How to set up a company in Dubai, step by step.

Choose your business activity

Your licence lists what the company may do. Pick activities that describe your actual work; banks compare them with your transactions later.

IFZA includes 3 activities in the licence. Some activities need extra approval, such as financial services or healthcare.

Use the activity search to check yours.

Free zone or mainland

Free zone companies suit consultancies, software, e-commerce and trading with businesses or customers abroad. Mainland suits companies that sell directly to consumers across the UAE or need government contracts.

Our comparison goes through the differences.

Pick the licence length and visas

Licences run for 1 to 4 years. Longer licences cost less per year.

Count the residence visas you need now: one for each shareholder who will live in the UAE, plus employees. You can add visas later.

Prepare the documents

• Passport, valid for at least 6 months
• Photo on a white background
• Proof of address from the last 3 months
• Personal bank statements for the last 6 months
• A short CV

Clear phone photos are usually fine for the application.

Application and licence

The application is reviewed, the name is checked, and documents are signed online. Once paid, it is filed with the free zone.

Most licences are issued within 1–2 weeks of applying. You then receive the licence, the Memorandum of Association, share certificates and the establishment card.

Visas and Emirates ID

With the establishment card, the company can sponsor residence visas. Each visa goes through an entry permit, a medical test and Emirates ID biometrics.

The person needs to be in the UAE for the medical test and biometrics. The whole process usually takes 2–3 weeks.

Open a bank account

Banks ask for the company documents, shareholder documents and a short description of the business and its money flows.

Interviews can be online or in a branch. Approval usually takes 2–6 weeks and the decision is the bank's.

Register for tax

Every company must register for corporate tax within 3 months of setup and file a return each year, even if no tax is due.

VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 in 12 months. Voluntary registration is possible from AED 187,500.

Keep the company running

• Renew the licence before it expires
• Renew visas and Emirates IDs
• File VAT returns within 28 days of the end of each period, if registered
• File the corporate tax return within 9 months of the year end

Your Foundera account reminds you before each of these dates.