INCORPORATING A COMPANY IN DUBAI
MAINLAND

PRESENTATION SCHEMA
Dubai as a Destination Registration of company Obtaining Investor Visa
Opening Bank account Miscellaneous

LEGENDS USED
DED Department of Economic Development
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
PPP Purchasing Power Parity
TRC Tax Residence certificate
VAT Value Added Tax

DUBAI AS A DESTINATION

DUBAI AS A DESTINATION
• The UAE is one of the richest countries in the
world and boasts the 24th highest GDP per
capita(nominal) and 9th highest GDP per
capita(PPP).
• It is extremely well known for its warm
hospitality, rich cultural heritage and known for
luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture
• Dubai, with an area of 3,885 square kilometers,
is the second largest emirate in the UAE
• The population is composed of 15% native
residents with remaining, primarily being from
India (51%).
• The country’s oil reserves, which are the 7th in
the world, and its natural gas reserves are the
7th largest in the world.

DUBAI AS A DESTINATION CONTINUED…
• Inflation rate is -2.08% in 2020
• UAE unemployment rate for
2020 is 5.00%, a 2.72% increase
from 2019

WHY DUBAI IS INTERESTING TO START A
BUSINESS
Security
• Very low crime rate and is among the safest country to business.
• Doing business Ranking is 16th in the world and Doing business score is 80.9.
Logistics and
Infrastructure
• World Class infrastructure
• Improves the productivity of businesses
• Focus on Technology
• 3rd best spot for logistics and infrastructure
Free Zones
• There are 24 free industrial trade zones specific to each industry
• Offers lots of advantages like,
• Ease of incorporation
• No import export taxes
• Repatriation of profits etc

WHY DUBAI IS INTERESTING TO START A
BUSINESS CONTINUED….
Resources
• Abundant resources
• Top quality human resource,
economic energy, world class
infrastructure, communication
technology and financial
resources
Trading Opportunity
• Effect easy trade with Gulf,
African and Asian countries
• Very well located for cross
border trade
• Attractive destination for
global investors
Attractive Tax System
• Tax free in both free zone and
mainland
• Oil business and foreign banks
are only taxed and others are
exempted.

2655.51
1411.78
2639.22
1232.12
886.22
662.98
Total ODI 2020-21(in $ millions)
Singapore
Mauritius
USA
Netherlands
UK
UAE
• India has emerged as Dubai's second biggest
trading partner after China with the overall
volume touching 38.5 billion dirham in the first
half of 2021.
• According to official data trade with India grew
74.5% year-on-year to 67.1 billions dirham
from 38.5 billion dirham in first half of 2020.
• Dubai currently holds the 17th rank
in the ease of doing business
amongst 190 countries.

LOCATION TO START A BUSINESS
Location
Free Land
Economic areas where
goods and services can be
traded, usually at
preferential tax and
customs rates
Main Land
Geographical area which is
permitted by the DED to all
the private business entities
businesses
What is Main Land?
• Located outside Free zone and
their licenses are issued by DED or
any related department
• They are allowed to do business
without restrictions whatsoever in
the local market and outside UAE
• Foreign Individual require a local
sponsor before starting any
venture.

REGISTRATION OF COMPANY

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
Chamber membership
Getting business license
Obtain Approval of relevant authorities
Choose location of your business
Obtain Initial Approval
Trade Name Registration
Determine Legal Form
Select the business type

SELECT BUSINESS TYPE
The first step in this process is selecting the type of business/commercial
activity that you want to do
Business types are generally categorized into
Commercial
Professional and
Industrial
Based on the business type, legal form of the company and the parties
associated with that could be identified

DETERMINE LEGAL FORM OF THE COMPANY
Joint Liability Company
Can conduct only commercial and
industrial activities
Branch of a free zone company
A branch of a free zone company
can conduct commercial,
industrial and professional
businesses as long as the activity
of the main company is authorized
on the mainland.
Branch of a local or GCC company
A branch of a local or GCC
company can conduct activities
included on the main company
license.
Private Joint Stock Company
A Private joint stock company can
conduct only commercial and
industrial activities.
Branch of a foreign company
A branch of a foreign company
can conduct selected commercial
and professional activities; same
as what the head office conducts
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Can conduct any industrial,
commercial, professional and
tourism business.
Some professional business are
not permitted, and others require
additional approvals.
Sole establishment
A business owner can practice any
industrial, commercial or
professional business activities.
An industrial or commercial type
sole proprietorship is only
permitted for UAE nationals or
GCC nationals
Public Joint Stock Company
A public joint stock company can
practice any industrial,
commercial or professional
business activities.
Civil company
Under a civil company,
professional businesses in
recognized fields such as
medicine, law, engineering and
accountancy are allowed.

