Start with your business model
Your jurisdiction shapes how the company will operate. Dubai’s official portal describes Mainland and Free Zone as the two main setup options. Each registrar has its own process and conditions. Dubai official portal.
Before comparing packages, describe your business on one page: what you sell, who buys it, where your customers are and how the goods or services are delivered. This makes a licence discussion much more useful.
Five questions to answer
- Where are your customers, and where is the work actually performed?
- Which activities need to appear on the licence?
- Who will own and manage the company?
- Will you need a workspace and team visas?
- What payments do you expect, and what evidence can you provide to a bank?
Write down the answers before the consultation. Packages that look similar in an advertisement can fit very different ways of working.
Compare the full cost
Ask for formation, licensing, address, visa services, government charges and professional support to be separated in the proposal. Clarify renewal and amendment costs as well. This keeps the advertised starting price from becoming your only decision criterion.
The UAE Government maintains a dedicated section on doing business in free zones. Check the relevant zone’s current conditions before committing.
Plan beyond incorporation
A licence is one milestone. Banking, bookkeeping, contracts and any residency process should appear in the roadmap from the beginning. Comparing two complete scenarios is more useful than comparing two headline prices.
Discuss company formation with MIHIA or open the launch checklist.
This article helps prepare a discussion and does not replace a review of the requirements for your activities. Sources checked on 14 September 2026.