Company Setup Support

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Setting-up a company

Being a no-tax regime, UAE is one of the best places in the world to setup a global business. The advantages it offers include the ease of setting up a company, quality infrastructure, availability of manpower and the availability of bank facilities.

Most websites will provide you a list of free-zones without giving you any direct opinion on where you need to setup. We decided to make a difference by giving you some direct advice:

If you are a trading company and you plan to either buy or sell in the UAE, you need to have a UAE mainland company
The Emirate in which you setup the company depends upon your preference of location as well as your target client base. Most government related procurements, mandate the supplier to be incorporated in the same Emirate
Most service businesses are practically conducted out of free-zones and this seems to be an acceptable practise as long as there is no physical movement of goods (There are multinational media and advertising agencies based out of Media and Internet City)
All businesses in the UAE require you to have a physical premises (even if you done need one and can work out of a coffee shop/home) or you need to at-least pay rental towards some physical premise/shared/virtual office space
If cheapest option is what you are seeking and do not need a visa in the UAE, then RAK Free Zone has a license package which costs AED 15,000 per annum for a trading license. This is quite user friendly and you will never ever be needed to travel to RAK (Ras Al Khaimah)
If you are setting up a technology based startup, we would recommend you to look at Dubai Silicon Oasis’ DTEC (Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Centre). This has a cool co-working space, basic company setup costs AED 12,500 and makes you eligible for 2 visas. Another good option is the AstroLabs at DMCC ideal for some of you who are trying to setup a business outside your day-job in Dubai
If you are setting up a company in a Free Zone, there is no need for you to seek the service of an agent. Most Free Zones have customer friendly staff who could take you through the process in an efficient manner
If you are thinking of setting up an offshore company, think again as you can setup such offshore entities in Jebel Ali Free Zone as well as RAK Free Zone. If you do setup in a more popular offshore jurisdiction like BVI, Cayman, Mauritius, Jersey, Panama etc.., the money you would end up spending in attesting the documents for bank account opening is prohibitive

UAE Mainland Company

A business can be setup through the Economic Development Department where you would require a local partner (51% shareholder). Local partners are available on a fixed remuneration per year basis where you pay them AED 20,000 to AED 50,000 per year, and give you the power of attorney to you to manage the entire business. Some local partners may be helpful in dealing with government agencies like the emigration department for visas or with the Economic Development Department for the Trade License renewal. In certain categories of businesses (you can check on the website of Dubai Department of Economic Development), you can setup a sole proprietorship with professional license 100% owned by an expatriate with a Service Agent contract from a local Emirati national.

UAE Free Zone Company

If you are going to be based out of the UAE but your customers/suppliers are out of the UAE, it may be a better option to setup a company in a free zone. A free-zone offers 100% ownership to an expatriate. Please find below some of the popular jurisdictions where you could setup a company.