A political stability, a favorable geographical position, a well-developed infrastructure, a cheap labor and inexpensive energy carriers are the key advantages of establishing a free zone company in UAE.

Emirates have an attractive policy to generate funds inflow and to support further FEZ development. It is the prime time to explore this benefit. Nowadays there are more than 15 free zones operating in UAE.

They are present in each emirate where Dubai and Sharjah have several of these zones. All of them attract investors due to no taxation, absolute possession of owned capital, full funds repatriation that is not taxed. UAE residency is an additional benefit of its own.

Opportunities

A free economic zone gives you an option to register your company in the following legal forms:

  • Free zone enterprise (FZE) with not more than one shareholder who can be both natural body and legal entity;
  • Free zone company (FZC) with two to five shareholders: natural bodies or legal entities;
  • Branch of an existing organization;

A free zone allows you to obtain license for many types of activities. Activities such as tourism, retail, construction and engineering design are main attributes of the domestic market. Our company can assist you to choose a free zone and license type. We advise our clients on all the pluses and possible shortcomings of the selected FEZ.

License can be industrial, commercial or service. Company can be set up from scratch or as a branch of an already existing company. It is necessary to know that it is not applicable “ to transfer” the company from one jurisdiction to another. Our expertise helps our clients to have cost effective registration process with no extra expenses in the future.

Requirements

An initial investment capital (not less than 13 000 USD) is required in most of the FEZ. The authorized share capital is payable in cash only and should be confirmed by bank statement. It can be used as needed at company discretion.

Nowadays, many free zones do not require you to pay authorized capital at all, or allow for the payment to be done after registration and obtaining of a license.

All free zone entities are obliged to provide an annual audit report to the registered body (the administration of the respective FEZ).

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If you are interested to set up an offshore company in UAE then probably you are well aware of what an offshore is. Therefore, we will summarize the information, which will be always good to remember about offshores in UAE.

In many jurisdictions, and in UAE in particular, these companies are generally forbidden to hold an office and to perform business activities in the country.

The main offshore benefit is that there is no taxation, tax reporting and accounting. Offshore companies are established for the purpose of investment, purchase of property and vehicles, as well as for securing the funds from expropriation and side effects of economic recession.

It is noteworthy that economic and political stability of UAE has largely contributed to attain an excellent reputation as an offshore jurisdiction among tax authorities due to the transparency of registration process and further operation of offshore companies.

Setting up an offshore company in UAE has the following advantages:

  • an exemption from taxes with no hidden costs;
  • no restrictions on the movement and export of capital;
  • a bank account in UAE;
  • easy reporting;
  • simplified company registration with no minimal capital requirements;

Features

Offshore companies registered in UAE are often confused with free economic zone enterprise. It is important to emphasize that an offshore company can be registered only in two FZ: Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Ali.

Offshore company cannot perform its business activities or rent an office in UAE; it will not be able to provide residency permit for its employees, as the company is a non-residential entity.

If you are planning to carry out any business activities in UAE, in that case we recommend you to consider setting up a company in a Free Zone or within the domestic market.

We is the registered agent in both offshore jurisdictions of the UAE. We have all the licenses to register an offshore company and to support its further prospective interests. Our company address will be stated in all official documents as the legal address of your enterprise. We can also assist you to open a corporate bank account.

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If you are planning to carry out any business According to UAE legislation, the form of company registration may vary and depends on its location. For example, a store in a mall, a supermarket, a restaurant or a clinic may require only registration in the domestic market.ctivities in UAE, in that case we recommend you to consider setting up a company in a Free Zone or within the domestic market.

All domestic companies can be grouped into commercial enterprises, professional or civil companies and representative offices of foreign organizations.

According to commercial law of UAE, 51% shares of commercial enterprise should belong to a UAE citizen or to a citizen of the GCC countries.

Commercial enterprise

A local partner is entitled to have no less than 20% of company profits. It is stipulated in the Memorandum of Association. In real life, majority of local partners are “sleeping partners”, i.e. not actively taking part in any activity of the company or distribution of income. They only get a fixed annual remuneration.

There is also a practice of the so-called “side agreements”. It is when a local representative (Emirati) signs a contract with foreign partner in which he confirms in written he has made no contribution to the company and does not claim any share or profit of it.

Due to the fact there is no UAE legislation providing for the conclusion of such agreement, it cannot be notarized. So, this document is not legitimate.

The registration procedure consists of obtaining an initial approval from registering body and in some cases from the third parties (external ministries and departments) prior to the registration. The Memorandum of Association must always be notarized.

To register a commercial enterprise the passport copies of the shareholders will suffice, but in some cases additional documents may be required, such as: good conduct certificates, proof of work experience, attested diploma etc.

We assist our clients to set up a legitimate system to secure their company assets and provide a turn-key solution for your new company incorporation in the UAE local market.

Professional companies

The main difference of a professional company from commercial one is that it offers specific professional services. This category includes consultancy, beauty salons, translation bureaus, some medical services and so on. Professional company can be 100% owned by a foreign investor, but to register it you will be asked to allocate the so-called “service agent”. An Emirati who resides in Dubai or any other emirate can perform representative activities in different government departments.

A service agent does not have any share capital in the company, but same as a partner in the commercial enterprise, he receives an annual fixed remuneration.

To register such a company you will be required to submit a passport copy and attested diploma confirming your education. As a rule, your work experience as an entrepreneur in the industry should be no less than 5 years.

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LEGAL ENTITIES, BRANCHES AND REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES HAVE BEEN REGISTERED SINCE 2008
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COURT DECISIONS IN THE COURTS OF ALL EMIRATES
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COMPANIES ARE PROVIDED WITH EITHER FULL OR PARTIAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES
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