Establishing a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals, in a report conducted by the Financial Times in 2018, Dubai ranked first as the best performer in foreign direct investment, and Dubai is considered a destination for investors of various nationalities, including Gulf nationals. In this article, we will show you how to establish a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals.

Steps to establish a company in Dubai for Gulf citizens

To establish a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals, some legal procedures must be carried out in accordance with the regulations and conditions in the country to establish the company properly and officially. The procedures are represented in the following legal steps:

1. Determine the nature of the activity

Determining the nature of the company’s activity to be established is considered the first step in establishing a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals, which is considered the cornerstone upon which the rest of the procedures will be built.

There are three main types of activities: commercial activity, industrial activity, or professional activity, and sometimes a fourth activity is included, which is tourism activity. 

2. Determine the legal form

There are several legal forms of companies such as: (partnership, limited liability company, public joint stock company, private joint stock company, civil business company, branch of a Gulf company or a local company, branch of a foreign company, branch of a free zone company, sole proprietorship) and the legal form is determined according to the nationality of the company owners and the type of activity to be established.

3. Trade name registration

Establishing a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals requires choosing a distinctive trade name for the company and registering it with the relevant authorities under a set of conditions imposed by the Department of Economic Development, such as: the name must not contain inappropriate words, reflect the commercial form of the company, not be similar to the name of another activity, and not contain the name of God Almighty or be derived from the name of a government agency.

4. Get initial approval

Obtaining initial approval for the commercial activity from the competent authorities.

5. Choosing a workplace

Choosing the business headquarters on which the company will operate in Dubai, whether by rent or purchase, but there must be an actual headquarters that has been licensed and complies with the conditions according to the regulations.

6. Approval of the authorities concerned with the company’s activity 

Some activities require additional approval from the relevant authorities, such as: the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Civil Defense.

7. Get License 

The last steps to establish a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals is to receive the commercial license after attaching the required documents and submitting them to the Department of Economic Development and paying the license fees.

Then register in the UAE Chamber of Commerce as a member to then start practicing the company’s commercial activity.

For more information about establishing a company in Dubai for Gulf nationals, do not hesitate to contact our team of experts.