TRADE NAME REGISTRATION
Must not use the word Dubai
Must not conflict with Islam or Arabic
Interest
Should be translated into Arabic
Should be indicative of business activity
The trade name has to be approved by Department of economic development [DED]
• Trade name application form
is available at DED offices or
online at dubaided.gov.ae.
• It does not take more than
24 hours and the company
name can be reserved within
a day.
• The cost for obtaining a
trade name varies,
depending on the content
and language of the name
(approximately Dhs.1,070)

OBTAINING INITIAL APPROVAL
After determining the activity, legal form and registering the trade name, one has to obtain initial
approval
The documents required for initial approval generally varies upon the business and its structure
It is only after seeking the initial approval that you can proceed for additional approvals of
authorities other than the DEDs which is required in case of certain business/trading activities.
Foreign investors must obtain the approval of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs
before getting the initial approval.
The initial approval does not allow a person to practise the activity, unless a commercial licence is duly
issued, as a last step of the process.
Note

CHOOSING A LOCATION FOR BUSINESS
The applicants must determine a site to conduct their businesses and location must comply with the
requirements set out by the DED in the respective emirate and the zoning regulations of the local
municipalities.
In Dubai, rent agreement (MoU) for the proposed location of the business is required and must be
registered with Ejari for attestation.
To be sure of the proposed location is within the city’s zoning regulations, one can call the Planning
Department Office within the DED enquire regarding the proposed location.
The minimum size of office required by the DED to issue a new trade licence (mandatory to trade in
the country) is 200 sq. ft.

OBTAINING APPROVAL FOR RELEVANT
AUTHORITIES
In some cases, approval of bodies
other than DED’s are required
Nature of activity Approval from
Insurance Activity Ministry of Economy
Transport Activity Ministry of Interior
Legal Consultancies Ministry of Justice
Sell firefighting equipment Civil Defence
Applicants should seek the assistance of DED to know what other approvals are required.
However, business activities that fall under the DED's control do not require any additional activity-specific licensing
approvals

GETTING YOUR BUSINESS LICENSE
After
completing
above
steps
Submit all documents to DED
Finalise due payments
Eventually one has to become a member of the
champer of commerce, before one can actually
commence business activity

OBTAINING INVESTOR VISA

INVESTOR VISA (UAE)
The government of UAE ensures that it proactively creates policies to make it easier for
investors to become UAE residents, to carry on with their ventures well.
Through the investor visa program, investors and their families make an investment into
the UAE economy, can enter and remain in the UAE. In 2018, the UAE announced its plan
of providing investor visas of 5-10 years to wealthy businessmen and property investors.
The minimum investment required to get an investor visa is 5 million dirhams for a 5-
year visa and 10 million dirhams for a decade.
There are 4 types of visas that a business person can apply for, depending upon his specific
needs and Dubai Investor Visa Validity.

INVESTOR VISA (UAE)
Provides
Temporary
residence to
holders
It lasts for a max period
of upto 3 years
It provides
authorization to live
and work in UAE
Visa Stamping
• The final step of
the process is to
get visa stamped
on passport
Emirates ID
• This ID will also
be processed at
the same time,
which acts as an
important
document for
investor
Medical
Checks
• A normal
medical
procedure will
be applied for
further
documentation
Get the Visa
• After making
application, Visa
will be mailed
and one can
travel to Dubai
Application
• Fill the visa
application with
the required
documents and
submit it.
Process of getting Visa
100% Repatriation of
profits
No Corporate taxes
It makes the process of
opening bank account
easy

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
• Passport Copy (Colour)
• 1 Photograph (white
Background)
• MOA Copy (For LLC)
• Trade License Copy
• Service agent contract copy
(Professionally licensed co.)
• Original emirates ID
• Immigration establishment
card copy
• Partnership contract
• Recent 3 months Bank
statement
• Typed application for medical
check up
• Copies of passport
• Copies of Visa
• 2 Photograph (White
Background)
• 1 Photograph
• Typed form for Emirates ID
• Original Visa
• Original Medical Certificate
• Medical insurance
certificate
• Original Passport
• Immigration Establishment
card
• LLC agreement
• License
• Partner’s copy list
Investor Visa Medical Checkup Visa Stamping

