About the company
| Company type | Free-zone Company in the Emirate of Dubai, at the TECOM Registry located in Dubai Internet City (DIC). |
| Authorised activities | The company may engage in any activity except banking, insurance and financial activities (such as currency exchange). The management of funds for third parties is not allowed. |
About the share capital
| Authorised currencies | United Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED) |
| Minimum capital | Min. AED 10,000 |
| Maximum capital | No limit |
| Libération du capital | It is not necessary to deposit the company’s capital, neither at the company’s creation nor later. |
Accounting & Audit
| Bookkeeping and annual audit of accounts | It is compulsory to keep accounts and to carry out an annual audit of the accounts |
| Justification of expenditure and income | Nothing to justify (unjustified expenses will be debited from the partner’s current account). |
About the Manager
| Eligibility | Any natural person (individual) or legal entity (company) regardless of nationality. No director nominee. |
| Minimum number of managers | One. Can be a natural or legal person (in which case a natural person manager must also be named).e world. |
| Obligation to have a local manager | Not required, it can reside anywhere in the world. |
About the partners
| Minimum number of shareholders | One. |
| Maximum number of shareholders | No limit. |
| Eligibility | Any natural person (individual – minimum 21 years old) or legal entity (company) regardless of nationality. No nominee partner. |
| Obligation to have a local shareholder | Not required, it can reside anywhere in the world. |
Timeframe
The time frame is as follows:
- You will have to come to Dubai 15 days after receiving your payment to sign the articles of association of your company in front of a Registrar. You will then need to stay in Dubai for only 1 day.
- Maximum 10 working days to receive the Certificate of Registration of your company;
- Residency visa: 3 weeks from the registration of your company (administrative delays not requiring your presence) + 5 working days (you must be present in Dubai during these 5 days from Sunday morning to Thursday evening of the same week) to receive your residence visa. As soon as your visa is obtained, we meet with the bank the same day to open your bank account.
- It takes approximately 7 working days to obtain your bank account number following the registration of your company (remote opening) or following the obtaining of your visa (on-site opening). The bank card is then sent by the bank by express mail to the address of your choice anywhere in the world approximately 15 days after the first funds have been deposited in your account.
Advantages and disadvantages of DIC
Advantages of DIC
The advantages of DIC are as follows:
- Location (direct access to Sheik Zayed Road)
- Prestige and reputation of the Free Zone
- Choice and quality of office space available
Disadvantages of DIC
The disadvantages of DIC are as follows:
- Higher costs than other free zones
- Delays in registering the company (a good month and a half)
- Capital to be deposited when registering the company
Fees for company and residence visas
Company package
Here are the rates for the company:
It is required to rent at least one office:
– Shared Desk : annual cost of 12,000 AED(+5% VAT) + 5,000 AED (refundable deposit) giving the right to 1 visas for partners/employees).
– Private Desk : annual cost of AED 36,000 + AED 5,000 (refundable deposit) giving right to 2 visas for partners/employees).
– Executive Office (160sqft): annual cost of AED 96,000 + AED 10,000 (refundable deposit) giving entitlement to 4 visas for partners/employees).
– Commercial Office (from 720sqft): annual cost of AED 175/sqft entitling to 1 associate/employee visa for every 60sqft.
– The number of eligible visas indicated refers only to partners and employees, not to their families (husband, wife, children).
– Visa fees are not included in the above rates (see above).
– The above fees are to be paid in one go for 1 year at the time of order for the creation of the company and the first year, then each year in one go for 1 year on the anniversary date of the company’s registration.
Our packages include the following elements:
Company formation fee (to be paid only once when the company is formed):
– Service Charge -> this is our fee (nothing to add, all included!)
– VAT and accountancy training -> we explain how VAT works and the accounting obligations of your company
– Salary Register -> setting up the Register of Employees
– Company stamp -> it is a stamp in accordance with local regulations (required for opening a bank account, etc.)
– FREE assistance in opening a bank account -> we assist you in opening a bank account for your company
– FREE setup of invoicing and accounting application -> Installation and configuration of the invoicing and accounting software
Company maintenance fee (to be paid once a year, at creation and then at each renewal of the company):
– UNLIMITED after-sale support concerning your company in the UAE -> we provide unlimited customer support to answer all your questions
– Coordination with Accountant -> we provide a coordination service in French with your company’s accountant
– Coordination with Auditor -> we provide a coordination service in French with your company’s auditor
– Coordination with Tax Agent -> we provide a coordination service in French with the tax agent in charge of VAT for your company
– Subscription to Merritt Updates -> legal, fiscal and social watch on the Emirates sent by email
– UNLIMITED access to Merritt.center-> all your company’s administrative, legal and accounting documents in a secure customer portal
– Economic Substance notification -> the notification on the economic substance to be sent annually to the Authorities
– Correspondence address in Dubai (including UNLIMITED scan and forward of your mails and courier) -> we scan/forward your mail as soon as it arrives according to your instructions
– FREE shared telephone number in the UAE (with answering in English and Arabic) -> shared telephone number with secretarial support in English and Arabic
– FREE domain name + WordPress pre-installed + emails-> domain name + installation of a WordPress website + email addresses on a server located in Dubai
Residence package
Here are the rates for the residence:
Applicable discounts:
– Exchange Driving License: driving license exchange fees are to be deducted if not applicable (see list on next page).
– Medical check: the cost of the medical test is to be deducted for children under 15 years of age.
The Residence Packages are in addition to our Company Packages. They are not compulsory and can be subscribed to can be taken out at any time without any validity limit.
Our packages include the following elements:
– Residence visa (with support and assistance for all formalities) -> we assist you and do all the
We will assist you and carry out all the formalities to obtain your residence visa in an air-conditioned vehicle with driver from our office in Dubai. The person from our team who will accompany you speaks English, French and Arabic.
– EmiratesID -> we request and receive in our office your Emirates ID card (sent by Po Box by the Authorities)
– UAE driving license exchange -> in the context of the recognition of your foreign license, we take care of all the steps to obtain it and accompany you to the police station for this purpose
– Assistance in opening a personal bank account -> we assist you in opening a personal bank
personal bank account in Dubai
– Assistance in opening a brokerage/saving bank account -> we assist you in opening an investment account (Saxo Bank, EmiratesNBD Private Banking, etc.).
– UNLIMITED after-sale support concerning your residency in the UAE: insurances (health, home, car, travel), succession planning, etc. -> We provide unlimited after-sale support concerning your residency in the UAE: insurances (health, home, car, travel), succession planning, etc.
