Step by Step Guide to take your Business to UAE

Step by step Guide to take your Business to UAE

Every day more and more Business houses are expanding their operations to the UAE. Although there are many reasons for doing this – expanding global footprint, exploring new markets, opening doors to new investment opportunities etc., but the basic reasons remains the stagnation of domestic markets and the immediate need to reduce the dependency on it.

As per reports, today more than 800 Indian companies are registered in the Dubai Free zone, but interestingly, over 2000 plus are registered in the Fujairah Free Zone and Fujairah Creative city combined.

UAE today, has more than 45 Free Zones, and each has their own advantage.

Today via this article, we will cover the step-by-step process of setting up a company in one of many UAE Free Zones.

Key steps to start a business in UAE Free Zone

Setting up a business in a free zone is relatively easier. Free zone authorities require minimum paperwork and usually the Licence is issued in a matter of 5 – 7 working days. Here are the key steps to set up a business in a free zone.

• Determine the type of legal entity
• Choose a trade name
• Apply for a business licence
• Choose an office space
• Get pre-approvals, register your business and get your licence

Now let us understand each point in a little more details.

• Determine the type of legal entity

Determine the type of legal entity your business would take up. In a free zone, you can set up one of the two types of companies:

• Free Zone Limited Liability Company (FZ LLC) or Free Zone Company (FZ Co.)
• Free Zone Establishment (FZE)

The difference between the two is in the number of shareholders and whether the shareholder is a natural person or a legal person. All free zones might not register both types of companies. You need to check with individual free zone authorities about the type of company they can register.

• Choose a trade name

While you are deciding upon the type of legal entity your business should take, you should choose a trade name.

In most cases, you should check either with the respective free zone authority or with the Department of Economic Development (DED) about the permitted trade names and whether the intended name has already been registered with them or not.

For the Department of Economic Development to approve the proposed trade name, the key requirements are that the trade name:

• Should not violate the public morals or the public order of the country
• Should be followed by the legal form of the company, for example (LLC, FZE, DMCC etc.)
• Should not have been previously registered
• Should be compatible with the required type of activity and legal status
• Should not contain names of any religion, or governing authority, nor names or logos of any external bodies.

• Apply for a business licence

The type of business licence you will apply for depends on the primary activity of your business. Some types of business licences are:

• Commercial/trade
• Consultancy/services
• Industrial
• Educational
• Media
• Ecommerce
• Offshore
• Freelancer
• Warehousing
• Manufacturing.

• Choose an office space

You can either buy or lease office spaces in free zones. Office requirements depend on the number of employees and type of business activity of your company.

• Get pre-approvals, register your business and get your licence

Companies established in free zones are governed by the rules of the respective Free Zones. To get the necessary approvals, you need to apply with the documents. The list of documents varies on the type of business activity, the type of company and the requirements of the Free Zone Authority.

With these steps, you can easily take the first step towards a better tomorrow.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started” 

                  -MARK TWAIN-