Guide · updated 16.10.2026 · 11 min read · Lucent Legal team

How to open a company in Dubai and the UAE in 2026: step by step, and what it costs

Get a lawyer's help: Company Setup in Dubai & UAE with a Lawyer

You can register a UAE company in days. Getting it to work takes weeks, because after the licence come the establishment card, your visa, tax registration and a bank account. Below: the order of steps on the Dubai mainland and in a free zone, the documents, and the prices that government bodies and free zones publish themselves.

Step 0: structure and emirate

The structure decides who you can sell to, how many visas you get and what tax you pay. Rule of thumb: clients in the UAE, a shop or government tenders point to the mainland. Export, IT and consulting for foreign clients, or a holding company point to a free zone. Since 2025 a Dubai free zone company can operate on the Dubai mainland with a DET branch licence or permit.

An offshore company does not work for doing business in the UAE: it gives you no visa and no right to trade inside the country.

The emirate moves the price. Free zones in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah publish packages several times cheaper than Dubai zones: cheapest free zone in the UAE.

Step by step: a Dubai mainland company

u.ae describes the order; you file through Invest in Dubai.

1. Business activity. Pick a code in the DET catalogue. The code sets the licence type (commercial, professional, industrial), the premises requirements and the approvals you need.
2. Legal form. LLC, sole establishment, branch of a foreign company and others. For most activities a foreigner can own 100% of an LLC.
3. Trade name. You reserve it for six months.
4. Initial approval. Confirms the government has no objection to the company. It does not yet let you trade.
5. Memorandum of association (MOA) for an LLC, notarised. If the activity needs a local service agent, you sign an agreement with one.
6. Premises. The lease is registered in Ejari. The floor area sets your visa quota.
7. Sector approvals if the activity needs them: healthcare, education, food, transport.
8. Fees and licence. DET issues the trade licence.

The official figures we could find come from archived DED service cards dated April 2021: trade name reservation AED 620, initial approval AED 120, licence registration fee AED 600, MOA notarisation AED 300 per party's signature for capital up to AED 100,000. Invest in Dubai shows the current tariff when you file; without logging in, we could not see it on the check date (16.10.2026). Most of the budget goes on the office lease with Ejari and the fees for your specific activity, not on DET service fees.

Step by step: a free zone company

1. Choose the zone and package: number of activities, shareholders, type of workspace, visa quota.
2. Apply and upload documents through the zone portal. Some zones take the whole application online.
3. Pay for the package and receive the licence, founding documents and the workspace lease.
4. Get the establishment card and e-channel registration if you need visas.

Some zones issue "instant" licences, for example the RAKEZ Instant Licence and Fawri at Meydan Free Zone.

What it costs to open a company

Free zone prices from official sites as of 16 October 2026:

On top of that: health insurance, a deposit and rent if the package has no office, bookkeeping, and an audit for QFZP companies or in zones that require one. Licence renewal is a yearly payment of the same order as the first issue.

The mainland has no single price. You add up DET fees for the activity, the Ejari lease, MOA notarisation and visa fees. An exact estimate needs your specific activity code.

Documents

The basic set is almost the same everywhere:

• passports of the shareholders and the manager;
• photos;
• a visa or entry stamp if you are in the UAE, and an Emirates ID if you have one;
• proof of address;
• a description of the activity, sometimes a business plan;
• for a professional licence, a degree or proof of experience;
• if the shareholder is a company: its founding documents, apostilled or legalised, and a resolution to open the UAE entity.

How to prepare foreign documents: document legalisation for the UAE.

After the licence: establishment card, visa, tax, bank

Establishment card and visa. The company registers with immigration and sponsors the owner's visa. Thresholds for family, green and golden visas are in investor visa through your own company.

Corporate tax. Every juridical person must register with the FTA, free zone companies included. A new company applies within 3 months of incorporation (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024). Late registration costs AED 10,000. The rate: 0% on profit up to AED 375,000, 9% above. A small business with revenue up to AED 3 million can claim Small Business Relief until 2029. Details: 9% corporate tax.

VAT. Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports over 12 months exceed AED 375,000, or will exceed it in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration starts at AED 187,500. The rate is 5%.

Bank. The least predictable step. Since 2023 DET issues the Dubai Unified Licence, a single company identifier across the Dubai mainland and free zones. The Dubai Media Office reports that average business account opening time for these companies fell from 65 days to 5. The bank still checks beneficial owners and source of funds, and Russian founders face a harder review: UAE corporate bank account.

After that the company has recurring obligations: licence renewal, tax returns, the UBO register, and for a Russian owner, notices to the Russian tax service. The table in running a company in the UAE lists each one with its deadline, penalty and official source.

Common mistakes

• Picking a zone on price, then finding the main client sits on the mainland.
• Budgeting by licence price and leaving out the visa, establishment card, insurance and renewal.
• Taking a flexi desk while planning to hire five people.
• Skipping FTA registration on the belief that a free zone exempts you from tax.
• Paying for a turnkey package before talking to a bank.
• Not checking whether the activity allows 100% foreign ownership.

Topic: Doing Business in the UAE

Get a lawyer's help: Company formation in the UAE

This material is for information only and is not legal advice. UAE law changes — a lawyer will assess how it applies to your situation.