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How to register a company in United Arab Emirates

The UAE is unusual: there is no single national company registry and no flat incorporation fee. Instead you choose a route — a free zone (each emirate has many, run by its own authority) or the mainland (licensed by the emirate's Department of Economy, often called the DED or, in Dubai, the DET). For a non-resident founder the free-zone route is almost always the answer, because zones like Meydan, IFZA and DMCC were built for foreign owners: 100% foreign ownership, no local Emirati partner, no minimum capital you must deposit, and a bundled annual package (trade license + registration + a flexi-desk address) priced from roughly AED 12,500 to AED 30,000+ depending on the zone and number of visas. What changed the calculus is tax. Until 2023 the UAE was a true zero-tax jurisdiction with almost no filing; from financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023 there is now a 9% federal corporate tax above AED 375,000 of taxable income, mandatory corporate-tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) for every company, and an obligation to keep accounting records. A Qualifying Free Zone Person can still reach 0% on qualifying income, but only by meeting strict conditions. So the modern UAE pitch to a non-resident is no longer 'zero paperwork' — it is fast, 100%-owned setup, no personal income tax, and a conditional 0%/9% corporate regime, in exchange for real compliance and genuinely hard banking.

United Arab Emirates overview How we research
Country
United Arab Emirates
Topic
How to register
Reviewed
June 2026

By the Lanzamo Editorial Team · Reviewed June 2026 · How we research

  1. 1

    Pick your activity and choose a free zone (or mainland)

    Start from what the company will actually do — free zones list 2,000+ permitted activities and you usually pick up to three on one license. The activity drives which zone fits: IFZA and Meydan are popular general-purpose, low-cost zones for consultancy/trading/e-commerce; DMCC suits commodities and has the strongest banking reputation; ADGM and DIFC are financial-services common-law zones. As a non-resident, also weigh how easily each zone's name is accepted by banks.

  2. 2

    Choose the license type and legal form

    Most non-residents form a single-shareholder Free Zone Establishment (FZE) or a multi-shareholder Free Zone Company (FZ-LLC / FZCO). You then select a commercial, professional/service, or industrial trade license matching your activity. The legal form is set by the zone authority — there is no separate notary or court step as in a German GmbH or Dutch BV.

  3. 3

    Reserve the company name and get initial approval

    Submit 1–3 proposed names to the zone for reservation. UAE naming rules are strict: no offensive or religious terms, no implication of a regulated activity you are not licensed for (Bank, Insurance, Finance), and personal-name companies must use the full name, not initials. Initial approval confirms the activity and name are acceptable before you pay the main fees.

  4. 4

    Submit KYC documents and your shareholding

    Provide each shareholder's and director's passport copy, a recent proof of address, and often a short CV, business plan or source-of-funds note — non-residents face more KYC here than residents. You declare the shareholding split and appoint a director and manager (the same foreign individual can hold every role). This is where most remote applications stall, so prepare clean, consistent documents.

  5. 5

    Sign the incorporation documents (MoA / license application)

    You execute the Memorandum of Association (and Articles, where the zone requires them) and the license application. Many zones — Meydan and IFZA among them — accept e-signature and remote video KYC, so a non-resident can complete this from abroad; others may want notarised/attested passport copies or a notarised power of attorney if you appoint a local agent to sign.

  6. 6

    Pay the package fee and receive the trade license

    Pay the bundled package — license + registration + flexi-desk/registered address (roughly AED 12,500–30,000+). The zone then issues your trade license and Certificate of Incorporation/Formation. This is the moment the company legally exists; Meydan's 'Fawri' product advertises issuance in as little as 60 minutes, and most general zones turn a clean file around in 2–7 working days.

  7. 7

    Get the establishment (immigration) card and apply for residence visas

    To sponsor visas, the company obtains an establishment card (immigration card) from the zone/GDRFA. You can then apply for an investor/partner residence visa, which runs through entry permit, a medical test, biometrics and Emirates ID issuance, then passport stamping — steps that require you to be physically in the UAE. A non-resident can incorporate without a visa, but most need one (and the Emirates ID it produces) to bank smoothly.

