an aspiring foreign-national entrepreneur in the UAE.
The term “Dubai mainland company” refers to a company that is licensed and regulated by the UAE’s Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai. It is a company that is situated onshore or on the mainland of Dubai, which is the area of the Emirate that is outside the free zones.
In this sense, a mainland Dubai company is different to a free zone Dubai company, which is a company that has been set up in one of Dubai’s “free zone” economic areas.
You will need to fulfil a range of requirements in order to establish a Dubai mainland company. These include:
As you can see, there is not a long list of onerous prerequisites that need to be met by a foreign entrepreneur who wishes to establish a mainland company in Dubai. Nonetheless, when you partner with Cranbrook Legal, we can help to ensure you follow the relevant processes required for the setting-up of your mainland company.
Please call +971 4 286 3944 for further information, or complete and submit our straightforward online contact form to arrange a free consultation with us.
As a foreign-national entrepreneur in the UAE, you could make the most of the following benefits if you set up a Dubai mainland company:
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The step-by-step process of setting up a mainland company in Dubai can be summarised as follows:
It was once the case that a foreign entrepreneur could only set up a mainland company in Dubai if they agreed to partner with either a sponsor or a local service agent.
Today, the situation is more ambiguous; whether you will require a local sponsor (nominee shareholder) for your own Dubai mainland company will depend on a variety of factors such as the type of business that you are interested in establishing in the UAE.
In the event that a local sponsor is indeed required for your mainland Dubai company, you will need to establish a Limited Liability Company, or LLC, of which you will retain 49% ownership, with the remaining 51% ownership going to the local sponsor. However, it is worth bearing in mind that these types of agreements are considered on a case by case basis and will be subject to the agreement between you and your local sponsor.
Alternatively, if your company is setup as an LLC or General Trading there won't be any need for you to take on a local sponsor. However for a professional licence, a local sponsor is usually required. The activity of the company will determine whether or not a local sponsor is needed.
Why Choose Us For Your Setting Up a Mainland Company in Dubai?
In order to validate your mainland company as a legal entity in the UAE, you will need to obtain a trade licence, which must be granted prior to any business activity commencing.
The type of trade licence that you will need to obtain for your Dubai mainland company, will depend on the type of business activities that you intend to carry out.
There are three types of trade licence available to mainland companies in Dubai. These are:
For further help and advice in relation to any aspect of the process of deciding on and applying for a trade licence for your Dubai mainland company, please remember that you are always welcome to call the Cranbrook Legal team, on +971 4 286 3944.
There are various costs that you will need to be mindful of, if you are interested in setting up a Dubai mainland company.
Given the need not just for a licence for a mainland Dubai company – which, as of 2023, costs around AED 10,000 – but also for a potentially wide range of other costs such as governmental fees and visa applications, it can be very easy to underestimate how much you will need to spend in order to establish your business in the UAE.
The cost of setting up a Limited Liability Company (LLC), for instance, might ultimately be around AED 20,000 to AED 30,000. Factors such as the specific sector your company will be operating in, and the services that you would like to offer, can greatly impact on this cost.
You will also need to budget approximately AED 4,000 to AED 5,500 if you would like to apply for an investor visa.
Then, there are the costs of recruitment for your Dubai mainland company to consider; you can expect to have to spend around AED 5,000 to AED 7,000 for each employee. Again, however, the exact figures can be greatly variable, depending on the specific types of employees you may seek to hire and bring over to the UAE (if they are presently abroad).
Various documents typically need to be submitted as part of the process of setting up a mainland company in Dubai.
These documents will include the likes of the receipt from the initial approval, as well as a copy of the lease contract, duly attested, and any Memorandum of Association (MOA) that may be required, as will be the case if the legal form of the company is a civil company, limited liability company, public shareholding company, or private shareholding company. Please note that these documents will be required after the company has been established.
Depending on the nature of the mainland Dubai business that you are looking to set up, there may be a need for you to obtain approvals from other government entities. If so, there will be documents that arise from these approvals, so you will need to retain copies of these and submit them as part of the process of setting up your company.
The time that it takes to set up a company in Dubai will depend on a number of factors, including the specific processes that you choose to follow. Rest assured, however, that the process is simple enough for you to potentially have many of the fundamentals of your new UAE company established within just a few days.
