Mainland Company

What is Mainland Dubai?

 

  Mainland Dubai is the main geographical area specified by the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED). Mainland companies are also known as onshore companies which are allowed to conduct business activities inside the local area and outside the UAE without any restrictions.

 

Types of business license for mainland businesses:

 

  When it comes to setting up a mainland business, there are two types of business licenses for which the presence of a UAE national is required in one of two forms:

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   Business Enterprise License:
  In the business license, 51% of the shares are owned by a UAE national and 49% will be owned by the expatriate partner.

 

   Professional Commercial License:
  In the professional license, 100% of the shares are owned by the expatriate partner only and the UAE national acts as the local service agent.

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Steps to start a business:

 

1) Select the business activity

  Investors should select a business activity that matches the legal structure of the LLC. The DED authorizes more than 2000 activities in Dubai related to the industrial, commercial, professional and tourist sectors.

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2) Reserve the trade name

  The business name should follow Department of Economic Development guidelines and should match the license type of the business. The trade name would be canceled or changed if found to be identical to other existing trade or brand names.

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3) Initial Approval 

  After reserving the business name, investors must obtain an initial approval certificate. The certificate expresses the government consent for the startup of the LLC in Dubai. The initial approval is a green signal for investors to move forward in the business creation process.

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4) Prepare the memorandum of association

  To start an LLC in Dubai, the investor and business partners are required to draft and sign a Memorandum of Association (MOA). The drafting of a MOA must be duly certified.  

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5) Rent office space

  LLC businesses in Dubai must have a physical address. For this, the contractor can sign the rental contract with the landlord and register the contract with Ejari for certification. The attested contract must be submitted to the DED to proceed with the licensing process.

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6) Grant of license

  After renting office space, entrepreneurs can submit all documents to DED. It should be noted that along with the required documents, the initial DED approval receipt and duly attested MOA must be submitted. If all the documents are in order, the DED will issue the business license for the LLC company.

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Approvals from Government Authorities:

 

  The license for setting up a company in Dubai requires approval from external government authorities for specific business activities as below:

• For education related license, it is necessary to have approval from KHDA i.e. Human Knowledge and Development Authority.

• For a license related to medicine, it is necessary to have the approval of DHA iet Dubai Health Authority.

• For a food-related license, it is necessary to have the approval of the Food Department of the Municipality.

 

  Apart from this, there are many other government agencies such as Civil Defence, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, etc. where one needs to have a license to engage in certain business activities depending on the nature of the business.

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   We can assist our clients in all the above mentioned phases of Mainland business setup in Dubai as well as Freezone business setup.