Dubai free zone setup
from$4,000
first year, all in
What moves the price
- Free zone chosen
- visas needed
- activity approvals
- office type
Dubai Company Setup: the Cost, the Choice, and the Question to Answer First
Most people pick their free zone before they have answered the only question that decides everything: what does this company do to your tax at home?
The setup itself is straightforward. A Dubai free zone company starts around $4,000 all-in for the first year. Mainland starts around $9,500. The price moves with the free zone you choose, your visa count, your business activity and your office requirement. This page covers what setup includes, what moves the price, and the two decisions to make before you spend a dirham.
- Free zone
- from $4,000
- first year, all in
- Mainland
- from $9,500
- first year, all in
- Typical timeline
- 1–2 weeks
- once documents are ready
Who this is for, and who it is not
This fits you if:
You are starting or relocating a business to Dubai and want it structured properly from day one
You live outside the UAE, in Canada, Pakistan, India or elsewhere, and need the home-country tax side checked before you commit
You want one adviser for licence, visas, banking AND the tax picture
Probably not, if:
You just want the cheapest licence with no advice. Plenty of formation agents will oblige.
You have already registered and only need bookkeeping. See /services/bookkeeping.
What you get
- The recommendation
- A free zone vs mainland recommendation based on your activity, customers and banking needs
- Licence
- Trade licence and company registration, handled end to end
- Visas
- Investor and employee visas
- Banking
- Bank account preparation: documents, profile, introductions
- Premises
- Office and address requirement solved for your case
- Tax registration
- Corporate tax and VAT registration where required, so you are compliant from day one instead of scrambling in year two
How it works
Strategy conversation
activity, customers, residency, banking, home-country tax exposure
Structure and zone selection
with written reasoning rather than a brochure
Registration and licence
documents, approvals, government fees
Visas and banking
from application through account opening
Registrations and handover
tax registrations done, books ready to run
Dubai company setup cost
Item · Indicative "from" (USD) · What moves the price
Dubai mainland setup
from$9,500
first year, all in
What moves the price
- Activity
- office requirement
- visa count
- external approvals
Free zone or mainland? The wrong pick costs a restructure
Free zone suits international business, online services and holding activity: lower cost, 100% ownership, but restrictions on trading directly onshore. Mainland suits anyone selling to the UAE market itself.
The most common reason companies get restructured in year two is choosing by price instead of by business model.
Free zone
International business, online services and holding activity.
- Lower cost
- 100% ownership
- Restrictions on trading directly onshore
Mainland
Anyone selling to the UAE market itself.
- Sells into the UAE market
- Activity-led
- External approvals may apply
What a Dubai company does to your tax at home
If you live in Canada, or anywhere that taxes worldwide income, a Dubai company does not automatically save you tax. It can create foreign reporting obligations, and structured badly, a home-country tax bill that cancels the saving.
This is exactly what the Structuring Review answers: 60 minutes, your numbers, a written answer, before you spend the setup money.
- 60 minutes
- on a call
- Your numbers
- not a brochure
- A written answer
- before you spend
More on cross-border tax and structuring.
We were comparing UAE, Canada, and the US for our business setup. Haseeb helped us understand the differences clearly and choose a direction with more confidence.
Michael Anderson We came in with questions about company setup, but Haseeb helped us see the full picture. He explained the structure, ownership, tax, and banking side in a way that was easy to understand.
Omar Khan
FAQ
Most companies are licensed within 1 to 2 weeks of complete documents. Banking usually takes longer than the licence. Regulated activities vary.
No. Many owners run UAE companies from abroad. But where you live decides where you are taxed, so the structure must be planned around your residency, not just the licence.
Free zone usually costs less to open. Whether it stays cheaper depends on whether you can actually operate your business model from it. Choosing by price alone is how restructures happen.
If you are a Canadian tax resident, yes. Owning a foreign company brings reporting obligations, and depending on the structure, Canadian tax on its income. Check this before you register, not after.
Open the company. Move the life. In the right order.
Tell me your activity, where you live, and where your customers are. You get a clear recommendation and a real cost.