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Launch a Mainland Company

There is no public company register and accounting freedom. In the future you will not have to worry about depreciation. Use your company's credit card to pay for the gift for your wife in the jewelry store or the weekly shopping in the supermarket.

On this page, you'll find all the info, steps, prices, and our tips in one place. Have a great read!

ADVANTAGES OF ESTABLISHING A MAINLAND JURISDICTION

Mainland companies have a number of unique features that distinguish them from their mainland counterparts. Firstly, these companies can be freely established anywhere in UAE and trade freely in the local market. In most cases, mainland companies can also be 100% owned by foreign entrepreneurs.

Other freedoms granted to mainland companies are the ability to enter into government contracts and the ability to apply for unlimited employee visas depending on the size of the company. Mainland companies in Dubai also have more business opportunities and fewer national restrictions on owning and obtaining visas compared to other jurisdictions.

Low Taxes

Only Corporate Tax of 9% and VAT of 5%.
Privacy

In the absence of a public register of companies, the owners of the companies remain anonymous.
Reputation

Double taxation agreements with developed industrialized countries.
Availability

Direct access to PayPal, Stripe, Binance and Interactive Brokers.
Accessibility

Emirates direct flights from Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and England.
Residence

Tax free residence by establishing a company in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah.

Companies in Dubai are well-suited to major commercial and marketing platforms, such as Amazon, Shopify, and Google AdWords, making it an attractive destination for businesses seeking to establish a presence or relocate outside the EU. In addition, Dubai's business environment is conducive to various e-commerce and online marketing sectors, as well as consulting firms. Companies formed in Dubai can easily integrate with major platforms and access popular payment providers like PayPal and Stripe, as well as engage in cryptocurrency trading on exchanges such as Binance and Kraken.

The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai in particular, have received a lot of media attention lately, and for good reason. Dubai enjoys a central location between Europe, Africa and Asia. This makes it a prime business destination for many sectors and industries. Within a five-hour flight from Dubai, you won't find such a cosmopolitan and progressive city anywhere. Businesses in Dubai enjoy one hundred percent capital repatriation with no currency restrictions. This level of financial freedom is rarely found in areas with such a developed business environment. Dubai is a leading commercial center with state-of-the-art infrastructure.

Thus, the opening of a company in the Mainland beckons with its extensive market coverage, flexibility and local synergy, which makes it an ideal choice for a reasonable business expansion in the heart of the Emirates!

What you need to know before payment

Identifying a business activity;
Selecting an appropriate legal form;
Registering the trade name;
Applying for an initial approval;
Drafting a Memorandum of Association and local service agent agreement;
Select a business location;
Get additional government approvals;
Submit documents and pay fees.

Identify business activity
Business activity is the basis for selecting the legal form and type of license, whether commercial, industrial or professional, etc. There are six types of licences. They are: industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural and occupational.

One of the first and most important steps when starting a business in Dubai is choosing the type of activity. There are 2445 of them in the UAE, so you will definitely find one or more that meet all the requirements.

Select the legal form
The legal form depends mainly on the business requirements. Moreover, the legal form is basis for identifying applicable laws and regulations. In the UAE, an investor can select one of these legal forms:

General partnership;
Limited partnership;
Limited liability company (LLC);
Public joint stock company (PJSC);
Private joint stock company (PrJSC);
Civil company;
Local company branch;
GCC company branch;
Foreign company branch;
Free zone company branch;
Sole establishment;
Holding companies.

Note: the legal form of the business must match the business activity.

Register a trade name
A trade name distinguishes one business from another. It also reflects the nature and form of the business. There are several additional factors to keep in mind here. Most importantly, your name should not be similar to the name of any other company, and it should not be offensive or blasphemous.

Note: after the trade name, your organizational and legal form must necessarily go (Example: SONA Holding LLC).

MOA and LSA
Depending on the organizational and legal form of the enterprise, a completed and signed foundation agreement (MoA) or an agreement with the local service agent (LSA) of the enterprise is required. A foundation agreement is required for the following organizational and legal forms of business:

Limited partnership;
Limited liability company (LLC);
Public joint stock company (PJSC);
Private joint stock company (PrJSC).

Get your resident visa
You will also need a visa to the UAE to do business on the mainland in Dubai. We will help you in this process.

Select the location of the company
All businesses in the UAE must have a physical address to conduct business. Commercial premises and their location must comply with the requirements established by the Department of Economic Development (DED) of the relevant emirate, as well as the rules of land management of local municipalities.

It is necessary to provide an office and warehouse rental agreement. Some emirates require agreements to be certified. In Dubai, the agreement (RERA) must be registered with Ejari.

All stages of the license and prices

Request for Initial Approval
It is a service prior to obtaining the trade license through which the legal form of the company, the economic activities and the license parties (partners) are determined. The customer can obtain it before or after the trade name reservation.

Purposes of requesting the initial approval
Obtaining a commercial site lease contract.
Obtaining the approvals of other parties related to economic activities that require external approvals from the competent authorities (such as: The Health Authority, the Roads and Transport Authority, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority) and others.

Total fee: 120 AED.

Request to Book Trade Name
It is a service requested by the customer to obtain an official government document that expresses the trade name of the project and is used in contracts and other official situations where companies use trade names to help market their products or promote their brands. The trade name can be reserved before or after the initial approval if the customer so desires.

Total fee: 620 - 3000 AED.

Request to Issue Trade license
It is a service requested by the customer to obtain an official approved document through which he can start practicing business activities legally in the emirate. During this service, the customer can issue a memorandum of association or a service agent contract according to the legal form that is previously specified in the initial approval.

Types of trade licenses
Normal License: It requires the existence of a Memorandum of Association (that can be obtained either electronically or manually) and a site lease contract.
Instant License: It is issued in just one step and within five minutes for a group of activities that do not need external approvals with the option to issue a memorandum of association and a virtual site for the first year. The below bundle services are issued simultaneously with this license:

Dubai chamber membership membership for commercial activities;
The establishment card from the general directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs;
The establishment card from The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization where the customer receives a text message approving the opening of the establishment card and opening an automatic file for the employment of 3 employees.

This license is available for the following legal forms:

Limited Liability Company (L.L.C);
Limited liability company Single owner (L.L.C – SO);
Sole Establishment;
Civil company.

DED trader License: This is the only establishment license that can be obtained by local businesses in Dubai, issued under a trademark.

Total fee: 1370 AED.

Service fee

License registration fee: AED 600
Knowledge Dirham fee: AED 10
Innovation Dirham Fee: AED 10
Trade name advertisements: AED 350
Service request form: AED 50
Foreign trade name fees: from AED 1000 to AED 3,000
General trading activity fees: AED 15,000
Investment activity fees: AED 15,000
Real estate activities fees: from AED 5000 to AED 25,000
Business center fees: AED 25,000
Building contracting activities fees: AED 10,000
DED trader License: AED 1,070 + AED 300 Dubai Chamber fees
Intelaq license: AED 1,070

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