| Registry | Dubai Economic Department (DED). |
| Authorized activities | Trading, Consultancy, Services, etc. |
| Minimum capital | AED 300,000 It is not required to pay the company’s capital. |
| Manager | Minimum of one. Must be a natural person. It is possible to establish a Board of Directors. |
| Partner(s) | Any natural person of at least 21 years of age, or a legal entity. |
| Local sponsor / Agent | It is no longer required to have an Emirati partner! A foreigner can now have 100% ownership of a Mainland company. |
| Accounting | Mandatory. |
| Audit | Mandatory. It is not required to provide a copy of the audit report to the registry. |
| Registration timeline | Approx. 10 days. |
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAINLAND COMPANIES
A foreigner can establish two types of companies:
1. A “Professional Company.” A Professional Company can have a single partner (referred to as a “Sole Establishment”) or multiple partners (referred to as a “Civil Works Company”).
2. A “Limited Liability Company” (LLC).
3 important points to note regarding the difference between a “Professional Company” and an LLC:
1. The partners in a “Professional Company” are personally liable for the company’s debts without limit. In an LLC, partners are only liable up to their capital contributions.
2. A “Professional Company” can only engage in service-based or consultancy activities. It cannot engage in the sale of goods or manufacturing (factory) activities.
3. A “Professional Company” cannot be owned by a legal entity, meaning its partners must be natural persons. If necessary, it is possible to establish a Branch of a foreign company or a company registered in the UAE.
WHICH ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR COMPANY?
An activity of consulting or selling goods has several consequences for your company:
Consulting / Services
– For professional, service and consulting activities, it is now possible for a foreigner to have 100% of the shares.
– It is required to appoint a “local service agent” who must be Emirati. His role is only to represent the company before the Registry. We provide him/her of course and his/her remuneration is fixed (AED 3,000 per year).
– The liability of the partners is unlimited! This point is very important and we invite you to be very careful about this subject, as a local dispute could have important consequences (confiscation of the passport while a dispute is being settled, etc.). It is possible to avoid this problem by registering in the Mainland a Branch of a limited liability company (contact us for more information).
Sale of goods / Import-export
– Most trading activities no longer require an Emirati sponsor. Please note: some activities still require the presence of a sponsor. We invite you to contact us to validate this point.
– It is not required to appoint a local service agent.
– The liability of the partners is limited to the amount of their participation in the company’s capital.
A noter!
Sur demande express auprès du Directeur du Registre, il est possible de demander une « exemption » pour que votre société de conseils/prestations de services soit en LLC (et donc avec une responsabilité limitée) et non en sole establishment / Civil Company.
FEES FOR THE COMPANY AND THE RESIDENCY
Company Set Up package
Here are the rates for the company:
Please note:
– License fees (as indicated in the “trade license” section above) are estimates. The final cost will be billed at the exact cost (out-of-pocket expenses). For your information, the Registry adds AED 2,000 per year in fees when the company name is not in Arabic, AED 300 per employee per year if the personnel is not accommodated by the company (staff accommodation), and AED 1,000 per partner per year if the partners do not have a rented residence (Ejari) or property title (Title Deed) in Dubai.
– For service/professional advisory activities, it is required to add a Local Service Agent at a cost of AED 3,000 per year. This is not required for merchandise sales/import-export activities.
– It is possible to request an “exemption” for your service/professional advisory company to be structured as an LLC (with limited liability) rather than a sole establishment/civil company. The cost of this request is AED 4,000.
– In addition to the above fees, the cost of an office (mandatory for all companies) must be added. It is possible to rent an office in a business center (starting from AED 10,000 per year). The size of the office determines the number of employee visas allowed: calculate 6m2 per employee. Family visas (spouse/husband/children) are not included in the office size calculation.
– There is a 5% tax calculated on the annual office rent value (not applicable to shared offices) added to the license cost. This will increase the cost of the trade license estimate above, which is a rough estimate.
– The fees mentioned above are to be paid in a lump sum for 1 year at the time of company registration and for the first year, and then annually in a lump sum on the anniversary date of the company’s registration.
Residency package
Here are the rates for the residency:
Please note:
– If a residence visa is requested while you are present in the UAE on a tourist visa, there is an additional cost of AED 1,600 to change your status to a residence visa.
– Local medical insurance is required for all residence visas (starting from AED 800 per year, please contact us for details).
– The visas listed below are automatically canceled if the holder spends more than 6 consecutive months outside the UAE. For an investor visa, this consecutive duration outside the country is 12 months.
– Exchange of Driving License: If applicable, there is a fee of AED 1,055 to exchange a foreign driver’s license with a UAE driver’s license. This fee is paid directly on-site, and we provide free assistance for this exchange. Note that for some countries (France, Belgium, etc.), the original driver’s license is returned to you with the new UAE license.
– For family visas (spouse/husband/children) under an Investor visa, a deposit of AED 3,000 per visa is required (refundable upon visa cancellation).
