Business · people search “how to start a business in Dubai”
Start the company after you name the work
Eight moves: activity, name, approval, address, licence, bank, visas, tax. Mainland if you need the UAE high street. A free zone if you need a package.
- Ownership
- 100% foreign for most activities
- Corporate tax
- 9% above AED 375k profit
- VAT
- 5% once you cross the FTA line
Write the activity first. Trading, consulting, a clinic, and a warehouse are four different licences and often four different buildings. Then pick mainland DET if you will invoice UAE customers, or a free zone if you want a flexi desk and mostly international or zone-to-zone work.
The rest is a queue: trade name, initial approval, a real address (Ejari on mainland; flexi desk in many zones), licence and establishment card, corporate bank, visas, then FTA registrations. Year-two renewal is part of the price. Quotes that hide office and visas are not quotes.
This site is orientation. Filings go on DET, the zone authority, and tax.gov.ae. Anyone asking for a visa fee or passport scans on WhatsApp is not a registrar. Use the private specialist form if you want a human to look at the activity list with you.
Practical notes, not official law. Confirm on ICP, MOHRE, RTA, KHDA and your employer before you act.
Related