Business setup advisory — structured, licensed, banked.

Yes — we're an authorised channel partner of Meydan Free Zone and RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone), two of the most popular zones in the UAE. That means we set you up directly in either zone with partner-grade handling and faster processing than you'd get going in cold. And since the same firm then runs your bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax, you go from licence issuance to full compliance with no hand-off gap in the middle.

Yes, and this is where our Meydan and RAKEZ partnership earns its keep. We form the company in your chosen zone, prepare and submit the application, arrange the visas and the corporate bank account, register for VAT and corporate tax inside the FTA deadlines, then run the monthly bookkeeping and filings on an ongoing retainer. One provider from day-one setup through every compliance cycle — not a formation agent who vanishes the moment the licence is issued and leaves you hunting for an accountant.

Yes. We work as business management consultants in Dubai for SMEs and overseas founders, across company formation, structuring and the ongoing admin afterwards — choosing between mainland and free-zone licences, picking the right activity codes, coordinating PRO and visa processing, opening corporate bank accounts, and getting the accounting, VAT and corporate tax registrations in place from day one. When an entity needs to be wound down, we advise on restructuring and liquidation too, so setup, run and exit all sit in one place.

Honestly, it depends on what you do, who you sell to and where your tax position lands. Mainland licences — from Dubai DED or another emirate's economic department — give you direct access to the domestic market: you can sell to UAE businesses and consumers without restriction, open branches anywhere, and bid for government contracts. Free zones tend to suit service businesses with overseas customers, trading businesses working through designated zones like DMCC, JAFZA and RAKEZ, and anyone where Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) status delivers a 0% position on qualifying income. We weigh the realistic five-year cost — licence, lease, audit, visas, AML, tax — against the strategic fit before we point you one way or the other.

Free-zone setups usually land in 1 to 3 weeks once your documents are in order — IFZA, Meydan and SHAMS can be done inside a week, while DMCC, DIFC and ADGM sit at the longer end. Mainland runs 2 to 6 weeks depending on the activity, MOA approvals, lease and Ejari attestation, and any external approvals you need (healthcare, education, financial services). Just budget for the bank account separately: that's its own process, typically another 4 to 8 weeks, and longer for international shareholders or activities the bank treats as high-risk.

For most commercial and professional activities, yes. The 2021 amendment to the Commercial Companies Law scrapped the old 51% Emirati shareholder requirement for most activities, so foreign founders can now own 100% of a mainland Dubai LLC with no sponsor. A short list of strategic activities still needs UAE national participation — national security, banking, financial services beyond DIFC/ADGM scope, oil and gas, certain telecoms. We always confirm your activity is on the 100%-foreign-ownership list before recommending mainland.

There's no single answer, but a few names come up again and again. DMCC gives you broad activities, a strong banking reputation and mid-tier cost. IFZA is the cheapest and simplest, which makes it a favourite for early-stage. DIC (Dubai Internet City) is sector-specific with a dense tech tenant base. SHAMS in Sharjah is very low cost for budget-constrained founders. ADGM, an Abu Dhabi common-law jurisdiction, is the one VC-backed tech tends to prefer, and DIFC — common law, fintech-focused, pricier — carries the strongest investor signalling. Which fits comes down to your specific activity (B2B vs B2C, regulated vs not), your customers, visa quota, expected funding profile and budget.

Yes. We put together the onboarding pack — business profile, three-year projections, source-of-funds evidence for the share capital and shareholders, customer and supplier letters of intent where you have them, and a KYC file on each shareholder and manager — and coach you through the bank's interviews. We make introductions based on activity fit, since banks have very different appetites for different sectors and shareholder nationalities. One honest caveat: final approval and timeline are the bank's call, and no advisor can guarantee them.

Velmont Crest advisory fees are quoted to your setup. They cover jurisdiction selection, structuring advice, document preparation, application submission and the tax and accounting setup that follows. Government and free-zone fees (licence fee, registration fee, immigration, Ejari, visa charges) are paid directly by the founder to the relevant authority. We provide the all-in budget upfront, so there are no surprises. As a guide, total government and free-zone costs run roughly AED 12,000 to AED 25,000 for a low-cost free-zone setup with one visa. For mid-tier free zones, expect AED 25,000 to AED 55,000. For mainland Dubai, expect AED 35,000 to AED 80,000 depending on activity, lease and visa count.

Mandatory VAT registration is triggered when taxable supplies cross AED 375,000 in any 12-month window. At incorporation that often hasn't happened yet, so registration is voluntary — available from AED 187,500 of taxable supplies or expenses. Voluntary registration is usually worth it in three cases. First, where the business will invoice UAE B2B customers (who expect a tax invoice with TRN). Second, where the start-up phase generates recoverable input VAT on setup costs. Third, where the business imports services subject to reverse charge. We assess the case-by-case position as part of setup.

Every UAE taxable person must register for corporate tax with the FTA, even free-zone entities expecting 0% QFZP treatment. The FTA's deadline schedule is based on trade-licence issuance month. The AED 10,000 late-registration penalty applies regardless of whether tax is ultimately due. We submit the EmaraTax CT registration inside the deadline window as part of setup. We also document the QFZP track for free-zone entities, so the year-one position is established from day one rather than retrofitted at first filing.