One possibility if you are already in Dubai, is to apply in person to set up your company at the Department of Economic Development (DED). However, digital platforms also exist that could enable you to obtain a commercial licence within minutes.
The digital platform Basher, for example, is offered by the UAE Ministry of Economy. Whether you are an investor or an entrepreneur who is already in the UAE, or who is presently located elsewhere in the world, you can use this sophisticated platform to start your Dubai business within just 15 minutes.
It is perfectly possible to open a company in Dubai without already holding a UAE residence visa. However, in order to then operate the company and undertake business activities, you will need to obtain a residence visa.
Foreign investors who set up a business on the mainland in the UAE also have a right to an investment visa, which would entitle them and their family members to spend as long as two years living and working in the country.
Our specialists in immigration law at Cranbrook Legal can well understand that you might be unsure about your options when it comes to visas for the UAE. So, please remember that you are always welcome to reach out to our team for a discussion, or to arrange a free consultation with us.
In order to live in and do business in the UAE, you will naturally need to have a bank account (or several). Understandably, you might feel intimidated by the prospect of this, or unsure what steps you need to take to set up the right bank account(s) in line with the strict compliance requirements the UAE Central Bank sets out.
This is another key aspect of our work for foreign entrepreneurs in Dubai here at Cranbrook Legal. We can hold your hand throughout every step of the process, so that you will soon open the bank account that you require in order to operate as a mainland company owner in the UAE.
Our services in this regard will include advising and guiding you on the necessary steps and documentation, and assessing the activities, operations, and anticipated turnover of your Dubai mainland company, as well as the initial funds available for opening the account. This information will then enable us to recommend the bank that would represent the optimal match for your business.
The help that we provide with the setting-up of the business bank account for your Dubai mainland company can also encompass direct communication with the bank if necessary, as well as assistance with gathering and preparing any documents that the bank may require from you.
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If you are interested in setting up a mainland company in the UAE, a benefit of this is that you will be able to choose from more than 3,000 different business activities.
Below, we have detailed just some of the most popular business activities for a mainland company in Dubai:
It is worth bearing in mind that there might be scope for activities to be bundled, in cases where a given business idea is covered by multiple defined licences. For certain activities, you will need to obtain special approval from the pertinent government department.
Your mainland Dubai company can be supported in its growth efforts by a system that makes it relatively straightforward to obtain new employment entry permits for workers that you would like to recruit. If you do this, your new employees will need to apply for residence visa status within 30 days of their entry into the UAE.
If an employee of your Dubai mainland company is successful in being approved for a residence visa, this visa will remain valid for two years.
When it comes to applying for relevant visas, you will not be limited in terms of numbers as the owner of a Dubai mainland business. However, the number of visas applied for should be proportionate to the amount of office space the business requires; the usual rule is 100 square feet of office or warehouse space per visa.
The exact costs that you can expect to incur in the process of establishing a Dubai mainland company, will depend on a range of factors.
To give an example, the most commonly chosen business structure for a UAE mainland company is a Limited Liability Company, or LLC. The cost of registering an LLC in Dubai is typically around AED 20,000 to AED 30,000. Such factors as the specific industry your company will be operating in, and the services that you intend to provide, can cause the cost to be at the lower or higher end of this range.
As of 2023, it typically cost from around AED 10,000 upwards to obtain a licence for a Dubai mainland company. If, however, you need to secure additional permits or visas, or to pay other government fees or expenses, these factors could serve to drive up the costs further.
As always with situations like this, the exact costs are also liable to change over time. So, please don’t hesitate to contact us for advice if keeping to a stringent budget will be a matter of concern for you.
Until relatively recently, the answer to this question in many cases was “no”. Traditionally, there was only one circumstance in which a foreign investor could be the 100% owner of a UAE business entity: when the company was set up in a free zone.
Since then, however, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has allowed mainland companies in the UAE to be 100% foreign owned. This could be especially great news if you are new to the prospect of starting a company in the UAE, as won’t have to go through the laborious and time-consuming process of seeking a local partner.
Please feel free to call Cranbrook Legal’s experts, on +971 4 286 3944, for more information and advice on this.
Traditionally, one of the biggest reasons to set up a free zone company in Dubai instead of a mainland company, was the opportunity that the former type of company gave a foreign entrepreneur to enjoy 100% ownership of the business.
This contrasted with the situation for mainland companies, for which 51% local ownership was required, albeit with the foreign investor still being able to exercise full control over the business.
