Business Setup

Destination MiddleEast Provides Management Consulting Services which include categorizing business Activities, Obtaining Business Licenses (Free Zones and Mainland) all over UAE, Investors and Partners Protection Contracts, Renting an Office Space.

We can help you to Get the Following Licenses in UAE.

1) Trade License:

Commercial: Import, Export, Distribution, consolidation, storage or warehousing of items speciﬁc in the license, Maximum limit is three similar product lines.

General Trading: General Trading license can be obtained under a commercial license which allows a large number of products.

2) Service License:

Service license allows the holder to carry out service speciﬁed in the license only. All type of services are allowed unless otherwise restricted by the Federal or local authorities.

3) Industrial License:

Import of raw materials, manufacturing, processing, assembling, packaging and exporting the ﬁnished product.

Type of Companies

Branch of Foreign Company
Free Zone Company
Limited Liability Company
UAE Establishment or Sole Proprietorship
Offshore Company

Branch of Foreign Company

A common way for foreign companies to retain foreign ownership under the Commercial Company Law in the UAE is to incorporate a Branch or Representative Office (RO), which permits 100% ownership by the parent company. These forms do not have a separate legal identity and are therefore treated as an extension of the foreign company, which remains liable for their activities.

An RO is not permitted to earn profits within the UAE and its activities are limited to marketing or promoting the products and services of its foreign parent company in the UAE.

Both Branches and ROs must operate under the authority of a commercial registration and license in the name of the foreign company, and both are required to appoint a National Service Agent (NSA), which has to be a UAE national individual or a 100% UAE national-owned corporate entity.

Free Zone Company

Free Zone is the areas that have a special tax, customs and imports regime and are governed by their own framework of regulations (with the exception of UAE criminal law).

The UAE has a number of free zones across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain. Free zones may be broadly categorized as seaport free zones, airport free zones, and mainland free zones. Free-trade zone exemptions are

100% foreign ownership of the enterprise
100% import and export tax exemptions
100% repatriation of capital and profits
Corporate tax exemptions for up to 50 years
No personal income taxes
Assistance with labor recruitment, and additional support services, such as sponsorship and housing.

Limited Liability Company

All mainland (onshore) UAE legal entities are required to be licensed by the Department of Economic Development (DED) and governed by the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL). The main advantage for foreign investors establishing a business in mainland UAE is that, unlike the Free Zones, there is no territorial restriction on business activities or the location of offices/premises. A mainland company therefore has the freedom to trade anywhere in the UAE or wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, including all the Free Zones, and will have a far wider range of real estate options from which to choose.

UAE Establishment or Sole Proprietorship

An establishment or sole proprietorship is an entity owned by one individual with the trade license issued in his or her own name. The owner assumes all the financial responsibilities of the entity including all its financial liabilities.
Establishments that practice professional services and do not extend to any commercial business are exempt from the Commercial Companies Law (CCL) but are required to be licensed by the Department of Economic Development (DED).

Unlike a UAE Limited Liability Company (LLC), which requires that at least 51% of shares must be registered to a UAE/GCC national sponsor, a qualified foreign investor that sets up an establishment or sole proprietorship to practice a professional service is permitted 100% ownership in the company.

Offshore Company

Offshore Companies in UAE should not be confused with UAE Free Zone companies. An Offshore Company is a legal business entity that is set up with the intention of operating outside its registered jurisdiction and/or the location of its ultimate ownership.

There may be many reasons to register an Offshore Company, but the general benefits of utilizing an offshore corporate structure include:

Providing a gateway for international market expansion;
Access to a stable and business-friendly legal system;
Access to a more flexible regulatory regime;
Offering tax neutrality on international earnings in respect of (depending on jurisdiction) personal or company income, capital gains and inheritance taxes;
Offering better access to global funding;
Providing a vehicle to separate or protect assets, such as Intellectual Property, from operating entities.