UAE Company Registration
Mainland, free zone or offshore — the choice governs where you can trade, what you pay and whether the nil corporate tax rate is available to you. We pick the jurisdiction against your actual customers, then run the licence, visas, bank account and tax registrations.
What it is
Setting up in the UAE means choosing between three quite different regimes before anything else is decided. The choice governs where you may trade, who may own the company, what it costs and how it is taxed.
A mainland company is licensed by the Department of Economy of the relevant emirate and may trade anywhere in the UAE, including directly with the domestic market and with government. Foreign ownership of up to 100 per cent is now permitted for most commercial and industrial activities.
A free zone company is licensed by one of the many free zone authorities. It is quick to establish, comes with a defined package of visas and office space, and can qualify for a nil rate of corporate tax on qualifying income. The constraint is that trading directly into the UAE domestic market usually requires a mainland distributor or a branch.
An offshore company is a holding vehicle. It cannot take an office or issue visas and does not trade in the UAE. It has its uses for holding assets, and it is not what most operating businesses want.
Who it applies to
UAE structures suit some Indian businesses very well and others not at all. It is worth being honest about which you are.
Traders and re-exporters
Businesses moving goods between Asia, Africa and Europe, where a Gulf base shortens the logistics and the paperwork.
Services and consulting
Firms billing clients in the GCC who want a local entity, a local bank account and a local invoice.
Regional headquarters
Groups putting a management or holding layer between an Indian parent and operations across the Gulf.
Not a tax shelter
If you are an Indian tax resident, your worldwide income remains taxable in India. A UAE company is a commercial structure. Anyone selling it to you as a way of not paying Indian tax is selling you a problem.
Why it matters
What the UAE actually offers an Indian business, stated plainly.
Full profit repatriation
There are no exchange controls on taking profits or capital out of the UAE, which is a material difference from operating through some other jurisdictions.
Full foreign ownership
Free zones have always permitted it, and mainland companies now allow up to 100 per cent foreign ownership for most commercial and industrial activities. No local sponsor is needed for these.
A residence visa comes with it
An investor visa and Emirates ID follow from the licence, which in turn open UAE banking, tenancy and schooling.
Position between three markets
A Gulf base shortens the route between India, Africa and Europe for anyone moving goods, and puts you in the same time zone as GCC customers.
A choice of free zones
Dozens of free zones compete on price, activity list and visa quota. The differences between them are real and worth choosing on deliberately.
Access to regional talent
A large, mobile, multilingual workforce, and employment rules built around hiring it.
Types and categories
The right answer depends on who your customers are, not on which package looks cheapest.
Mainland
Trade anywhere in the UAE and with government entities. Up to 100 per cent foreign ownership for most activities. Office space is required and the licensing runs through the emirate’s Department of Economy.
Free zone
Fast to set up, with bundled visa and office packages. Well suited to services, trading with businesses outside the UAE, and holding structures. Selling into the domestic market needs an additional arrangement.
Offshore
A holding company only. No visas, no office, no UAE trading. Used for owning shares or property rather than for running a business.
Branch of an Indian company
An extension of your existing Indian entity rather than a new company. Useful where the contract has to sit with the Indian parent, and it carries its own approvals.
Documents required
Requirements vary between the emirates and between free zones, but this is the common core.
- Passport copies for every shareholder and manager, valid for at least six months
- Passport-size photographs against a white background
- Proof of residential address for each shareholder
- Three proposed trade names, checked against the naming rules of the authority
- A description of the business activities you want on the licence
- Board resolution and attested incorporation documents, where the shareholder is a company
- Ejari or the free zone lease for the registered office or flexi-desk
- Entry stamp or visa page, where the application requires the applicant to be in the country
How it works
A straightforward free zone formation runs in days rather than weeks. Mainland licensing and the visa steps take longer.
We choose the jurisdiction
Mainland or free zone, and which free zone. This turns entirely on where your customers are and whether you need to invoice inside the UAE.
We reserve the trade name and get initial approval
The name is checked against the naming rules and initial approval obtained for the activities you want on the licence.
We arrange the office
A flexi-desk in a free zone, or leased premises with Ejari registration on the mainland. Some visa quotas depend on the space taken.
We file for the licence
The application goes in with the shareholder documents and the memorandum. The trade licence is issued by the free zone authority or the Department of Economy.
Establishment card and visas
The establishment card is issued, then investor and employee visas with the medical test and Emirates ID that go with each.
Bank account
We prepare the account opening pack. UAE banks apply real scrutiny to source of funds and business substance, and a weak file is the usual reason an account is refused.
Tax registrations
Corporate tax registration, and VAT registration where you cross the threshold. Both have deadlines that start running from incorporation.
Tax and what it actually costs
The UAE is no longer a nil-tax jurisdiction, and the rules that replaced that position have real conditions attached.
9 per cent corporate tax
Corporate tax applies at 9 per cent on taxable income above AED 375,000 in a financial year. The first AED 375,000 is taxed at nil, which functions as a small business relief.
Nil rate for a Qualifying Free Zone Person
A free zone company can be taxed at nil on its qualifying income, but only if it meets every condition: adequate substance in the UAE, income of a qualifying kind, non-qualifying income within the de minimis limits, no election into the mainland regime, and arm’s length pricing. Fail one and the whole benefit falls away.
Registration is compulsory
Corporate tax registration is required for essentially every entity, free zone companies included, whether or not any tax is payable. A new company registers within three months of incorporation and the penalty for missing it is AED 10,000.
Substance is examined
The nil rate depends on the company actually operating from the UAE — people, premises and decisions. A letterbox company with a flexi-desk and no staff is exactly what the substance rules were written to catch.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Indian national own 100 per cent of a UAE company?
Yes. Free zone companies have always allowed full foreign ownership, and mainland companies now permit up to 100 per cent foreign ownership for most commercial and industrial activities.
Do I have to live in Dubai?
No, but you should be realistic. A company claiming the nil corporate tax rate has to show genuine substance in the UAE, and banks look closely at whether the business is actually run from there.
Mainland or free zone?
If you need to sell directly to customers inside the UAE or to government, mainland. If your customers are outside the UAE or are other free zone businesses, a free zone is usually faster and cheaper.
How long does it take?
A free zone licence can be issued within a few working days once the documents are in order. Add two to four weeks for the establishment card, visas and medicals, and allow longer for mainland licensing.
Will a UAE company reduce my Indian tax?
Not if you are an Indian tax resident, because India taxes residents on worldwide income. Place of effective management rules can also bring a foreign company within the Indian net. Treat the UAE entity as a commercial decision and take advice on the Indian side before you form it.
Is opening a bank account difficult?
It is the step that most often goes wrong. UAE banks apply substantial due diligence on source of funds, business activity and substance. We prepare the file properly rather than submitting and hoping.
What it costs
Business setup packages including a UAE residence visa start from AED 14,000, plus the licence and authority fees for the jurisdiction you choose. Free zone and mainland costs differ substantially, so tell us the activity and we will price your case exactly.
Ready to begin?
Tell us the situation and we will confirm what applies, what it costs and how long it takes.