Karen Ursola is a Business Setup Advisor at EZONE, guiding founders through UAE company formation and licensing.
You can set up a company in Sharjah on the mainland through the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) or in one of its free zones. The two routes give you different licences, different markets and very different costs. This guide explains how they compare, what each Sharjah free zone is built for and how to […]
A UAE trade licence confirms that your company has been formed. It does not automatically complete every registration the company needs in order to operate. After the licence arrives, your company may still need immigration and employment registrations, tax registrations, ownership and anti-money laundering records, customs codes and external approvals. Key takeaways Your company may […]
A free zone company must have audited financial statements if it wants the 0% Corporate Tax rate. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) says a qualifying free zone person has to prepare and maintain audited statements whatever its revenue. A free zone company that is not a qualifying free zone person follows the general rule instead, […]
The best free zone for a trading company depends on what you trade and where you sell. JAFZA suits goods and warehousing, DMCC suits commodities, and RAKEZ offers the lowest starting package. If most of your buyers are in the UAE, a mainland licence may fit better than any free zone. Key takeaways EZONE starting […]
The cheapest free zone in the UAE, on EZONE’s starting packages, is Fujairah Creative City at AED 5,530, followed by Ajman Free Zone at AED 5,555 and SPC at AED 5,750. The lowest price is only part of the picture, because activities, visas and the way you can trade differ from zone to zone. Updated […]
Getting the trade licence feels like the finish line, but the licence only gives you permission to exist. Over the next month you set up the practical things that let the company hire, bank, invoice and stay compliant. This checklist puts them in a sensible order so nothing is missed or done twice. It continues […]
Opening a UAE corporate bank account without residency is harder than for a resident, but genuinely doable, provided the company can show real substance and a clear reason for banking in the UAE. Key Takeaways Non-residency doesn’t automatically disqualify a company, but it does mean higher scrutiny and more documentation than a resident-owned business faces. […]
A Certificate of Incorporation is the official proof that a UAE company legally exists, issued by the licensing authority once registration is complete, and it’s one of the most requested documents after a company is formed. Key Takeaways It confirms legal existence, not operating permission. The trade licence, a separate document, confirms what activities the […]
FZE and FZCO are the two standard free zone company structures in the UAE, and the choice between them comes down almost entirely to how many shareholders the company has. Key Takeaways FZE stands for Free Zone Establishment, a structure built for a single shareholder, whether an individual or a single corporate entity. FZCO stands […]
A shareholders agreement sets out how a UAE company is actually run day to day, filling in the practical detail that a Memorandum of Association deliberately leaves out. Key Takeaways An MOA and a shareholders agreement are not the same document. The MOA is the statutory constitution filed with the authority; the shareholders agreement is […]
