Business
Setup in
Dubai
What a Dubai company can provide
Dubai offers mainland and free-zone routes for businesses serving the UAE and international markets. The useful route depends on the activity, customers, premises, ownership, visas, and regulator. Incorporation is not a substitute for a trade license, bank approval, tax registration, immigration processing, or an industry authorization.
Mainland and free-zone operating routes
A mainland company is licensed through Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism. A free-zone company is formed and licensed by its zone authority. They are not interchangeable, and access to customers or premises outside the chosen jurisdiction can require additional authorization.
Foreign ownership for many activities
Many mainland and free-zone businesses can be wholly foreign owned. Restrictions, local-partner rules, or regulator conditions still apply to certain activities, so ownership should be confirmed against the exact license activity before documents are prepared.
A base for UAE and international business
A Dubai entity may support local contracts, regional operations, ecommerce, consulting, technology, or international trade. The license, customs position, office or warehouse, and market-access plan must match what the company will actually do.
Premises and visa options tied to the route
The authority and activity determine whether a flexi desk, office, shop, warehouse, or other facility is acceptable. Establishment cards, immigration files, residence visas, medical checks, and Emirates ID applications are separate from the company and license filing.
A federal tax system with defined conditions
The general UAE corporate tax rates are 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that threshold. A free-zone company receives 0% only on qualifying income when it meets the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions. VAT and tax registrations follow separate rules.
Business models commonly considered
Consulting, technology, ecommerce, trading, logistics, and digital-asset businesses often consider Dubai, but the label alone does not identify the correct license. Products, payment flows, storage, customers, and regulated activities must be reviewed before a mainland authority or free zone is selected.
Consulting and services
Technology
Ecommerce
Trading and logistics
Digital assets
Discuss a Dubai business setup
Tell us what the business will do, where its customers and suppliers are located, whether it needs UAE premises or visas, and who will own and manage it. JNT will use those facts to compare the relevant mainland and free-zone routes.
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How a Dubai business setup works
Step 1: Define the operating facts
- Confirm the activities, products, customer locations, suppliers, payment flows, premises, visa needs, owners, and managers
- Identify licensing, immigration, customs, tax, banking, and regulated-activity questions before selecting a package
Step 2: Choose the route, authority, and legal form
- Compare the relevant DET mainland route with suitable Dubai free zones
- Confirm the permitted activities, ownership, legal form, facility, visa capacity, external approvals, and current authority charges
Step 3: Review and submit the setup filings
- Complete due diligence and review the trade name, application information, constitutional documents, lease or facility documents, and UBO information
- Submit the agreed formation and initial trade-license filings to the responsible authority without promising its decision or timing
Step 4: Receive the records and start separate workstreams
- Receive the authority-issued company and license records included in the proposal
- Proceed separately with premises, immigration, visas, banking, corporate tax, VAT, customs, accounting, and any regulator approvals
Information and documents to prepare
The authority and final list depend on the legal form, owners, managers, activities, facility, external approvals, and due diligence.
- Passport copy for each shareholder, manager, director, and ultimate beneficial owner
- Recent proof of residential address and current contact details for each relevant individual
- Proposed trade names and a clear description of every planned activity
- Ownership percentages, capital plan, management roles, and authority to sign
- Expected customer, supplier, country, payment, and transaction profile
- Preferred facility type, Dubai location, staffing plan, and number of visas required
Dubai business setup pricing
$2,000 USD/year
- The starting price applies only to the route, authority, legal form, activities, and included work identified in JNT's written proposal
- Government and authority charges, trade-license categories, external approvals, facilities, immigration, visas, Emirates ID, banking, tax, VAT, customs, accounting, and renewals are separate when applicable
- Authority review, due diligence, facility arrangements, external approvals, and immigration processing affect timing; JNT does not guarantee a formation date, license, visa, bank account, or tax result
Frequently asked questions
The answer follows the business model. A mainland company is licensed through DET and is generally considered when the company needs broad operations in Dubai and the UAE. A free-zone company is formed and licensed by a specific zone whose activities, facilities, visa capacity, and industry focus fit the business.
A free-zone license does not automatically authorize every activity outside that zone. Mainland access can require the applicable DET license, permit, branch, distributor, or other approved mechanism. JNT compares the planned transactions and operating locations before quoting either route.
There is no single legal form called a generic Dubai company. A shareholder-owned mainland business may use an LLC, subject to the activity and DET requirements. Free zones use their own forms and terminology, which may include FZE, FZCO, free-zone LLC, or a branch. Not every zone registers every form.
JNT confirms the authority, legal form, ownership, capital, manager or director roles, and licensed activities in the written proposal. A branch, civil company, public or private joint-stock company, or other specialized form requires its own review.
No. The main service on this page concerns an operating mainland or Dubai free-zone company with the relevant trade license. A JAFZA offshore company is a separate structure and its application must go through a JAFZA registered agent. Its permitted activities and ability to operate in the UAE should not be assumed from a mainland or free-zone package.
JNT will treat any offshore request as a separate scope review and will identify the registered-agent route, authority charges, documents, and intended use before accepting the engagement.
Many mainland and free-zone activities allow 100% foreign ownership. That is not a promise for every activity or legal form. Strategic-impact activities, professional requirements, sector rules, and external regulators can impose different conditions.
Ownership, control, manager appointments, and UBO disclosures are reviewed against the exact activity and authority. Formation does not provide anonymity, and banks and authorities can require full ownership and source-of-funds information.
Not automatically. The general corporate tax rates are 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that threshold. A Qualifying Free Zone Person can receive a 0% rate on qualifying income only when all conditions are met, including adequate substance, qualifying-income, transfer-pricing, and other compliance requirements. Nonqualifying taxable income is generally subject to 9%.
VAT is separate. A UAE-resident business must generally register when taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000, and voluntary registration can be available above AED 187,500. Formation, corporate tax registration, VAT registration, bookkeeping, and returns are different workstreams.
No. The company and initial trade-license work are separate from the establishment card, immigration file, entry permit or status change, medical examination, residence visa, and Emirates ID process. Eligibility and visa capacity depend on the authority, facility, role, and current immigration requirements.
JNT can identify and quote the applicable immigration steps separately after the company route and facility are confirmed. The responsible UAE authorities decide each application, and no visa result or completion date is guaranteed.