How to Setup a Company in UAE - A Complete Guide

Good day everyone, welcome to Module 4. The sacred knowledge of company formation is so near you that you start feeling how your life starts to change.

 

    This module will be one of the most interesting as you will know a lot of unique information about the scheme and process you will experience when you come to register your company in the UAE: be it offshore, free zone or mainland (LLC or sole establishment).

 

 

    To begin with, we need to mention that the number of emirates, free zones and authorities is quite numerous in the UAE, therefore the document list of one authority may be absolutely different from the document list of another authority situated in one and the same emirate, sometimes even neighboring.

 

    In this video we will uncover the structural plan-scheme of company registration which includes preparation and submission of documents, name approval, provisional approval, lease, corporate documents issuance and handover. We will explain the general procedure and make you understand the overall process pointing to the most important milestones. And later on, in the next videos, we will describe each company type registration in every detail.

 

    Ok, so let’s begin. Irrelevant of company type in the UAE the overall process structurally looks more or less the same. It all starts with the idea of starting a company and modelling income vehicle. This is important because creating the architecture of the cash-flow in your business is MORE important than actual realization of it in form of registration and renting an office space. You need to know where your money will come from and in what amounts, and once you are clear about all that - you can proceed with company formation. Always remember that business is about sales, that is more important than registration of a company.

 

    Ok, once you decided upon the concept, you will need to compare the advantages and disadvantages of this or that type of UAE company registration (offshore, freezone or mainland). Of course, you need to understand the difference in all of them and clearly know WHY you select this or that option.  And as you next step, you should start thinking of the emirate where you would like to establish your company in. This might be a bit tough decision as you have to understand what are the benefits and potential losses of different locations and take other potentially important factors for your business into account, like proximity to the airport or sea, availability of warehouses, general infrastructure readiness, price difference in registration, visas packages and allocation of visa quotas. At this very step we recommend to select two to three variants as in some registrars you might not find the desired business activity. It means that there is no unified business activity list in the UAE that would be used and applicable in all the emirates of the UAE and accepted as a rule at every registration office. So be prepared to a situation that in the free zone of your choice there might be no opportunity to operate with the business activity you are interested in. That is why we recommend to select SEVERAL options and therefore you should check with the registrar if there is a possibility to establish a company with your desired activity of choice in advance. If so, ask about the necessity of the third party governmental approvals and NOCs (no objection certificates and no objection letters) as this fact might SIGNIFICANTLY influence the overall length of company registration process and required expenses.

 

    Once you agreed on that and made your final decision, you shift to the first phase of actual company registration – the pre-approval. At this stage you have to get a pre-approval for company name and submit the required pre-filled documents about the company activity and personal details of the shareholders or ultimate beneficiaries. Sometimes you might be required to undergo a procedure of provisional approval due to the specificity of the business activity or requirements of the Registrar. Once you do that, the Registrar goes on to the next phase of registration and upon review of the documents provided at the preapproval stage and doing the necessary background and security checks, the Registrar issues corporate documents of the company. Once all corporate documents have been issued you can visit the respective authority and collect the full set of corporate documents.

 

    With full set of documents in hand, you might approach a bank and apply for your corporate bank account opening, but we recommend to have a resident visa prior to your visit to the bank. So, when is the right time for that? Only once your company is registered and you receive a special document called Immigration card, which actually allows you to apply for resident visas for you as a shareholder-investor and your employees. In some free zones and department of economic developments the number of visas you might get per company should be discussed PRIOR to registration, as the number of visas is limited either by the company type or the size of the office, where 9 square feet of office space per visa rule applies. So, try to find your future office PRIOR to obtaining your license and full set of corporate documents in order to avoid any future inconveniences.

 

    This scheme seems to be general but we emphasize that you need to know it as it is the basis that will allows you to better understand what to do and what to expect further. In our next videos we will go deeper into details and explain the exact steps you need to take to register a company in an offshore, free zone or main land. If you are not in a hurry, we recommend to watch them ALL for a better understanding of how things work, if you don’t have time and want ACTION right now - watch the video of the intended company type that you wish to register without any delay.

 

    I know you feel how your reality is slowly starting to change, this is your first steps in the big journey of business and we will be glad to see one more happy person doing his or her own business and enjoying life by adding value to other people’s life through products and results. That’s really important.

 

    If you want to know more about Dubai freezone company formation, feel free to get in touch with our professional consultant team and we would be delighted to assist you and help you to compare Dubai freezone company setup costs and help you to find that free zone, which would suit your business needs the most.

 

 Disclaimer: Business Boutique UAE-Consultants.com is not affiliated with any particular government or legal entity. Business Boutique does not give professional legal advice nor any other professional advice subject to a public office in the government. This article merely sets out a simple and basic idea as to the reasons of Dubai freezone company setup and Dubai free zone company formation cost. Business Boutique in no way holds nor imposes any official governmental or legal authority and the article herein is only to be taken as a guide. All further governmental or legal issues should be addressed to the corresponding authorities.

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