Dubai Mainland Company Setup

A Department of Economy license, for when you need to trade anywhere in the UAE, hold premises outside a free zone, and bid for government work.

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A mainland license is issued by the emirate's Department of Economy, and it is the route to take when you need to trade freely inside the UAE market, hold premises outside a free zone, tender for government work, or open branches across emirates. Free zone companies are very good at what they are for and are limited outside their own zone, which is the trade off founders are rarely shown before they pay. Full foreign ownership is available across a wide range of commercial and industrial activities, with the eligible list set by the authority and not by us, so the first thing we do is put your activity against it. We then run the file end to end, including the tenancy and Ejari step that a free zone setup does not have.

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Key Features

Activity checked against the Department of Economy list, confirming whether it permits full foreign ownership or still calls for a national agent or partner
Trade name reservation and initial approval filed with the Department of Economy, and with the sector regulator where the activity needs one
Memorandum of association drafted and notarised, tenancy contract and Ejari registration arranged, since a mainland license is tied to a physical address
License issue, establishment card and labour file opened, then the visa quota applied for against the leased space
You supply passport copies, three trade name options, your intended activity, and the shareholder structure you want, which is what decides the ownership route

Benefits for Your Business

Trade anywhere in the UAE and with any UAE customer, without the geographic limits a free zone license carries.
Eligible for the government and semi government tenders that free zone entities are usually shut out of.
Ownership route confirmed against the authority list before you pay, so the structure does not change halfway through.
Tenancy, Ejari and labour file handled inside the same engagement, which is exactly where self filed mainland applications stall.

General information, not legal advice. The activities eligible for full foreign ownership, the approvals each activity needs and all official fees are set by the Department of Economy in the relevant emirate and by federal authorities, and they change. We confirm the current position for your activity with the authority before you commit.