In recent years, however, those setting up mainland companies in the UAE have also been given the opportunity of 100% ownership of their business, if they wish to take it, subject to certain exceptions.
There are various other differences between mainland companies and free zone companies in the UAE, that may impact on how you decide between the two options.
Free zone companies, for instance, are subject to the specific criteria of the free zone in which they are based, and do not require approvals from UAE regulating bodies or ministries. A mainland company, on the other hand, will require external approvals from a variety of UAE authorities, before it can even be established on the mainland.
It is certainly possible to set up a Dubai mainland company that focuses on the buying and selling of goods, and there are various reasons why you might be attracted to the idea of doing so.
Dubai is, after all, the most populous city in the whole of the UAE, and so much of the country’s business activity is centred here. As a consequence of that, as the owner of a mainland company in Dubai, you will be in close proximity to many other individuals and businesses with which you can trade.
Foreign nationals who would like to set up a Dubai mainland company with a view to dealing with the buying and selling of goods and commodities, or involving themselves in any kind of trade activities, will need to obtain a commercial trade licence in order to legally operate.
With there being different types of commercial trade licences in the UAE, it is crucial to make sure you apply for the correct type of licence if you are interested in setting up a mainland Dubai company with certain trading activities in mind.
If you would appreciate help and guidance on this from the Cranbrook Legal team, please don’t hesitate to call us today, on 971 4 286 3944. You are also welcome to fill in and submit our online contact form to arrange a free consultation with us.
The short answer to this question is, yes you can!.
A corporate tax rate of 9% applies to all UAE mainland companies that have a taxable profit exceeding AED 375,000. However, there are many companies in the country that are exempt from this corporate tax. These include the following:
With the corporate tax for UAE mainland companies having only been put in place in June 2023, it is important to bear in mind that the country’s corporate tax landscape remains in a state of evolution. So, the exact situation may have changed by the time you read this.
For these reasons, we would always advise you to consult the UAE authorities, or to directly contact our own experts at Cranbrook Legal, for the latest information and advice. You can call our highly knowledgeable and experienced team on +971 4 286 3944.
For anyone who wishes to secure legal residency in the UAE, it will be a mandatory requirement to have an Emirates ID card. Furthermore, foreign nationals will not be able to secure a residence permit for the UAE unless they are free of all forms of communicable diseases, such as TB and HIV.
For these reasons, you can expect a medical test to be carried out when you are seeking residency in the UAE. Coinciding with this, fingerprinting for your Emirates ID will be required. Please note that should you wish to renew your residency visa after two years, you will need to complete the biometric process again.
This is not a straightforward question to answer, given that the exact required amount will depend on such factors as the type of business you establish, the company’s location, and the sponsor’s approval.
As a general rule, though, the involvement of a local sponsor means that a higher minimum investment amount is usually needed for a mainland company in Dubai, than is the case for a free zone company.
Broadly speaking, you should plan for a minimum level of investment of anywhere between around 50,000 AED and 300,000 AED. However, a requirement even higher than the latter figure is possible, especially if the business’s activities are highly specialised. Please note that the investment amount will not be required at the time of establishing the company.
If you are looking to establish a mainland company in Dubai, it will be mandatory for you to have some form of (physical or virtual) office space.
However, the UAE broadly and Dubai specifically, do present a variety of options when it comes to office space, so that you can arrive at the most cost-effective arrangement for your mainland company but in most cases a virtual office will be sufficient.
The process of setting up a mainland company in Dubai can be completed in as little as 24 hours with the UAE residents visa taking around one week.
In practice, of course, there are various other processes that must be undertaken in order to put in place all the fundamental components of a Dubai mainland company. These encompass such elements as deciding on the most suitable business activity, determining the right location for the business, choosing a suitable business legal structure, and many more.
Fortunately, here at Cranbrook Legal, we are highly skilled and experienced when it comes to all of these stages of setting up a Dubai mainland company, and all the other essentials for starting out successfully as a foreign-investor business owner in the UAE. We can help and guide you through these processes, potentially putting in place strong foundations within a week or so.
For a more in-depth conversation about your expectations and requirements in relation to your prospective establishment of a Dubai mainland company, and to learn more about how we can help, please don’t hesitate to call Cranbrook Legal on +971 4 286 3944 today.
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