Dubai Mainland
Company Formation

A mainland company is licensed by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and is permitted to trade anywhere in the UAE without geographic restriction. It can serve government, semi-government and private clients across every emirate.

Yes — most commercial and professional activities now allow 100% foreign ownership under the amended UAE Commercial Companies Law. A small number of strategic-impact activities still require an Emirati partner. We confirm your activity's ownership rules at the activity-selection stage.

A Dubai LLC is formed through the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in seven steps: choose your business activity from DET's approved list, confirm the LLC as your legal structure, reserve the trade name, obtain initial approval, draft and notarise the Memorandum of Association, secure office premises with an Ejari tenancy, and collect the trade licence. Most LLC setups complete in five to seven working days once documents are in order. Regulated activities — legal, healthcare, education — need extra approvals and take longer.

No. There is no statutory minimum share capital for most Dubai mainland LLCs. The capital figure is stated in the Memorandum of Association and only has to be adequate for the licensed activity — it is not a deposit you have to pay into a bank account. A nominal authorised capital such as AED 100,000 is often stated by convention rather than by legal requirement. A small number of regulated activities do carry their own capital requirements, which we confirm at the activity-selection stage.

Dubai mainland government fees for an LLC start at AED 13,900 for a zero-visa licence and about AED 18,750 with one investor visa — the same DET fee structure that applies to any mainland licence. The full itemised breakdown is on our Dubai mainland cost page. On top of the authority's fees you should budget for office rent (which drives your visa quota), Avyanco's professional fee, and any external regulator approvals your activity needs. There is no separate or higher government fee for choosing an LLC over another mainland structure.

Yes, for most activities. Following the amendments to the UAE Commercial Companies Law, foreign investors can hold 100% of a Dubai mainland LLC across the great majority of commercial and professional activities, with no Emirati partner and no local service agent required. A limited list of strategic-impact activities still carries an Emirati ownership requirement. We check your specific activity against the current DET list before you commit to the structure.

Most Dubai mainland setups complete in five to seven working days once documents are in order. Regulated activities such as legal, healthcare and education require additional approvals and may take longer.

Visa quotas scale with the size of the office space and the nature of the activity rather than a fixed cap. As the team and office grow, additional employment visas become available.

Yes — but there is no direct transfer. The free zone licence is cancelled, a new DET licence is applied for, and visas, VAT and Corporate Tax are re-registered. We handle the conversion end-to-end.

DET maintains more than 3,000 approved activities across Commercial, Professional and Industrial licence categories. Activity selection determines licensing fees, ownership rules and any extra regulator approvals.

Dubai mainland government fees start at AED 13,900 for a zero-visa licence and about AED 18,750 with one investor visa — see the full itemised breakdown on our Dubai mainland cost page. Those are the authority's fees; Avyanco's professional fee, office rent and any external approvals are quoted separately. Beyond that, the cost depends heavily on the activity category (Commercial, Professional or Industrial, drawn from DET's 3,000+ approved activities), your office space — which drives your visa quota — and whether the activity needs extra regulator approval such as legal, healthcare or education. Rather than a headline figure that rarely matches a real business, Avyanco gives you a clear, itemised quote once your activity and office requirement are confirmed.

Dubai mainland is the natural fit for businesses that need to trade directly with UAE government and semi-government entities, bid on public tenders, serve customers across every emirate without routing through a distributor, or need a wider activity catalogue than a free zone permits. If your model is B2G, retail-facing UAE-wide, or simply needs maximum commercial flexibility, mainland is usually the stronger long-term base.

Mainland companies can trade anywhere in the UAE without restriction and can access government contracts, but require DET registration and — for a small number of strategic-impact activities — an Emirati partner. Free zones offer 100% foreign ownership across every activity, often lower setup costs and simpler compliance, but typically need a distributor or mainland branch to sell directly to UAE consumers outside the zone. Avyanco compares both routes against your actual business model, activity and client base before you commit.