Setup & Residency
Your UAE company,
and the visa that comes with it.
Two decisions shape everything else: the trade licence you hold and the residence visa it entitles you to. We advise on both together, then file the paperwork with the authorities ourselves.
Check my licence and visa options
Residency · United Arab Emirates
01 · Business Setup
The licence decided
before the paperwork begins.
Most difficulties in a UAE company are written into it on day one — an activity too narrow to invoice properly, a jurisdiction that cannot support the visas required, a shareholding that complicates later investment. We settle the structure first, then execute it without drama.
Mainland
A Department of Economy and Tourism licence for companies that intend to trade across the UAE without restriction — government contracts, local clients, unlimited premises and staff. Full foreign ownership now applies across most activities.
Free zone
A jurisdiction matched to the activity rather than the brochure: media, commodities, technology, logistics or professional services. Efficient to establish, straightforward to renew, and appropriate where trade is regional or international.
Offshore
A holding vehicle for assets, shareholdings and intellectual property. No residence entitlement and no local trade, but valuable where the objective is ownership and succession rather than day-to-day operation.
Licensing · Dubai
01
Week one
Activity selection and legal form confirmed, name reserved with the relevant authority, and initial approvals identified before any fee is paid.
02
Week one to two
Memorandum of association drafted and notarised, shareholder documentation attested, and external approvals obtained where the activity requires them.
03
Week two
Establishment card, immigration file and trade licence issued, with the licence wording checked against how the business will actually invoice.
04
Ongoing
Banking introduction, corporate tax registration, bookkeeping and annual renewal held under one advisory relationship.
02 · Visas & Residency
Residence arranged
without a single wasted appointment.
Residency is where most business owners meet UAE administration for the first time. Handled properly it is a sequence, not an ordeal: quota, permit, medical, Emirates ID, stamp. We hold the file from opening to issue and tell you exactly which day requires your presence.
Investor & partner residence
Issued against the shareholding in your own company. Renewable, transferable to dependants, and the standard route for founders establishing a base in the Emirates.
Employment residence
Quota assessed, offer letter issued, contract registered and the file opened correctly — so onboarding an executive from abroad takes weeks rather than months.
Golden Visa
Ten-year residence for qualifying investors, property owners, executives and specialised talent. We assess eligibility candidly before an application is lodged.
Family & dependants
Spouse, children and domestic staff sponsored under the same file, with attestation and salary criteria confirmed in advance.
Residency · United Arab Emirates
I
Entry permit
Issued electronically once the immigration file is active.
II
Medical & biometrics
Fitness screening and Emirates ID enrolment completed in a single day where scheduling allows.
III
Residence stamped
Status recorded against the passport and the residence file closed.
IV
Emirates ID issued
The document that opens banking, tenancy and every government service thereafter.