LLC Company Formation in Dubai

Setting up a Limited Liability Company is one of the most popular ways of establishing a business in Dubai and engaging in the metropolitan city’s commercial activities. Dubai LLC setup refers to establishing a firm where the liability of owners/shareholders is limited to their extent of share in the capital. A Limited Liability Company can be formed by a minimum of two and a maximum of 50 shareholders and the liability of the company is restricted to the individual share of a shareholder in the capital of the company.

A Limited Liability Company can only be formed with a minimum 51% share of a UAE national according to the Commercial Companies Law. The UAE national is usually considered to be a silent sponsor and while the other shareholders could be made responsible for the management of the whole business and can share the profit and loss as per their share in the capital, the silent UAE sponsor is commonly paid an annual sponsorship fee according to the share in the capital.

Dubai LLC company registration is often the preferred choice for investors who are looking to set their businesses outside the Dubai free zones as investors are offered a number of benefits and incentives by the UAE government to set up a Limited Liability Company. A Limited Liability Company can be formed in any sector excluding Insurance, banking and investment business sectors, however, you can seek special permission from concerned authorities to set up a Limited Liability Company in these three sectors.

Which Licensing Authority is involved?

All the legal requirements have to be completed in order to set up a Limited Liability Company in Dubai. One of the initial and major legal requirements is to obtain an LLC trade license. The trade license for setting up a Limited Liability Company is issued by the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai.

There are three types of license options available for investors to set up an LLC in Dubai:

• Professional License
• Commercial License
• License for starting a representative office or branch of a company

What is the LLC Company Setup Procedure?

There is a step-by-step procedure that shareholders must complete in order to register their Limited Liability Company in Dubai. Investors must know that the minimum number of shareholders that can be part of a Limited Liability Company is 2 while the maximum number is 50. In order to set up a Limited Liability Company in Dubai once you’ve shortlisted your premium business setup consultancy like IBG Consulting based in Dubai, they will take care of the rest of the process starting with getting your trade name approved by the Department of Economic Development in Dubai.

Here is the step wise procedure that the IBG Consulting team follows to turn around an LLC business setup in Dubai:

• Applying for the reservation of a trade name
• Applying for the activity approval
• Obtaining a permission from a specific Ministry or Department for any special activity
• Obtaining an approval from Municipality Planning Department in Dubai
• Preparing the Memorandum of Association and getting it attested by courts
• Finalizing the physical location and preparing a tenancy contract for a Limited Liability Company, which needs to be attested by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency
• Submitting the initial applications, attested copies of Memorandum of Association and a copy of tenancy contract at the Department of Economic Development

What is the process to get an LLC Trade License?

Getting an LLC Trade License becomes easier if all the legal requirements are carefully completed and all the important documents are submitted to the concerned authorities by your company formation partners like IBG Consulting. Once the whole procedure to setup a Limited Liability Company is completed in line with the above-mentioned steps, the legal departments then complete their verification process to check the validity of all the documents submitted.

On their approval, a company’s name is registered in the commercial register while the Memorandum of Association is published in the Ministry of Economic Bulletin. Then the Department of Economic Development issues the LLC trade license and registers the company with the Department of Immigration and Ministry of Labour.

What is the Visa process after obtaining your LLC license?

When you have been issued an LLC license, you become entitled to avail the benefits of owning a Limited Liability Company in Dubai. One of these benefits involves a no restriction visa policy for all the shareholders. Depending on the company’s size, investors are issued visas accordingly. However, according to the laws, a foreign shareholder must have a minimum share of AED 70,000 in the company’s capital to apply for a shareholder visa under a Limited Liability Company.

What are the benefits of starting an LLC in UAE?

There are a number of benefits of starting a Limited Liability Company in the UAE as the government of the UAE encourages companies to start and grow their business in the country with an LLC trade license.

Here are some of the major benefits of starting an LLC business in UAE:

• Ease of doing business anywhere in the UAE
• You can set your company’s office anywhere as per your preference in Dubai
• Limitless opportunities to grow your business
• Friendlier government policies and fewer legal restrictions for ownership and visa acquisition
• A Limited Liability Company is a completely tax-free entity
• You can establish branches of your Limited Liability Company
• You are not limited in terms of how many visas you can apply for
• The number of visas basically depends on the company size and office space
• You can own multiple offices and properties in the UAE under a Limited Liability Company
• Less costly license for general trading

These are all of the exceptional benefits that can be availed by setting up a Limited Liability Company in Dubai.

Trade License Cost and Dubai LLC Formation Cost

The trade license cost for General Trading to set up a Limited Liability company can include different service fees that investors have to pay in order to register their company successfully. The approximate starting price for a General Trading business setup in Dubai is AED 27,310 on availing the Instant license package for the Dubai LLC business setup.

The paid-up capital for Dubai LLC company formation is AED 300,000, of which a minimum of AED 153,000 has to be paid by the local sponsor while the remaining amount has to be settled by the foreign shareholders. The minimum shareholding requirement is AED 70,000 to apply for a partner visa and to set up a Limited Liability Company in Dubai.