OPENING BANK ACCOUNT

OPENING BANK ACCOUNT IN DUBAI
The documents which are required for opening a corporate bank account are as follows
Original Certificate of registration, Memorandum and Articles of
Association, and Trading license of the company.
Attested copy of Board resolution empowering a company
officer to open the bank account.
Share certificate(s), Original Passport for shareholders and
authorised signatories.
Description on the planned activities of the company, financial
projections for the next year, and even details of customers
and suppliers.

CONTINUED..
Documents disclosing the source of funds which would be invested into the
company.
Information on the business experience of company owners or their CV and
proof of their residential address in India.
Bank reference letter from shareholder and 6 month bank statement of
company’s shareholder duly stamped by the notary.
The account holders have to be
present in person to sign all
relevant application forms.
The above mentioned documents
are only standard requirements
and the banks may even ask for
additional documents
Generally it takes around 1 to 2
weeks to open a bank account in
Dubai

MISCELLANEOUS

TAX RESIDENCE CERTIFICATE(TRC)
A certificate issued for eligible for natural and legal persons to take advantage of agreements of double
taxation avoidance on income signed by the UAE.
To know more about TRC please refer https://youtu.be/bQ5kbP031kw
Natural person
• Emirates ID copy
• Passport copy
• Residence copy
• Source of Income
• Official Bank statement
• Immigration report of residency
Legal person
• Trade license copy
• Authorized Signatory Passport copy
• Authorized Signatory Emirates ID copy
• Audited Financial statement
• Official Bank statement
• Certified tenancy copy
• Memorandum of association or any
relevant document
Documents required to obtain TRC

VAT IN DUBAI
1
VAT was introduced in
UAE on 1st Jan 2018.
2
New source of
income to UAE for
providing high
quality public
services
3
Helps government
move towards its
vision of reducing
dependence on oil
and other
hydrocarbons
The current rate of VAT is 5%

AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS
The UAE Commercial Companies Law requires the businesses to maintain their financial records for a
minimum period of 5 years and also states that the audit of the mainland companies is compulsory

APPLYING FOR ESTABLISHMENT LABOUR CARD
This card, issued by the
Ministry of Labour, allows a
company to hire staff, obtain
work permits and apply for
visas on behalf of its
employees
• Trade licence with partners
list for LLC company.
• Copy of MOA for LLC
company
• Passport and Jinsiyya (family
book) or Resident ID of local
sponsor (if applicable).
• Passport of local service
agent or UAE national
sponsor.
• Passport of partners for LLC
company (copies)
• Location map in Arabic (from
Municipality)
• DEWA bill
• Attested power of attorney
declaration
• Dhs.2,000 plus typing fees
• Ministry of Labour Tas’heel
Centre
• Visit a Tas’heel typing centre
with documents to complete
relevant application form,
then get it translated to
Arabic.
• Application can also be
submitted at Ministry of
Labour.
• After receiving the card you
can apply for a company E-
signature card (Dhs.300)
Documents required Procedure
An establishment labour
card will be issued on
the spot if approved; it
is valid until cancellation
of the trade licence

APPLYING FOR ESTABLISHMENT IMMIGRATION
CARD
It allows a company to
recruit staff from abroad
and apply for foreign
investors, partners and
employment visas.
• Partners list for LLC
company
• Copy of (MOA) for LLC
company.
• Passport and Jinsiyya
(family book) of local
sponsor (if applicable).
• Passport of local service
agent or UAE national
sponsor.
• Passport of partners for
LLC company (copies).
• Passport photo of
sponsors and partners
• Tenancy contract (copy)
• Location map in Arabic
• Owner’s degree
certificates (notarised and
legalised).
• E-signature card copy of
sponsor and authorised
signatories (if any).
• Dhs.2,000 application fee
• Ministry of Labour Tas’heel
Centre
• Application submitted by
owner, partner or public
relations officer (PRO) with
fee.
• Complete relevant
documents
• Authorised person must
sign the forms and seal
with company stamp.
Documents required Procedure
It is valid for 3 years

Thank You!
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