Company formation in the UAE.
Seven jurisdictions. One Dubai advisory team that chooses the right structure, files the paperwork, prepares the banking pack, and keeps your company compliant after launch.
What «company formation» actually means here.
Most people arrive at this page with a number stuck in their head — AED 5,500, or AED 12,500, or whatever they saw on a competitor's homepage. That number is rarely the whole price, and the gap between it and what you'll actually spend is where nine out of ten disappointments come from.
A UAE business license is a bundle of four things: the license itself (paid to a free zone authority, mainland DET, or financial center), a visa quota (paid per visa you plan to issue), an office arrangement (flexi-desk, smart desk, or real walls), and a handful of third-party fees that nobody mentions out loud — establishment card, e-channel, Tasheel, Tawjeeh. The license cost is the smallest of the four for most configurations.
The honest answer to «how much does it cost» is another question: «What are you actually going to do, and where?». A crypto-trading firm in DMCC pays differently from a consulting LLC in IFZA. A holding company in RAK ICC pays differently from a DIFC wealth vehicle. The jurisdictions are not interchangeable — they're different legal systems wearing the same AED signage.
What we do on this page: describe each jurisdiction as it really behaves — the paperwork speed, the banking reality (some jurisdictions open accounts in 10 days, some take 90), the activities that are welcome and the ones quietly rejected, and the total cost of being there for three years, not one. Then we let you run numbers on the calculator.
Seven jurisdictions, one decision.
Below: the jurisdictions Sirius actively files in. Not every free zone in the UAE — there are thirty-plus — but the ones that cover the decisions 95% of our clients face. If you need SHAMS, DAFZA, Fujairah Creative, or UAQ FTZ, we do those too; they just live on separate pages.
DMCC
The default for trading and commodity-adjacent businesses. Reputation premium is real — clients and banks recognize it. Paperwork is efficient. Good fit if you want a reputable free zone license backing a serious operation.
IFZA
Favored by consultants, freelancers, and digital-first businesses that don't need a warehouse. Banking takes longer than DMCC — factor that in. Strong fit if activity is service or consulting.
Meydan
Popular for e-commerce, content creators, and trading businesses that want a flexible activity list. License speed is fast. Visa allocations are generous. Ejari on a shared desk is cleanly handled.
RAKEZ
Best long-term unit-economics if you don't need a Dubai address. Industrial and manufacturing work is welcome in a way that Dubai free zones don't support. Banking takes longer and is more cautious.
DIFC
A common-law jurisdiction inside Dubai, with its own courts. Slower than a free zone, but unavoidable for regulated financial services, family offices, and fund structures. Banking here is immediate and serious.
ADGM
DIFC's younger sibling in Abu Dhabi — cleaner rulebooks for digital assets, faster turnaround for SPVs and holdings. Increasingly the default for crypto and Web3 work that wants regulatory credibility.
Mainland (DET)
If you need to trade with the local UAE market, invoice a UAE government body, or open a retail storefront, you need a mainland license — not a free zone. 100% foreign ownership is allowed for most activities since 2021; a few still need a local sponsor.
Not sure yet? Give us 60 seconds.
Six questions about your business — activity, visas, banking preference, office need. The calculator returns an AED estimate with every line item shown, and a shareable URL you can send to your accountant.
Questions we're actually asked.
How long does setup really take, from first payment to license in hand?
Free zones: 5 to 14 working days for the license itself. Add 7 to 14 for Emirates ID and visa stamping. So 3 to 5 weeks, end to end. DIFC and ADGM: 6 to 10 weeks, because the name-reservation and regulatory steps are more deliberate. Mainland: 2 to 4 weeks for the license, longer if you need Ejari on a commercial space.
We give you a week-by-week timeline in writing before you pay anything, with the government fees itemized.
Do I actually need to visit Dubai to set up a company?
For most free zones, one visit is required for medical, biometrics, and Emirates ID — somewhere between 3 and 10 working days on the ground. A few structures (RAK ICC offshore, some ADGM SPV configurations) can be fully remote via attested POA. We'll tell you honestly which option fits.
«100% foreign ownership» — is it actually 100%?
In free zones: yes, always. In the mainland: yes for most activities since the 2021 reform, but a small list of «strategic» activities (defense, oil & gas, some real estate configurations) still require Emirati participation. We'll check your specific activity code before you commit.
Can I open a UAE bank account before the license is issued?
No — you need the trade license and the Memorandum of Association in your hand. After that, timelines vary: digital banks (Wio, Mashreq Neo) can usually open in 3–10 days after identity verification. Traditional banks (Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB) take 4–8 weeks and expect source-of-funds documentation. Account opening cannot be completed without a visit or in-person identity verification; we prep the banking file during the licensing phase so the application moves the day the license drops.
Free zone vs mainland — which is cheaper over three years, not one?
Free zone usually wins on year-one cost. Mainland wins if you need to (a) invoice other UAE companies without a local distributor, (b) take government contracts, (c) open a physical retail storefront. On a three-year horizon, the «cheaper» option is the one that matches your revenue plan — not the one with the lower initial number. We model both in the calculator.
What are the hidden costs nobody lists on their homepage?
In order of frequency: establishment card (AED 1,200–2,000), e-channel registration (AED 2,200 refundable), medical & Emirates ID (AED 900–1,500 per visa), attestation and translation (AED 200–800 per document if filed from abroad), document fees with courier (AED 300–700), bank account opening fees (AED 1,500–5,000 at premium banks). Across a typical IFZA 1-visa setup, the hidden tail is AED 5,000–8,000 on top of the quoted license fee.
Our calculator shows these as separate line items. So does our contract.
Can I change jurisdictions later if I pick wrong?
Yes, but it's not free and it's not instant. Migrating a free-zone company to another free zone requires re-licensing, re-issuing visas, and re-attesting company documents at the new bank. Plan on AED 15,000–30,000 and 4–8 weeks of downtime. Worth it if the original jurisdiction genuinely doesn't fit; not worth it to chase a 10% license-fee saving.
What happens if my activity list changes after setup?
Adding activities costs a few hundred dirhams and takes a week, as long as the new activity is in your free zone's approved list. Adding an activity that's outside your jurisdiction's scope (e.g., regulated financial services in a trading-focused free zone) requires an amendment that sometimes amounts to re-licensing. We check activity compatibility before you commit to a jurisdiction.
Related, recent.
DMCC vs IFZA in 2026: where the premium actually lands.
We registered forty-two companies across both last year. Here's the part nobody publishes — what each jurisdiction does well, and what clients regret six months in.
The UAE corporate tax filings most founders are already getting wrong.
Two years in, patterns are emerging. The free zone Qualifying Income test is where most mistakes happen — and they don't show up until audit season.
Why UAE banks reject applications — the six recurring patterns.
Notes from a year of banking rejections across Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB, Wio, and Mashreq. None of these are posted publicly. All of them are fixable before you apply.