# Opening a business in Dubai



## MMI (May 9, 2012)

I had a question about opening a small business in Dubai that I am hoping people may be able to help me with.

From what I have researched it in not possible to operate a business in Dubai without a local partner.

The other way of doing this is to register in a Trade Zone (e.g. RAK or Media City), however, from what I have seen registration seems to be quite expensive (~10,000 AED).

Is there a cheaper way of doing this? Can you operate as a sole proprietor with a different registration?

I see many businesses that are run by expats that are small and so it would seem that there must be a way to do this.

Any suggestions / thoughts would be appreciated.


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

RAK is about your cheapest option at around 17,000 AED per year. You will need 100k capital in your bank account when you open it but you can take that back out when registration is finished.

VirtuZone is slightly more expensive but you don't need the initial capital.

The other freezones are more suited for larger and international companies not sole traders.

There are limitations and restrictions on what you can do though, especially if you are operating outside of that freezone so both of the above may not be applicable to your business.


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## MMI (May 9, 2012)

Thanks. This is pretty much what my research had turned up. I guess if you treat the ~4000 EUR per year as a fixed tax then it kind of makes sense.

Don't supposed that having a business like this comes with any benefits like the ability to sponsor your own visa or anything?


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

MMI said:


> Thanks. This is pretty much what my research had turned up. I guess if you treat the ~4000 EUR per year as a fixed tax then it kind of makes sense.


Basically. With RAK, after your first year you will also be required to do a yearly audit which is another 2-3k per year.

The actual license is actually only around 3k. The bulk of the payment is for use of the business centre, which you have access to for around 18 minutes per month if you book 2 weeks in advance. 



MMI said:


> Don't supposed that having a business like this comes with any benefits like the ability to sponsor your own visa or anything?


It depends on your package but for the 17k you usually get two partner visas. You can't take on employees but you can hire domestic staff eg maids on them. There are more expensive options though if you do need employees and these prices may have changed since I last looked at it.


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## rroki (Dec 11, 2012)

I've opened my company in RAK investment authority and it is exactly what Mr. Rossi sad! Nothing to add.


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## MMI (May 9, 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to respond. This confirms what I had been reading.


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## Desertrose70 (Mar 3, 2012)

There seem to be 2 different RAK freezones. Anyone knows the difference and recommendation which one to choose?


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

I believe you are referring to the RAK Investment Authority (RAKIA) and the RAK Free Trade Zone (RAKFTZ). RAKIA is for large scale freezone establishments primarily industrial scale production etc.. while RAKFTZ is geared more towards consulting, sme businesses among other small to medium scale setup's ...


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## celticcavegirl (Oct 18, 2012)

I wanted to go the freezone route but legally you aren't supposed to do B2C sales or import goods (unless of "highly technical nature", more paperwork, licensing etc)

I opened a mainland LLC, it costs usually between 15-30k aed + startup costs + office rental


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

celticcavegirl said:


> I wanted to go the freezone route but legally you aren't supposed to do B2C sales or import goods (unless of "highly technical nature", more paperwork, licensing etc)
> 
> I opened a mainland LLC, it costs usually between 15-30k aed + startup costs + office rental


Actually while b2c sales are prohibited in a freezone setup, unless done through a agent/distributor based in the mainland. They are legally possible if the freezone business exclusively delivers to its customers via courier companies (the courier is the companies agent/distributor) thereby not having a physical store front/office to conduct business from and similarly collects payments either via online credit card processors or bank wires etc, basically no cash.. Freezone b2c is viable for an e-commerce type setup... 

Also you are allowed to import on a freezone license, I just got done importing an LCL load coming from the States to Jebel Ali, the goods weren't of an technical nature, pretty standard sports equipment...


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## Garbuttj (Feb 2, 2013)

MMI said:


> I had a question about opening a small business in Dubai that I am hoping people may be able to help me with.
> 
> From what I have researched it in not possible to operate a business in Dubai without a local partner.
> 
> ...


If your company is of a Professional nature you may be allowed to open a Civil Company onshore through Dubai Economic Dept. and own the business 100%. I've just done this and the whole process cost around AED 30k but you do need to rent an office. My business is engaged in Real Estate so I also had to obtain RERA approval and have a local agent costing another AED 15k per year. I decided on using a DED registered serviced office for 4 people costing AED 11k per month.

Personally I would avoid free zone business set ups if you want to fully operate in Dubai.


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## ZeeKhan (Nov 13, 2012)

Garbuttj said:


> If your company is of a Professional nature you may be allowed to open a Civil Company onshore through Dubai Economic Dept. and own the business 100%. I've just done this and the whole process cost around AED 30k but you do need to rent an office. My business is engaged in Real Estate so I also had to obtain RERA approval and have a local agent costing another AED 15k per year. I decided on using a DED registered serviced office for 4 people costing AED 11k per month.
> 
> Personally I would avoid free zone business set ups if you want to fully operate in Dubai.


