Business Setup in the UAE
A company, a licence, and a bank account that actually opens.
Company formation in the UAE — mainland, free zone or offshore. We hold the timeline and the full cost you were quoted, and we stay on it until your licence is issued and your bank account is live.
The industry quotes a headline price and adds the rest later. You get the full cost in writing up front, and we will tell you when a cheaper free zone is the wrong answer for your business.
- 01Free zone company formation, across 50+ UAE free zones
- 02Mainland (DED) company formation and trade licence
- 03Offshore company formation
- 04Trade licence renewal, amendment and cancellation
- 05Corporate bank account introductions
- 06Residence, freelance, Golden and dependent visas
- 07PRO services, establishment card and Emirates ID
- 08Accounting, VAT registration and corporate tax filing
- 09Office space, flexi-desk and Ejari
What you should know
The three structures solve different problems. A free zone company gives you 100% foreign ownership, no paid-up capital requirement and multiple activities on one licence, but it restricts you from trading directly in the local UAE market without a distributor. A mainland licence removes that restriction and lets you bid for government work, at a higher cost and with more compliance. Offshore is a holding structure — it cannot get you a residence visa or an office.
Choosing the free zone matters more than most agents admit. There are over fifty in the UAE and they differ enormously on activity lists, visa quotas, audit requirements, banking reputation and renewal cost. The cheapest licence in year one is frequently the most expensive by year three, and some free zones make opening a corporate bank account materially harder.
On tax: the UAE charges no personal income tax on salary or dividends, and corporate tax is 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000, with 0% below it. VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable turnover passes AED 375,000. Qualifying free zone companies may access a 0% corporate tax rate on qualifying income, subject to conditions. Your own position depends on your activity and substance, and we make sure that is assessed properly before you commit to a structure.
Most formations can be completed in days rather than weeks, and often remotely, with your physical presence needed only for the visa medical, Emirates ID biometrics and — usually — the bank account opening.
Common questions
Free zone packages typically start in the low tens of thousands of dirhams for a licence with one visa allocation, with mainland higher. Because quoted prices routinely exclude visa costs, establishment card, medical, Emirates ID and Ejari, we give you a single all-in figure in writing before you decide.
Yes. Free zone companies have always allowed full foreign ownership, and since the 2021 reforms most mainland commercial activities do too. A small list of strategic activities still requires an Emirati partner.
If you sell to clients outside the UAE, or to businesses rather than consumers inside it, a free zone is usually right. If you need to trade directly in the local market, open a retail location or work with government entities, you need mainland. We will not push you to whichever pays better.
A straightforward free zone licence is often issued within a few days, sometimes remotely. Visas and Emirates ID add one to three weeks, and corporate bank accounts are the slow step, typically two to eight weeks depending on the bank and your business profile.
Not for the licence itself in most free zones. You will normally need to attend in person for the visa medical and Emirates ID biometrics, and most banks require a face-to-face meeting before opening a corporate account.
No one can honestly promise that — UAE banks apply their own compliance criteria and do decline applications. What we do is make sure your structure, activity and documentation are presented the way banks expect, and take you to the ones most likely to accept your profile.
Tell us what you need
One message is enough. We will come back with a recommendation and a price — usually the same day.
Or email concierge@lhluxe.com