Time Required Starting a Business in Dubai

September 15, 2023

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Dubai ranked among st the top economies which offers significant and attractive work environment that’s why the investors around the world are investing in Dubai as compare to other Middle East locations. Because of the rapid growth in the economy more and more businesses want to start business in Dubai but there is always a common question which every investor has in mind that 

How much time required starting a business in Dubai?

To start a business, businesses need to fulfill certain requirements and procedures. Every business has its own structure and every structure has its own requirements, so it will be difficult to give an exact time but generally for most of the businesses it requires 1 week.

There are many factors who affect the time required for a business to start its operation, few of them are:

Business activity

Whenever investors are looking to invest in a new region they have to plan that what type of business activity they will perform in that region. Making decisions regarding business activity is the most important and prime step which every business has to take and it affects the time also which is required to setup a business.

Every business activity has its own setup procedure and requirements and time required to fulfill these procedure varies activity to activity, so one key factor to decide the time for business setup is the activity of the business.

Business Operational Jurisdiction

Every business has to strategically decide its location from where they will carry out their operations. In Dubai there are different jurisdiction categories which are divided into mainlandfree-zones and offshore. Every jurisdiction of Dubai has its own benefits and operating requirements like registration procedure for mainland business setup is different from offshore business setup.

For offshore company formation there are mostly 3 days required to start a business but for mainland company formation it may take more than a week. So in Dubai the locations and zones of businesses are another important factor to decide the time required to start a business.

Types of Business Entity

Before starting a company in Dubai every business has to select the appropriate type of the business entity. In Dubai there are main type of business entities, however ever business category has its sub division. The main four types of entities which operate in Dubai are:

  • Companies
    Limited Liability Company, Civil Company, Joint Venture Company, Public Shareholding Company and Private Shareholding Company
  • Partnerships
    Simple Limited Partnership and Partnership-En-Commandite
  • Branch Office
    Branches of foreign companies, civil companies, Dubai & UAE companies, GCC companies and free-zone companies
  • Free-Zone Companies
    Every type of company has to fulfill certain requirement which varies the time required to form a company.

Types of license required

In Dubai every company has to operate under its related license. There are 3 main licenses in Dubai which varies according to the working structure of the businesses.

  • Commercial:
    This license is required for those companies which are involved in any kind of trading activity.
  • Industrial:
    This license is suitable for those businesses who want to perform manufacturing and industrial activity in Dubai.
  • Professional:
    Every professional like service providers, artisans and craftsmen has to take this license to carry out their operations in Dubai.

Either you are operating in a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability or providing consultancy you have to get this license and that’s why time to start your business operations in Dubai differs depending on your license requirements.

For business setup one should have the knowledge of all these requirements so that he can follow the procedures and can setup a company without any hazels but it is difficult for one individual to have the knowledge and understanding of each and every domain of business setup, especially when he is new in the market.

Most companies waste a lot time in the confusion that from where they should start because they are not familiar with the procedure. That’s why it’s always recommended to take a help of an expert who is aware of all these regulations and who has the experience of setting up new businesses.

At KWSME we have a team of experts who are specialized in their specific areas and can save your time and money. Contact one of our experts, discuss your requirements and get free consultation.

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