Middle East / AEDubai & Abu Dhabi setup contacts
Company formation and ongoing administration
Jurisdictions / United Arab Emirates
Middle East / AE
United Arab Emirates
A business base. A banking base. A life that works.
Company setup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, banking introductions and practical help getting established. Start with your activity and how you want to operate, then choose the right structure.
Discuss United Arab Emirates
People & provider routes
The connections for this conversation.
Existing contacts
Emirates NBD
UAE banking introduction enquiries
Abu Dhabi banking contacts
Relevant institution selected after your requirements are reviewed
Existing contacts are introduction routes, not guarantees of acceptance or claims of institutional endorsement. Provider terms and local scope are confirmed individually.
The practical guide
Start with the business you actually run.
Worth exploring when you want a genuine operating base in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, access to regional customers, or a coordinated business and residence plan. Start with the activity, where you will work and whether the company needs mainland or free-zone permissions.
A licence, residence permission, bank account and tax position are separate decisions. Free-zone incorporation does not automatically make all income tax-free. The Federal Tax Authority sets conditions for qualifying free-zone treatment; have your actual activity and income reviewed.
What to prepare.
A planning checklist, not a request to upload documents here. The appointed provider confirms the exact documents and secure channel.
- A plain-English business description: products, customers, countries and expected transactions.
- Proposed owners, directors and ownership chain; the appointed provider will specify identity, address and certification requirements through its secure process.
- Your premises, staffing and residence needs, including dependants and any activities needing additional approval.
- Available contracts and evidence of funds for the bank’s assessment; confirm the bank’s current checklist before assembling sensitive documents.
Put the steps in the right order.
- Confirm the licensed activity, emirate, legal form and mainland/free-zone fit with the local provider.
- Obtain a written scope covering registration, premises, additional approvals and any residence work, with recurring costs separated.
- Complete the provider’s due diligence and formation steps. Coordinate any eligible residence application as a separate process.
- Prepare the banking application and confirm tax-registration, record-keeping and accounting responsibilities with the relevant professionals.
- Handover the company records, bank-access arrangements, renewal calendar and open actions.
The year after setup matters too.
- Licence and premises renewals, with an owner for each deadline.
- Accounting records and a qualified adviser’s assessment of corporate-tax, VAT and filing obligations.
- Residence and identity-document expiry dates, where included in the engagement.
- Bank requests, changes in ownership or business activity, and periodic reviews of the wider arrangement.
Questions before you commit.
Mainland or free zone?
That follows from what the business does, where it operates and the permissions it needs. We prepare that brief and compare suitable provider proposals, including premises, visa needs and annual costs.
Does a company give me Golden Residency?
Not automatically. ICP publishes specific categories and evidence requirements for Golden Residency. A specialist must assess whether that or another route fits you; company setup and immigration approval are separate workstreams.
How long will everything take?
A formation estimate is not an end-to-end estimate. Licensing, document checks, residence steps and banking have different dependencies. The proposal sets out the stages and provider estimates for your particular case.
Official reading behind this guide
Reviewed 2 November 2026. General planning information; confirm current requirements and your circumstances with the appointed specialists.
Invest in Dubai · mainland company setupUAE Federal Tax Authority · free-zone corporate tax guideUAE ICP · Golden Residency categories and conditionsChoose the activity before the licence
Dubai and Abu Dhabi offer mainland and free-zone routes. The activity, customers, premises and permissions you need should shape the choice. We coordinate a specific provider quote around those facts.
Make banking part of the plan
Prepare the ownership, source-of-funds and business story alongside formation. An introduction starts a conversation; the bank decides whether to accept the application.
Plan the operating year
Agree who will handle renewals, accounting, tax reviews and any residence work. Ask for a complete first-year and recurring cost schedule before committing.
Go to the source
Starting points for your specialist review · checked 2 November 2026.
Invest in Dubai — mainland business setupAbu Dhabi DED — mainland and free zonesNo tax rate, approval, processing time or banking outcome is promised by this overview. Your individual position needs qualified review.
Make the next step a clear one.
Tell us what you need. We’ll help you plan the next steps.