United Arab Emirates
Setting up a company in the UAE
Three doors: mainland, free zone, offshore. Choosing the right one comes before the licence, the tax and the bank.
At a glance
Corporate tax
9% above AED 375,000 annual profit
Personal income tax
None
Foreign ownership
100% (most activities)
Setup time
Free zone 3 to 10 days, mainland 1 to 3 weeks
The UAE sits at the meeting point of Europe, Africa and Asia, capped corporate tax at 9 percent in 2023, levies no personal income tax and has allowed 100 percent foreign ownership in most activities since 2021. That is why a founder's first company abroad is very often incorporated here.
The catch: the UAE has more than forty free zones, one mainland regime and two offshore registries, each written for a different business model. The wrong structure is usually discovered after the licence is issued, and at that point changing it costs as much as starting again. We look at where the business actually happens first, then choose the structure.
Why here
When this jurisdiction is the right choice.
- Tax: 9 percent corporate tax, 0 percent on qualifying free zone income, no withholding on repatriated profit.
- Location: four flight hours between Europe and Asia, one of the densest logistics and finance nodes in the world.
- Banking and infrastructure: international banks, USD accounts, digital government services.
- Residency: owning a company brings an investor visa; a Golden Visa is possible at defined thresholds.
Entity types
Which structure, for whom.
Mainland
Trades freely inside and outside the UAE. Government tenders, unlimited visas, physical office required. 100 percent foreign ownership in most activities.
Free zone
100 percent ownership, fast setup, 0 percent tax on qualifying income. Direct sales to mainland customers are restricted; each zone has its own activity list.
Offshore
No activity inside the UAE, no office. For holding, asset protection and international trade. Issues no visas.
Process
Formation step by step.
- 01Define the activity: which customers, sold from where. The answer decides the structure.
- 02Choose the structure: mainland, free zone (which one) or offshore.
- 03Entity type and name: LLC, FZ-LLC, FZE; name approval and restricted words.
- 04Licence: application to DET (Dubai) or the free zone authority, memorandum, passports.
- 05Certificate of incorporation and licence: about a week in most free zones.
- 06Corporate bank account: the longest step; proof of activity, business plan, expected volumes.
- 07Visas: founder, staff and family; Emirates ID and health insurance.
- 08Tax registration: corporate tax, VAT once the threshold is crossed; documented economic substance.
After formation
What has to happen every year.
- Corporate tax return: within nine months of the financial year end, even at zero profit.
- VAT: registration mandatory above AED 375,000 taxable turnover, 5 percent.
- Accounts and audit: many free zones require annually audited financials; licence renewal is tied to it.
- Economic substance and beneficial ownership filings: especially for holding and IP structures.
- Licence renewal: every year, together with the office lease and visa status.
Sub-zones
The options inside this jurisdiction.
Mainland UAE Company
Unrestricted activity across the UAE and abroad. The structure for a business with local customers.
Open pageRAKEZ UAE Freezone
Ras Al Khaimah's cost-efficient zone for manufacturing, logistics and services. Forty-five minutes from Dubai.
Open pageRAC ICC UAE Offshore
A holding and asset company registered in the UAE but operating outside it. No office, no visas, low cost.
Open pageDMCC Dubai Freezone
The hub for commodities trade, and for crypto companies. Dubai's most prestigious free zone.
Open pageIFZA Dubai Freezone
Dubai's most flexible and cost-efficient setup. No physical office requirement, several activities under one licence.
Open pageMeydan Dubai Freezone
Close to central Dubai, fully digital setup. Fast and economical for ventures and service companies.
Open pageFrequently asked
The in-country registry, licence and agent steps of the formation file run through our licensed formation partners in the relevant jurisdiction. Structure design, contracts, the bank file and the tax and notification effect on the Turkish side are managed by Defensible. Rates and thresholds summarise the headline rules at the time of writing; we check the current text together on your own file.
Can a free zone company sell to customers in Dubai?
Not directly for goods; a mainland distributor or a dual licence is needed. For services it depends on the zone. If your customers are mostly inside the UAE, mainland is usually the right structure.
Is 0 percent tax still available?
Yes, but conditionally. A free zone company benefits from 0 percent if it meets the qualifying income, substance and audited accounts tests; fail them and it reverts to 9 percent.
How does it relate to my Turkish company?
If you remain tax resident in Türkiye, controlled foreign company and transfer pricing rules apply. The Turkish side has to be designed before the structure is set up; we do that together.
Let's work out which structure fits you in 15 minutes.
Tell us where you sell, who you are and what you are aiming at; we will say in the call which jurisdiction and entity type make sense. Formation itself is a separate engagement, scoped and priced there.
Book a 15-minute call