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YourUAE Business,Established.

Company formation, banking, residency and business support — all in one place.

Your first decision

Free Zone or Mainland?

One question settles most of this. It is not price.

If your customers are abroad, a Free Zone licence is usually simpler and cheaper to run. If you sell to people who live here, you are looking at Mainland. Everything else — ownership, visas, office, audit, tenders — follows from that one answer.

That first branch does most of the work. Your activity, visa count and residency plans narrow it down from there.

A decision diagram. The question at the top is: where will your customers be? Three branches follow. Customers mostly abroad leads to Free Zone, which is simpler and cheaper to run, though selling into the UAE from it is indirect. Customers mostly in the UAE leads to Mainland, which lets you contract with UAE customers directly but needs a registered tenancy. Holding only, with no visas, leads to Offshore, which holds shares and assets but gives no residency and no UAE trading. A note beneath adds that activity, visa count and residency plans narrow the choice further, and that some businesses genuinely sit between two of these.

Four quick questions

The Advisor thinks the way we would on a call. It will tell you when two routes are both fine, and when your answers are not enough to say. It will not push you into a structure just to give you a tidy answer.

Setup Advisor

What will the business actually do?

Your activity decides more than anything else. It sets which authorities can license you, whether you can sell inside the UAE, and whether a regulator has to sign off first.

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Why us

Why founders work with us

The Dubai Water Canal at Business Bay, with the towers along its bank in afternoon light

Business Bay. Most of the companies we set up are run from a desk within a few kilometres of here, and a good number from abroad.

  1. We build the setup around you

    What you sell, who pays you, whether you want to live here. That is what we base the advice on — not whichever package is easiest for us to sell.

  2. One person, every time

    The person you speak to on the first call is the person who handles your file, your renewals and your questions three years from now.

  3. Everything in one place

    Licence, bank introduction, visas and tax registration run together. You are not chasing four teams and repeating yourself to each of them.

  4. We know how the UAE works

    Which authority suits your activity. Which banks say yes to what. And which steps quietly take three weeks longer than anyone tells you.

  5. Real numbers, up front

    You see the whole cost before you commit, including year two. And we say it plainly when something is out of our hands.

  6. We stay after the licence

    Licences, cards and desks all expire. We track your dates and remind you early — not the week it turns into a problem.

How it works

Five steps, one person handling all of them

The same person handles every step. Slide across to see what we do at each one and how long it usually takes.

01 / 05
  1. Stage 1: We talk it through

    A real conversation about what the business will do, who pays you, and where you want to live. You leave with a plan, not a price list.

    • Weigh Free Zone, Mainland and offshore against what you actually sell
    • Shortlist the authorities worth a look and explain what separates them
    • Flag anything that needs a sector regulator’s approval before you spend money

    Typically One call, usually 30–45 minutes

  2. Stage 2: We set up the company

    Company name, business activity and initial approval. Getting the activity right here saves you a paid amendment later.

    • Check your preferred names against the authority’s rules and reserve one
    • Match what you sell to the authority’s official activity list
    • Prepare the application and the shareholding documents

    Typically 3–7 working days, depending on the authority

  3. Stage 3: Your licence is issued

    The licence comes through and the company legally exists. For Mainland, this is also where your tenancy contract has to be in place.

    • File the final application and pay the authority fees on your instruction
    • Arrange your Establishment Card and, where you need one, the Flexi Desk
    • Sort the registered tenancy for Mainland licences

    Typically 3–10 working days, depending on the authority

  4. Stage 4: Bank account and visas

    Two things running side by side. The visa track we control. The bank track we prepare for — the bank decides.

    • Build your bank file and introduce you to banks that suit your business
    • Apply for your entry permit and arrange the status change
    • Book your medical test and Emirates ID appointment

    Typically Visas 2–4 weeks; banking depends on the bank and is not ours to promise

  5. Stage 5: We keep it running

    The part most agencies skip. Licences, Establishment Cards and Flexi Desks expire, and tax deadlines arrive whether or not anyone reminded you.

    • Track your licence, Establishment Card and Flexi Desk renewal dates
    • File your Corporate Tax and VAT registrations when they are triggered
    • Update your licence when your activity, shareholders or address change

    Typically Ongoing, with renewals every year

What we do, and what we hand to a licensed firm

We prepare and file your Corporate Tax and VAT registrations. Specialised accounting and tax services are provided through our licensed partner firms.

We handle this

  • Prepare and file your Corporate Tax and VAT registrations
  • Tell you which registrations apply to your licence, and when
  • Gather and check every supporting document
  • Track your deadlines and tell you what is coming
  • Coordinate between you and the licensed partner firm doing the specialist work

Our licensed partner firms handle this

  • Specialised accounting and tax services
  • Bookkeeping and preparing financial statements
  • Statutory audit, where your licence or free zone requires one
  • Filing and representation work only a licensed firm may do
  • Formal opinions on how the rules apply to your specific structure

You will know which firm is on your work, and why, before it starts. Nothing gets quietly subcontracted.

Asked most often

Quick answers

The longer ones sit on each service page.

Ask one question first: will you sell to customers inside the UAE? If yes, Mainland is usually the answer. If your customers are abroad and you invoice them from here, a Free Zone is normally simpler and cheaper to run. Visas, office and audit all follow from that first answer.

Every service page has its own full set of questions. Start with trade licences if you are not sure where you fit.

Get started

Let’s get your UAE company started

Tell us what your business does. We will come back with the setup that fits and what it costs.

We reply within one working day.

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