What's your real estate company called I'm looking to move into this sector coming over in April currently looking for work I am currently working in the UK for a large PLC property company the UK's Largest

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum...Have a great day ... Zee


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## ZeeKhan (Nov 13, 2012)

Garbuttj said:


> If your company is of a Professional nature you may be allowed to open a Civil Company onshore through Dubai Economic Dept. and own the business 100%. I've just done this and the whole process cost around AED 30k but you do need to rent an office. My business is engaged in Real Estate so I also had to obtain RERA approval and have a local agent costing another AED 15k per year. I decided on using a DED registered serviced office for 4 people costing AED 11k per month.
> 
> Personally I would avoid free zone business set ups if you want to fully operate in Dubai.


Hi what's your real estate company called? I am currently working in the UK for a large property group but I am due to arrive in April I am looking to move into this sector looking forward to securing a position with a reputable real estate company, could you give me any advice on who to approach, or have you anything available ?

You could PM me If you like but in the meantime have a great week and look forward to hearing from you soon

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum...Have a great day ... Zee


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## ZeeKhan (Nov 13, 2012)

Garbuttj said:


> If your company is of a Professional nature you may be allowed to open a Civil Company onshore through Dubai Economic Dept. and own the business 100%. I've just done this and the whole process cost around AED 30k but you do need to rent an office. My business is engaged in Real Estate so I also had to obtain RERA approval and have a local agent costing another AED 15k per year. I decided on using a DED registered serviced office for 4 people costing AED 11k per month.
> 
> Personally I would avoid free zone business set ups if you want to fully operate in Dubai.


Sorry for replying twice I thought my iPad crashed and the original post got deleted but it reappeared

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum...Have a great day ... Zee


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## sub0 (Jan 28, 2010)

well trust me, sharjah is going to be your cheapest heaven if you wanna start a business. i am in a little hurry but i will explain in my next reply! thanks & sorry.


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## msbettyboopdxb (Mar 22, 2009)

Ok, waiting to hear all about it. Thanks!


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## qadir5000 (Feb 4, 2013)

Freezone is good if you don't want to do General Trading as in Freezone you can only deal with companies in Freezone or Internationally.

If you want to open a local business you'll have to register a local DED company.


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## shani_raval (Feb 5, 2013)

hi, i would like to open a travel agency, any1 here who can guide on the procedures and the investment required?


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## MarcAD (Oct 30, 2012)

Some good info here re: dubai.

In the beginning of April I will be attempting to establish an LLC in Abu Dhabi and can update with how it went.. Will be a first time around so should be interesting.


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## secrethq1 (Mar 24, 2012)

I will be also opening an business here mainly for import/export, I will also report my findings... Thanks


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## PATSMelbourne (Mar 14, 2014)

Good Thread

OK my question

I run a small Australian company based in Melbourne

We are looking at coming to Dubai on an occasional basis to conduct two day training courses ( perhaps once every two months).

Clients would be local UAE subjects , we train people to pass or score higher on employment aptitude tests.

Had a reasonable look around on UAE websites etc , can't seem to find the information I need.

Would it be possible to do this without setting up a the whole shooting match in UAE - that being registering, local agent or partner ,branch office, full company set-up etc.

Wouldn't be worth doing that as we are only likely to come there 4 to 6 times per year.

Anyway appreciate any advice or tips about what our obligations are etc, if this project is doable.

The "word on the street" seems to be that a tonne of companies do this kind of thing , come to Dubai run training courses for a few days , fees paid via credit card or to offshore bank accounts.

One question if I were to move forward with this what currency should you use to quote , USD most popular I guess, do many people quote prices in GBP in the UAE ?

Thanks


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## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

I just finished establishing my LLC. So I can share with you my breakdown of cost...we are electronics based.

PRO Fees 3k
Local Sponsor 15k
Yearly License etc fees (the one big payment you make to the bank) 14k
Office 45k annual
Typing, notary, this and that etc etc nonsense figure around 5k

Then i spent 10k to build out the office space, pretty basic nothing crazy, that will depend on you and your tastes. I also had to give a 10k bank guarantee deposit for my visa. 

All in all I'm in it probably 60k+ at the moment plus my first rent check of 15k plus deposit commission etc another 4k, so rough number 80k out of pocket so far.

In comparison you can open a freezone company in ajman/sharjah purely for licensing purposes for around 15k all inclusive. For us that route was not at all feasible due to the nature of our business and needing to be in the main Naif/Deira wholesale market. 

I'm thinking a sharjah/ajman freezone with smart office setup would be more for someone providing services like consultancy or other service based where you visit the client in their office? Just a guess...for my business model it didn't make sense.


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