How to Set Up a Mainland Company in Dubai in 2026: Steps, Approvals and Timeline

Before You Apply: Activity, Legal Form and Foreign Ownership

Everything starts with the business activity. DET issues commercial, industrial and professional licences, and the activities you choose decide the licence type, the legal forms open to you and whether another authority must approve the business first. Regulated activities, such as financial services, telecommunications or media, need that external approval. Choose activities that match what the company will actually do: the licence defines what it may legally do, and adding activities later means amending it.

Most foreign-owned trading and services businesses use a limited liability company (LLC), including the one-person LLC, where each owner’s liability is limited to their share of the capital. DET also registers sole proprietorships, civil companies, partnerships, joint stock companies and branches. According to DET’s Al Wajeez guide, a foreign national may own a sole proprietorship only for a professional activity and must appoint a UAE local service agent. Non-GCC partners in a civil company must do the same.

Full foreign ownership of mainland companies has been possible since 2021, after Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 amended the Commercial Companies Law. The current law, Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, came into force on 2 January 2022. DET states that 100% foreign ownership applies to most commercial and industrial activities. The exceptions are strategic impact activities under Cabinet Resolution No. 55 of 2021, including security and defence, banks, exchange houses, finance companies, insurance, currency printing and telecommunications. These need specific approval and may carry ownership conditions.

The DET Sequence: From Initial Approval to Trade Licence

DET describes initial approval as the first step towards a business licence. It lets you proceed, but it does not allow the company to trade. Next, reserve the trade name. Under DET’s rules it must be a proper name, contain nothing obscene or indecent, and not copy an active business name in Dubai, a government project or an international trademark. The UAE Government portal adds that it must carry the legal form, such as LLC. A reservation lasts six months and can be renewed.

Then come the documents that turn approval into a licence. The memorandum of association must be signed and attested, and documents issued abroad need UAE embassy attestation and an Arabic translation. The office lease must be registered on Ejari and attested by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA). Activities that need another authority’s approval wait for it here. DET then issues the licence against the initial approval receipt, the attested lease, the attested memorandum, any external approvals and, where relevant, the attested service agent contract.

For activities that need no external approval, DET’s Instant Licence shortens the sequence. DET says it can be issued within five minutes, with an electronic memorandum of association and a virtual site for the first year only. The attested memorandum and a physical location are due when the licence is renewed or amended, so the Ejari lease is deferred, not removed. DET publishes no standard processing time for other licences; external approvals and attestation usually set the pace.

After the Licence: Labour, Immigration, Tax and Ownership Filings

A licence alone does not let you hire. According to the UAE Government portal, the company must register with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) by opening an establishment file linked to the licence, and must open a company file with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai. Both are needed before work permits and residence visas can be issued for staff or owners.

Corporate tax registration follows. Under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, a company incorporated on or after 1 March 2024 must apply to register with the Federal Tax Authority within three months of incorporation, on EmaraTax. Late registration costs AED 10,000. Mainland companies pay 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it, and file a return within nine months of each financial year end.

Beneficial ownership is the other early filing. Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023, which replaced Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020, requires a company to keep a register of its beneficial owners and a register of its partners or shareholders. It must give that data to the registrar, DET for a Dubai mainland company, within 60 days of licensing, and file any change within 15 days.

Dubai Mainland Setup Checklist, in Order

• Check each activity for external approvals and against Invest in Dubai’s foreign ownership restrictions list.
• Choose the legal form, and appoint a local service agent if the form requires one.
• Obtain initial approval and reserve the trade name within its six-month window.
• Have documents issued abroad attested by the UAE embassy and translated into Arabic.
• Attest the memorandum of association and register the office lease on Ejari.
• Collect the licence, then open the MoHRE and GDRFA files before hiring.
• File beneficial ownership data with DET within 60 days of licensing.
• Register for corporate tax on EmaraTax within three months of incorporation.
• Diary the licence renewal and file ownership changes within 15 days.