Formation of Mainland Company in Dubai

Investors prefer Dubai Mainland company formation for excellent infrastructure and facilities. For this reason Dubai is the first preference for the most of the investors when it comes to setting up a mainland company. Proximity to other emirates, flexible office availability, Flexibility to do business in any part of UAE and availability of major ports – Jebel Ali, Port Rashid are major advantages for setting up a business in UAE.

Permitted Legal Structure in Mainland company set up :- a) Limited Liability companies b) Professional License c) Industrial License d) Tourism License UAE National Shareholder :-

Any investor who plans to form a license must note that UAE national is compulsory to form license. In case of LLC, Industrial license, Tourism license the UAE national will have 51% share and expat shareholder will have 49 % share holding. For certain activities in Professional license expat will be 100% holder and UAE national will be the agent. Few license like Man power license, Real Estate will be 100% managed by UAE nationals only.

Dubai Economic Department:-

Industrial license will be allowed to operate by Department of Economic Development (DED) in certain areas in Dubai like Jebel Ali, Al Qouz and Al Quasis. Certain licenses like Restaurant, Industrial License, Contracting, Medical License require external approval from authorities like Dubai Municipality, Dubai Health Authority, Civil Defense, Dubai Police. Investors should note that for educational centre/ Training centre requires approval from KHDA (Knowledge and Human development authority). Cost of the above mentioned license will vary based on the authority who approve it. In case of auditing license it is been mandated by DED that UAE national should also be a Chartered accountant and he should be registered with Ministry of Economy.

Steps Involved in Forming License:- Forming a license in Dubai Mainland is a step by step process. It is as per below: a) Trade Name Selection b) Initial Approval c) Court Notarization d) Tenancy contract / Ejari e) Final submission and obtaining payment voucher f) Issuance of license g) Issuance of Labour card h) Issuance of Establishment card i) Stamping of his investor Visa

Any investor who is currently employed and who wishes to start his own company and wishes to continue his current job, he can obtain NOC from his current employer and can be a partner in the new company.

Selection of Office Space:-

As per his nature of business investors need to decide where they require the office and the size of their office. For certain activities like training centre, KHDA has criteria with regards to office size and number of floors. Allocation of staff quota is inter related with office size. The advantage with Dubai is investors have choice of selecting office as per their budget and office location.

This blog post is written by Mr. Ashwin. Feel free to call our Business Adviser today for a quality consultation relating your Business queries. Please send inquiry to info[at]flyingcolour[dot]com or call +971 4 4542366.