UAE · Dubai Mainland company formation for non-residents

Why choose a mainland LLC

A mainland LLC is licensed by an emirate's economic department, such as Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, rather than a free zone authority. That licence lets you sell directly to customers anywhere in the UAE, open shops and branches, and bid for government contracts.

Free zone and international companies are limited in how they deal with the mainland market. If most of your customers are in the UAE, a mainland licence often removes the need for distributors or workarounds.

The trade-off is more set-up work. You need registered premises, and some activities need approvals from other authorities before the licence is issued.

Each emirate licenses its own mainland companies. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most common choices, but rent, fees and approval routes differ between emirates, so we compare them with you before choosing.

Foreign ownership rules

Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, the Commercial Companies Law, allows foreign investors to own up to 100% of a mainland company for most activities. Before 2021, most mainland companies needed a UAE national partner holding 51%.

Some activities are still restricted. Activities with strategic impact, such as defence, security and certain utilities, have their own conditions. Some regulated professions and sectors, and each emirate's licensing rules, can still require a UAE partner or local service agent (confirm with your specialist).

This is why we check your exact activity first. The answer decides the structure, the approvals and the cost, so it comes before any payment.

Ownership conditions can also change as authorities update their activity lists. We check the current position for your activity at the time you apply.

Where a UAE partner is still needed, we explain the terms before you commit.

Shareholders, managers and premises

An LLC can have from 1 to 50 shareholders, who can be individuals or companies. It needs at least one manager, who can be of any nationality and does not have to be a shareholder.

Every mainland company needs registered premises in the emirate that issues the licence. The lease is registered with the authorities, and the size of the office affects how many visas the company can sponsor.

Share capital is set in the memorandum of association. Most activities have no fixed minimum, but some licensing authorities and sectors set their own (confirm with your specialist).

Shareholders can be individuals or companies. A corporate shareholder provides its own documents, legalised or apostilled as the authority requires, and names an individual to act for it.

• Shareholders: 1 to 50
• Managers: at least 1
• Premises: registered lease in the licensing emirate
• Visas: quota linked to office size

Corporate tax and VAT

UAE Corporate Tax applies to mainland companies under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. The rate is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. Large multinational groups can face a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax.

Every company registers with the Federal Tax Authority and files a corporate tax return within 9 months of its tax period end. Small Business Relief lets a resident business with revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less elect to have no taxable income; Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 extended it to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029.

VAT is 5%. Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 in 12 months. The UAE has no personal income tax, but your home country may tax what you receive from the company.

How setup works

We start by matching your business to the right licence activities and emirate. Then we reserve the trade name and apply for initial approval from the licensing authority.

Next comes the office lease, the memorandum of association and any external approvals. Once everything is in, the trade licence is issued, followed by the establishment card that lets the company sponsor visas.

Most files take 3–5 weeks from KYC approval. Activities that need other authorities, such as health, food or education, can take longer, and we tell you at the start if yours is one of them.

Documents from outside the UAE, such as a parent company's certificate or a power of attorney, often need legalisation or attestation before the authority accepts them. We tell you at the start which papers need this, so you can arrange them in parallel.

Beneficial owners and disclosure

Every mainland company keeps a register of its beneficial owners and files it with the licensing authority. A beneficial owner is, broadly, anyone who owns or controls 25% or more, or who controls the company in another way.

The register is not public. Authorities can access it, and banks will ask for the same details. The UAE left the FATF grey list in February 2024 and was removed from the EU's high-risk third country list in 2025.

Report changes in owners or managers promptly, because the licence, the UBO register and your bank records must all match.

Running the company each year

Each year you renew the trade licence and the office lease, keep accounting records and, in practice, have the accounts audited. You file the corporate tax return, and VAT returns if registered.

The UAE ended economic substance reporting for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2023. Corporate tax is now the main annual compliance task, together with visas for any staff.

We keep one calendar for the licence, lease, audit, tax and visas. For banking, we introduce you to suitable banks and prepare the application. The bank decides.

Letting the licence lapse brings fines and can block visa renewals and bank transactions. We send each renewal with its cost well before the due date.