Dubai has always set the standards when it comes to the economic market. Reaching Asian customers is easy from here which makes it an ideal choice for investors. The country has always adopted innovative methods to match the growth of the economic and business industry.
However, Dubai set free zones for foreign investors and give them multiple benefits to encourage foreign trade. Let’s understand how to start a company in Dubai free zone and what benefits investors get. From this article, you get all the information regarding free zone companies in Dubai.
Dubai Freezones are some areas where goods, services, and commodities can be traded without any strict regulations. The Emirates of Dubai has 30 freezones which are managed by their respective authority. These companies pay no tax or very low tax, depending on the category.
It has dedicated free zones for specific businesses based on core activities. Therefore, it attracts international investors. These companies are permitted to own their businesses in a freezone.
Starting a business in Dubai doesn’t require much effort. Out of 40 plus free zones in the UAE, most of the free trade zones are located in Dubai. Benefits that Dubai Freezone companies offer because of which it acts like a commercial and financial hub are the following:
The establishment of Dubai free zones has many advantages, including:
With freezones formation of a company by foreign investors becomes easy. Now they don’t need a Dubai national sponsor to start a company because they have complete ownership of the company in Freezone. For all nationalities business ownership is possible.
The company incorporation in Dubai is straightforward and the licensing process is easy as compared to other jurisdictions. It takes a few days to complete the licensing process.
Different governments imposed currency-related restrictions on the transaction of foreign currency. In Dubai, there is no restriction on foreign currency in freezones. Thus, the financial transaction process becomes a lot easier for foreign traders.
No import and export duties are imposed in the freezone jurisdiction in Dubai. This is a great benefit to save costs and to attract import and export businesses.
The companies in the freezone can conduct labor recruitment in a cost-effective way. These companies are allowed to recruit foreign nationals.
The companies are eligible for full repatriation benefits including profits and financial assets. This means the traders are allowed to take all the profit of the business to their home country.
Freezones in Dubai have several warehouses and office spaces which are best for SMEs and start-ups. In addition, the procedure to form a company in Dubai is easy and straightforward. The immigration facilities are more efficient and save time.
Some other benefits are as follows:
Exemption from corporate tax for 15 years and for another 15 years also after renewal.
No capital deposit needed
Ready customer market across MENA and Asia regions
Low operational cost
Access to world-class infrastructure with an efficient communication system.
How can I register my company in Dubai free zone? Most business owners asked this question, so here is a complete step-by-step process of company registration in Dubai to register a company in the freezone.
Before starting a business in Free Zone Dubai, one has to choose the type of business because different freezones have different requirements that need to be fulfilled. The business entity can register in the form of any of the following:
Free Zone Limited Liability Company (FZ LLC)
Free Zone Establishment (FZE)
The difference between the above two companies will depend on the number of shareholders. It can happen that all freezones will not register both the company, it depends on the freezone.
The name on which promoters need to carry their business should be chosen after deciding the type of company. The promoters must check the decided name from the freezone authority or the Department of Economic Development that the name is already taken by someone else or not.
According to the Department of Economics Development, the following things should be checked before finalizing a name:
must not violate public moral
must be in the legal form of the company
must not be registered previously
must be compatible with the legal status and business activities
Neither contains the name of any religion, governing authority, name, or logo of any external body.
The type of license depends on the business activity. Different freezones are centered on promoting different business activities so the promoters should set up a business in any of the freezones depending on the business. The business can be initiated in fields such as education, finance, retail, hospitality, etc.
The promoters have two options, one is to buy office premises or lease in freezones. Premises depend on the type of business activity and number of employees.
Any business starting in the freezone must obtain some necessary approvals. The followings are the steps and documents that a promoter need to follow respectively:
To get initial approval, the following documents need to be submitted to the authority:
Complete application form
Business plan
Copy of business license or registration certificate
Passport copies and specimen signatures of the company’s shareholder, director, and manager
Audited financial reports of the past two years of corporate entity and certificate of reference from a personal bank of individual shareholders.
No objection certificate, letter of intent, unit title deed, and registry identification code.
Once the promoters get approval from the authority, they need to pay the registration fees along with license fees. The license fee will vary as per the type of business entity.
Note: For some exceptional cases, approval from external authorities is required.
Starting a free zone company in Dubai is one of the best decisions an entrepreneur will make. We, at Registrationwala, help entrepreneurs to set up the company smoothly in Dubai. Our experts will help you in:
Dubai company incorporation process
understanding free zone license cost
complete documentation
Reach out to us to know more about free zone company formation in Dubai.
Q1. Do the free zones in Dubai offer foreign ownership?
A. Yes, the free zones in Dubai offer 100% foreign ownership to the foreign investors.
Q2. What is free zone company in UAE?
A. A free zone company is a business entity located within one of the designated free zones in the UAE. The free zones are special economic zones that provide 100% foreign ownership and certain tax exemptions.
Q3. How many cities in UAE have free zones?
A. Several cities in the UAE have free zones, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.
Q4. Do I require a physical space to operate a free-zone company?
A. It depends on the exact free zone. While some free zones offer virtual offices, some free zones require you to have physical offices.