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Mainland companies have one benefit other types of companies don’t: they can do business within the UAE. As a foreigner, you’ll need an Emarati sponsor willing to have over 51% ownership of your company before you can move forward. We can advise you on finding that sponsor.
A mainland company in the UAE can be a profitable venture, but you’ll need an Emarati sponsor with at least 51% ownership of your company to access the UAE market.
No, you don’t – you can start a Free Zone company and work and live in Dubai freely. The only downside to a Free Zone company is that you are unable to do business directly with the UAE market (though there are agents who can facilitate business for you).
If you want to do business with the UAE directly, you’ll need Mainland company formation in Dubai, and for that, you will need a local sponsor.
If you do not already have a business partner lined up to work with, then you should know that working with a local sponsor is not often the same as working with a business partner in other areas of the world. For example, while the local sponsor will need to have majority shares, they do not necessarily need to have any say in the day-to-day running of the business or rights to the majority of the profits.
To benefit from terms such as these, you’ll need to form an LLC and work with a lawyer to protect your assets and secure the financial future of your business.
If you want to do business with the UAE market and/or the UAE government, your only choice is to form a Mainland company. In the best-case scenario, you’ll have someone you know personally and trust to go into business with so you don’t have to spend time and money working with a lawyer to make your business water-tight in your favor.
If you don’t need to do business directly with clients in the UAE, we recommend setting up a Free Zone company
as you’ll be able to retain 100% ownership while living and working within the UAE.
Reach out to us and tell us all about your business and its goals. We can help you decide on the best location to form your business, the right legal structure, and talk about the right way to set up the ownership of your mainland business.
Next, we’ll help you apply for your trade license and help you make any yet-made important decisions, such as your office location and corporate bank account.
Once we’ve sent off all your paperwork, it usually takes 5-12 days for your company to be established and ready for you to move forward and start doing business.
If you’ve decided a Mainland company is for you and you don’t have a local sponsor lined up to be your business partner in your new venture, don’t hesitate to reach out. We can help you decide on the best way to move forward.
