BUSINESS SETUP
Setting up a company in the UAE
Structure follows your customers and your tax position, not the headline licence fee. Here is how the decision actually works, and what the advertised prices leave out.
THE DECISION
Four questions decide it, before any zone is named.
Where are your clients?
If you invoice UAE companies, consumers or government entities, mainland removes friction. If your revenue is international or business to business, a free zone licence is usually enough, and it is cheaper.
Where does your banking need to live?
Account opening is decided by the bank, not the registrar. Some zones are viewed favourably and some create friction on sight. This is a reason to choose a zone that has nothing to do with its licence fee.
How many visas must the structure carry?
Quota follows the office arrangement. A flexi-desk carries a small allocation. On the mainland, office area drives quota at roughly one visa per nine square metres.
How do you intend to exit?
Closing properly takes longer than opening. Free zone and offshore closures run roughly 45 to 60 days, mainland liquidation two to three months. Ask what deregistration costs before you choose where to register.
Last updated 13 Ağustos 2026 Next review 2026 4. çeyrek
THREE ROUTES
Described honestly, including what each cannot do.
Free zone
100 percent foreign ownership, a flexi-desk accepted as a compliant address, and an efficient cost base when your clients are international or other companies. It cannot sell directly into the UAE mainland without a distributor, a mainland branch or a dual licence.
Mainland
Trades directly with the domestic market, opens retail anywhere and bids for government contracts. It requires a physical office with Ejari in Dubai or Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi, and office size drives visa quota at roughly one visa per nine square metres.
Offshore
RAK ICC and JAFZA Offshore cannot trade in the UAE at all. They are holding vehicles for shares, real estate, intellectual property and joint ventures. They carry no residence visas and no client-facing banking. Marketing them as tax-free trading companies invites permanent establishment and controlled foreign corporation problems in the owner's home country.
OWNERSHIP
On local partners, after the 2021 reform.
The blanket 51 percent Emirati ownership requirement was removed for most commercial and industrial activities. Strategic impact activities such as oil and gas, security and defence remain restricted. Professional sole establishments and civil companies still commonly require a Local Service Agent, an Emirati who takes no equity and no profit but is paid an annual fee, although the LLC route now allows many professionals 100 percent ownership without one.
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Where to go from here.
What setup actually costs
The all-in year one number once a visa is attached, zone by zone, with an estimator.
OpenFree zone against mainland
Market access, banking perception, quota, office, tax and exit, compared line by line.
OpenThe free zone directory
Which zone suits which business, and what each one really charges.
OpenCorporate tax and the 0 percent myth
The seven QFZP conditions in full, Small Business Relief and how companies actually fail.
OpenBanking
The step where UAE plans actually fail. Timelines, scrutiny and rejection reality.
OpenUAE companies and Turkish tax
CFC rules under Article 7, the active business exception, and what the treaty does not do.
OpenQUESTIONS
Asked before every setup.
Is a free zone company allowed to sell into the UAE mainland?
Not directly. It needs a distributor, a mainland branch or a dual licence. It can contract with international and corporate clients without any of that, which is why the answer depends on where your customers are rather than on the licence price.
Do I still need an Emirati partner?
For most commercial and industrial activities, no. The blanket 51 percent requirement was removed in 2021. Strategic impact activities such as oil and gas, security and defence remain restricted, and professional sole establishments and civil companies still commonly require a Local Service Agent who takes no equity and no profit.
Can an offshore company trade in the UAE?
No. RAK ICC and JAFZA Offshore cannot trade in the UAE at all, carry no residence visas and get no client-facing banking. They are holding vehicles for shares, real estate, intellectual property and joint ventures.
What decides the cost more than the licence?
Visas, the establishment card, insurance, the office arrangement and renewal. A licence advertised at AED 5,750 is roughly a third of a realistic one-visa year one.