Business Setup in Dubai

Dubai is famous for its business friendly infrastructure and facilities.Dubai mainland company registration is still the first preference by most of the organizations when establishing their business in Dubai.The Department of Economic Development  is a business hub under the jurisdiction of the government of Dubai, UAE.

If you setup your company in the Dubai mainland, you will need to appoint a UAE national as a local sponsor for your business. For trading company, 51% local ownership is mandatory and the remaining 49% can own by the expatriate. However, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the local sponsor or sleeping partner will make an agreement that he will not have any involvement in the company operations or profit sharing.

There are 6 main steps involved in Dubai mainland company setup. However, there are some activities which require special approval from some specific Government departments. The main 6 steps involved are:

• Business Activity Selection and Name Approval
• Selection of Local Partner or Service Agent
• Apply for Initial Approval
• Preparation of Court Notarization and MOA
• Get Office Space and Tenancy Contact
• Final Submission

For a professional License, the investor can have 100% ownership, but a local service agent is still required. Thus for a professional company, the local service agent has no active part in the company business management, operations or profit sharing. Instead, they will act as figurehead representative, while drafting legal agreements and establishing other business documentation required in Dubai.

A verified office address from Dubai Municipality is required when setting up business in Dubai. The requirement of office space can be varied based on the type of license the investor is looking for and it is investor’s responsibility to ensure a valid tenancy contract for an office is available at the time of applying for the license.