Business Setup & Corporate Services
Business Setup & Company Formation
The structure you choose today decides your tax position, your banking experience and your exit options for the next decade. We treat company formation as the strategic decision it is, then execute it end to end: license, approvals, visas, bank account and your first-year compliance calendar.
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Choose the right UAE structure
Select an option to compare how each route supports ownership, market access and long-term plans.
Best considered when
Mainland
Businesses selling directly across the UAE or building a substantial local operating presence.
- Wide commercial permission
- Flexible visa planning
- Strong banking acceptance
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Mainland Company Formation
A mainland license issued by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (or the relevant emirate authority) gives you the widest commercial permission in the UAE: trade anywhere in the country, bid for government work, and open branches freely. Since the Commercial Companies Law reforms, most activities allow 100% foreign ownership.
We advise on legal form (LLC, sole establishment, branch), activity selection and approvals, then handle the entire registration so you deal with one team, not five departments.
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What we handle
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Process
Advise
Activity, legal form and ownership structure agreed.
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FAQ
Can a foreigner own 100% of a mainland company?
For most commercial and industrial activities, yes. A defined list of strategic-impact activities still carries ownership conditions. We confirm the position for your specific activity before you commit to anything.
Do I need a physical office?
Mainland licenses require a registered office lease (Ejari in Dubai). Requirements scale with visa numbers, we advise the minimum footprint that genuinely serves your plan.
Mainland or free zone — how do I decide?
Where your customers are, whether you need government contracts, banking expectations and tax treatment all feed the decision. See the comparison table on our Free Zone page, or ask us, the honest answer differs case by case.
What does it cost?
Government fees vary by emirate and activity; our professional fees are fixed and agreed before work begins. We publish no headline prices because serious structures are not commodities.
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Free Zone Company Formation
The UAE's free zones offer 100% foreign ownership, sector-specific ecosystems and, for entities meeting Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions, a 0% corporate tax rate on qualifying income. The right zone depends on your activity, your banking needs and your substance plan, not on which zone advertises hardest.
| Consideration | Mainland | Free Zone | Offshore | What we advise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | 100% for most activities | 100% | 100% | Rarely decisive anymore |
| UAE market access | Unrestricted | Via distributor / branch | None | Decisive if UAE clients matter |
| Corporate tax | 9% above AED 375,000 | 0% on qualifying income if QFZP conditions met; else 9% | 9% if UAE-taxable presence | Substance decides, not the brochure |
| Audit requirement | Required to maintain audited accounts | Most zones require annual audit; QFZP status requires audited financials | Varies | FICA is an approved auditor, see Audit & Assurance |
| Banking | Strongest acceptance | Strong with substance | Hardest | We prepare you for how banks actually assess |
| Visas | Scales with office | Zone packages | None | Plan around people, not desks |
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Zone selection
We are registration agents and long-standing filing practitioners across the UAE's principal zones. We recommend zones on fit, not commission.
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Offshore & Holding Structures
Offshore companies (JAFZA Offshore, RAK ICC) and holding structures remain legitimate tools for asset holding, consolidation and succession, when built with substance. The era of paper companies achieving tax outcomes is over, and we will tell you so plainly. What survives scrutiny: real governance, real management location, documentation that matches reality.
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Branches, Subsidiaries & Representative Offices
International companies extend into the UAE three ways, and the choice carries tax, liability and licensing consequences that outlast the setup fee. A branch trades as its parent; a subsidiary is a UAE company in its own right; a representative office may market but not trade. We advise which fits, then register it.
Connected advice
Formation is step one.
Tax registration, accounting, audit and your first-year compliance calendar draw on the same foundations, coordinated from day one, they cost less and never contradict each other.
Begin with a conversation