  8. 8

    Register for corporate tax with the FTA

    Every UAE company must register for corporate tax on the FTA's EmaraTax portal and obtain a Corporate Tax Registration Number — this is mandatory even for a free-zone company expecting to pay 0%. Do this early; late corporate-tax registration carries an administrative penalty of AED 10,000.

Realistic timeline: License issuance is genuinely fast: a clean free-zone file is commonly approved in 2–7 working days, and 'instant' products can issue a license the same day. The slow, in-person parts come after. The residence-visa chain (entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, stamping) typically takes 1–3 weeks and usually requires you to be in the UAE. Bank-account opening is the longest pole — often 2–6 weeks of KYC, sometimes longer, and frequently needing a branch visit. Plan on roughly 4–8 weeks, and at least one UAE trip, to be fully operational (licensed, visa'd, tax-registered and bankable) rather than just incorporated.

Right after you incorporate

Complete corporate-tax registration and pick your tax position

Beyond simply registering on EmaraTax, decide early whether you will claim Qualifying Free Zone Person (0%) status, claim Small Business Relief, or simply pay 9% above AED 375,000. The choice shapes whether you need audited financial statements (required to keep QFZP status) and how you must document your income — get this right in year one rather than retrofitting it.

Assess and register for VAT if needed

VAT registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 in any 12 months, and voluntary from AED 187,500. A non-resident-owned company making taxable supplies in the UAE can be required to register regardless of turnover, with no registration threshold for a non-established business that has UAE taxable supplies. Register on EmaraTax; missing the 30-day window after crossing the threshold triggers an AED 10,000 penalty.

Open the corporate bank account (the real bottleneck)

Start banking immediately after the license, because it is the slowest step. Digital banks like Wio Business and Mashreq NeoBiz are the most non-resident-friendly; traditional banks (Emirates NBD, RAKBANK) demand higher balances and usually a UAE-resident authorised signatory. Most non-residents find at least one in-person UAE visit unavoidable, and an Emirates ID materially improves the odds.

Set up bookkeeping and (often) an audit

All companies must now keep accounting records for corporate-tax purposes for at least seven years. Engage a UAE accountant to maintain books, file the annual corporate-tax return on EmaraTax, and prepare VAT returns if registered. A QFZP claiming 0% must have audited financial statements, so budget for an auditor if you are pursuing the free-zone exemption.

Renew the license and visas annually

The trade license, establishment card and each residence visa renew on their own cycles (the license annually). Lapsing a license can freeze the company and its bank account, so diary the renewal — the recurring license cost is typically AED 10,000–20,000+/yr, comparable to the first-year package.

Frequently asked questions

Can a non-resident own 100% of a UAE company with no local partner?

Yes. Free zones have always allowed 100% foreign ownership, and since Decree-Law 32 of 2021 the mainland permits it too for most activities — so no Emirati partner or sponsor is required. One foreign individual can be the sole shareholder, director and manager of a free-zone FZE. A few strategic mainland activities still require local participation, which is one reason most non-residents pick a free zone.

Do I have to fly to the UAE to set up the company?

Not for the license itself — zones like Meydan and IFZA support remote setup via online portals and video KYC, so the trade license can be issued while you are abroad. But you will almost certainly need to visit for the residence-visa medical and Emirates ID biometrics, and many banks require an in-person meeting. In practice, budget for at least one trip even though the incorporation is remote.

Do I need a residence visa to run the company?

Not strictly to incorporate — you can hold a UAE company on a non-resident basis. But a residence visa (and the Emirates ID it produces) makes everything downstream easier, especially banking, and is required if you want to live in the UAE or sponsor staff. The investor/partner visa is the usual route and the establishment card your company obtains is what lets it sponsor that visa.

Free zone or mainland — which should a non-resident choose?

For most non-resident founders, a free zone: 100% ownership, a bundled package, fast remote-ish setup, and a potential 0% corporate-tax rate on qualifying income. The mainland (DED/DET license) is better only if you must trade directly with the UAE domestic market without a distributor or need a physical shopfront, since a free-zone company faces restrictions on onshore UAE sales. Mainland now also allows 100% foreign ownership for most activities.

Sources

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