Apart from the corporate documentation necessary for the execution of business activity inside UAE and obtaining a relevant legal entity status, it is mandatory for a company to have a governmental license for the chosen business activity. A license is issued by a department in charge of a relevant authority. In one case, it is a Dubai Economic Department (DED) or of other UAE Emirate, and the administration of the Free Trade Zone in another case. The license is however not required for offshore companies, since offshore companies registered in UAE, can perform virtually any business activity, as long as it is performed outside of the territory of UAE.
Company Licensing Process in UAE
The process of receiving a license, its costs and requirements depend on the type of business activity of a company. For the most common business activities, for example, trade in consumer goods, the receiving of license can follow very fast without any requirement for additional permissions. If, however, for example, the trade is in medical equipment and/or toxic materials for the chemical industry, this type of license will obviously need additional approvals.
The license is subject to an annual renewal. A license, in particular, is the sole permitting document for an onshore company to perform its business activity on the territory of Dubai and other UAE Emirates.
As already mentioned above, the offshore company does not require a license and the main document for such company is the Certificate of Incorporation (COI).
