General Trading
License in Dubai, UAE

The first and most crucial step is choosing the right business jurisdictions. Businesses have two options: Free Zone or Mainland. Each has played a specific role in establishing a business.

Mainland:

If you choose the mainland setup option, you can trade within the UAE market and enjoy the flexibility of opening business branches anywhere in Dubai. However, the mainland jurisdiction follows strict regulations requiring a local sponsor who owns 51% of company shares. Recent reforms in the law have allowed 100% foreign ownership in specific sectors.

Free Zone:

Setting up an import or export business in Dubai has allowed one to enjoy numerous benefits, including 100% foreign ownership, zero import and export duties, tax exemptions, and simplified procedures. Free Zones also provide world-class infrastructure and logistics support.

Once you decide on the jurisdiction, you must finalize the two to three trade names for your Company. In UAE, naming a company strictly complies with regulations, such as your company name must be unique, reflect the nature of your business, and should not contain any offensive or blasphemous terms to impact the industry.

Continuing the process, you must complete the initial process to get a business license. This process involves preparing and submitting required documents, typically including;

• Passport copies of the shareholders
• Visa copies
• Proof of residence
• Business plan
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) if applicable

These documents are necessary for both Free Zone and mainland setups.

Selecting a business location is vital to the success of your general trading business setup in Dubai. A free zone offers world-class facilities and logistics support. If you are on the mainland, there are opportunities to open offices and warehouses in several parts of the city, closer to the target market.

You will, however, need a general trade license to run your general trading business legally. The procedure might slightly differ based on whether you are in a Free Zone or the mainland:

Free Zone:

To obtain a license in this jurisdiction, you must submit the required documents to the Free Zone Authority, pay the necessary fees, and obtain a permit.

Mainland:

However, for the mainland, you must apply through the DED, attach all the required documents, pay the fees, and get your license for the business.

Once you have your trade license, you can apply for visas for yourself, your employees, and your dependents. The number of visas you can use depends on the size of your office and the nature of your business.