Yes. Standard investor and partner visas (two- or three-year residency) are issued against the licensed visa quota of the entity. That's typically one to six visas depending on jurisdiction and office size. The 10-year UAE Golden Visa is available against separate criteria — typically AED 2 million property investment, AED 2 million business investment in an approved sector, or exceptional skills in science, medicine, arts or culture. Setting up a business doesn't automatically qualify. But a properly structured investment of AED 2 million in an active UAE company is one of the recognised Golden Visa pathways. We sequence the setup with the visa pathway where this is the goal.

Yes. Business setup isn't a Dubai-only exercise, and the right emirate often isn't Dubai at all. In Abu Dhabi we work across ADGM (the common-law financial free zone), KEZAD (industrial and logistics) and Abu Dhabi mainland through ADDED. In Ras Al Khaimah we set up through RAKEZ for cost-efficient trading and industrial licences, and RAK ICC for offshore holding structures. RAKEZ in particular is where a lot of budget-conscious SMEs land, and since we're an authorised RAKEZ partner the coordination is direct. We compare Abu Dhabi, RAK, Sharjah and Dubai side by side on licence cost, visa quota, activity fit and how your corporate-tax and VAT position lands in each — the emirate is part of the structuring decision, not an afterthought.

For the lowest all-in cost, SHAMS (Sharjah), IFZA (Dubai) and Ajman Free Zone are usually the names in the frame, with entry packages that can start under AED 15,000 for a zero-visa or single-visa licence. Sharjah free zone options like Hamriyah and SPC also sit at the value end. But cheapest-on-paper and cheapest-over-five-years are different numbers once you add visas, an establishment card, mandatory audit where the zone requires it, and the eventual bank account. Rather than guess, run your scenario through our free UAE business setup cost calculator to see a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction estimate, then we pressure-test the output against your actual activity and visa count on the structure call.

A Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) is a free-zone entity that meets the conditions to keep the 0% corporate-tax rate on its qualifying income — the rest of its income is taxed at 9%. The conditions are strict: adequate substance in the free zone, qualifying income as defined by the Cabinet Decision, no election to be taxed at the standard rate, transfer-pricing compliance and audited financial statements. The '0% free zone' line every setup agent quotes is only true if you actually clear the qualifying-income test, and plenty of ordinary free-zone trading with the mainland does not. Use our free-zone qualifying-income checker for an initial read, then we document the QFZP position properly at setup rather than discovering the problem at the first corporate-tax return.

Offshore vehicles — RAK ICC, JAFZA Offshore and Ajman Offshore — suit holding companies, intellectual-property structures and international trading that does not touch the UAE domestic market. They give you a UAE-registered entity, confidentiality and no requirement for a physical office or residence visas, but they cannot trade inside the UAE, cannot get you a UAE residence visa, and increasingly need to show substance to be useful for tax. Offshore is a structuring tool, not a cheaper version of a free-zone company, and it is the wrong answer for most operating businesses. We only point founders offshore when the use case — usually holding shares in an operating company or ring-fencing an asset — genuinely fits.

A search for company setup consultants Dubai returns hundreds of agencies, and most are commission-tied to one or two free zones. Three vetting questions cut through it fast. Which zones pay you a referral, and will you put the answer in writing? Will you show government fees and your own fee as separate lines? And who handles the accounting, VAT and corporate-tax registrations after the licence prints? We disclose our Meydan and RAKEZ partnerships up front, itemise every quote, and stay on as the accountant — which is exactly the standard you should hold any consultant to, including us.

Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah is split into the original port-side area and Hamriyah Free Zone Phase 2 — often just called Freezone 2 — the newer inland expansion carrying most of the recent warehousing and industrial plots. Physical access to either area needs a gate pass issued through HFZA's system, applied for by the licensed company for its staff, visitors and delivery vehicles. Licensing, lease and visa paperwork run through the Hamriyah Free Zone head office on site or the HFZA portal. If your operation is industrial with port access in the frame, Hamriyah belongs on the comparison list next to JAFZA and RAKEZ.

Both. Trade licence renewal in Dubai runs on an annual cycle — mainland DED licences need the Ejari lease valid at renewal, and free-zone licences renew against the zone's own checklist. Missing the window triggers monthly late fines and, left long enough, licence suspension that freezes your bank account and visa file. Because we already keep the books for most clients, renewal dates sit inside the same compliance calendar as VAT and corporate-tax deadlines, and we prepare the renewal file before the expiry month rather than after the first fine arrives.

Our licence work is UAE-focused, but GCC expansion is a structuring question we handle regularly. For business setup in KSA — a MISA (Ministry of Investment) licence for foreign investors — we advise on how the UAE entity should sit in the structure: whether the Saudi entity is held by your UAE company or by you personally changes the tax, repatriation and substance picture. We prepare the UAE side, model the corporate-tax and treaty position, and coordinate with licensed Saudi providers for the in-Kingdom filings rather than pretending to run them ourselves.

Offshore business setup in Dubai — JAFZA Offshore, or RAK ICC and Ajman Offshore elsewhere in the UAE — creates a non-resident vehicle: no office, no visas, no UAE trading. A free-zone company is a full onshore resident entity with a trade licence, visa quota and a physical footprint, restricted mainly in how it sells to the mainland. Founders often say offshore when they mean a cheap free-zone licence; the two solve different problems. If you need to operate, invoice UAE customers or sponsor your own residence visa, offshore is the wrong instrument no matter how attractive the fee schedule looks.