Passport and National ID (If applicable) – for Freezone and mainlands. For branch incorporation please get in touch with one of our experts as they depend on the business activity.

No. Your physical presence is not necessary during the company formation process in a freezone. In the mainland, the process can be initiated without you but your physical presence will eventually be required.

Setting up a new company in Dubai can be complicated, but Sharkup has you covered. Here are the steps –

• We will help during each step of setting up the business while giving you a full overview of exactly where you are in the setup journey.
• We take care of all the complicated bits on your behalf, so you remain calm and free of doubts, but we ensure that you are well-informed along the way.
• The entire process usually takes as little as four working days, Sharkup uses its expertise to ensure that your free zone company setup is a complete success.

• Free Zone Entities – This type of new company formation in Dubai allows 100% foreign ownership and exemption from corporate and personal taxes for a few years. They are not licensed for business outside of the free zones.
• Onshore structures in the UAE are somewhat infamous due to their clause of the legal requirement to nominate a ‘local sponsor’. The local sponsor retains 51% ownership in this limited liability company. However, corporate profits are not required to be distributed in the ratio of shareholder holdings. The local sponsor can be paid a fixed fee on a yearly basis to use his name while the resident and/or foreign owners distribute the profits.
• The professional license allows 100% of the shares to be held by a foreigner. The local sponsor gets the designation of ‘Local Service Agent’. They get a yearly fixed fee for their role as a sponsor in the trade license. The license owner is required to provide evidence of formal qualifications in the profession they operate.
• Representative office license is provided to the incorporator; allowing the company to engage in marketing and research on behalf of a parent company. The requirement of a local service agent is required but there is no obligation to be a shareholder. All registered companies must have a physical office. Sharkup can assist you with finding the office and arranging the lease for the incorporation process.

Yes, there are two recommended offshore corporate structures. The first is RAK; the second, more expensive option – JAFZA. RAK offshore is a pure offshore structure, while JAFZA offshore requires the owner to carry a residence visa. It is only the offshore structure that permits ownership of property in the emirate of Dubai. JAFZA offshore has a minimum requirement of two directors and one shareholder.

Anyone wishing to work and/or live in the UAE must have a residence visa. A manager of your entity must have a residence visa to be able to employ staff in your company. Offshore entities do not
require a residence visa as they do not entitle the shareholder to do business in the country. The free zone companies allow for issuing residence visas based on the size of the rented or
purchased premises of the establishment.

All licenses are renewable annually in the UAE. Failure to do so in time will result in penalties and even cancellation of all the residence visas linked to that company.

There are no personal or corporate taxes in the UAE, but the companies must pay a 5% import duty to get the clearance of their goods from the port into the country.

The shareholder is the owner of the company and holds a share certificate. A company can have multiple shareholders. The director is the person appointed by the shareholders, tasked to handle the management of the company. He signs off the business contracts, and account opening forms, and other documents. The company can have one or more directors in a company.

The incorporation process can take anywhere between five working days to six weeks depending on the free zone you choose and other factors. The initial stage is the registration of your trade name. Once that is complete, you have to produce various documents based on the type of incorporation and getting the required licenses from the issuing authorities. Sharkup can handle all the steps on your behalf. Click here to get started now.

• Clients ideally apply for a residency visa once the company has been established. This is how the process goes – after taking the medical examination, the results are sent to the relevant naturalization and residency department online. After that, the residency is issued and updated in the holder’s passport.
• Speak with a Shark to understand the process in detail.

• The majority of free zone companies can be incorporated without your physical presence. However, if you want to set up in the mainland jurisdictions, the process can be initiated without you but your presence will eventually be required. You will be required to sign formal incorporation documents at the notary in the UAE in person. Get in touch with our expert to find out which free zones can be incorporated without physical presence.
• However, by providing us with the power of attorney, certified and attested by a UAE embassy or consulate abroad, we can complete the incorporation process even without requiring you to visit the UAE.

• Our experts talk to you to understand your business needs, the immediate needs of the company and your future vision in order to suggest the best possible incorporation type. There are various factors to consider. You can take the time to discuss all options with our specialist consultants.

• In short, yes. All educational and corporate documents required in the incorporation process and for the issuance of residence visa need to be attested at the corresponding UAE embassy or consulate in the country of origin. Once done, these documents will then be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dubai. Thus making them officially accepted documents.