Dubai company & residency · the honest picture

Dubai residency, through a company.

Most Dubai guides are written by agents who earn a fee when you sign, so people form on half the picture, then meet a tax they didn't expect.

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Best if you'll actually spend time in Dubai and want the residency and the company as a single move.

Residency in one setupThe company qualifies you for a 2-year investor visa.
100% foreign ownershipFree zone, or most mainland activities since 2021.
Formed remotelyMost free zones take fully digital applications.
0% only if you qualifyQFZP needs substance and audited accounts, or you pay 9%.

Who this is for

Who Dubai residency-by-company actually fits.

01

Clients outside the UAE, and you want residency.

International service businesses that need a legitimate company for banking and a visa to match.

02

You'll actually spend time in Dubai.

Founders who want the company and the residence visa together, and mean to use it.

03

You need a non-employment residency path.

Individuals with international income and no UAE employer.

04

You're building a UAE-facing business, properly.

Through mainland or dual structures, not a free zone quietly serving mainland clients.

What we handle

The setup, in four to six weeks.

  1. 1

    Activity and free zone

    We match your activity to the right zone, SHAMS (Sharjah) or RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah) on a budget, IFZA or Meydan mid-range, DMCC for trading credibility.

  2. 2

    License application

    Mostly digital, no UAE visit at this stage. The trade license lands in 5–10 working days.

  3. 3

    Residency visa

    Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and stamping, 7–14 working days. Optional: some form the company for banking and keep home residency.

  4. 4

    Bank introduction

    A separate, demanding step. We prepare what banks ask for and introduce them; some want an in-person visit or a minimum balance.

The honest answer on tax

183

Days in the UAE for the simplest of three routes to tax residency — you can also qualify with 90–182 days on a UAE residence permit plus a permanent home, a job or a business here, or by making the UAE your main home. A residence visa alone does none of it, and doesn't release you from home-country tax.

The 0% rate is real but conditional, and there are two systems to keep apart. A standard company pays 0% on the first AED 375,000 of profit and 9% above it. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income but 9% on any non-qualifying income from the first dirham — there's no 375,000 free band on that part — and QFZP status means real substance, qualifying income and audited IFRS accounts. Corporate tax is also separate from VAT, which can require registration once turnover passes AED 375,000 even at 0% corporate tax. Under AED 3,000,000 revenue an eligible company can instead elect Small Business Relief for 0% through 31 December 2029 — a company is QFZP or SBR-eligible, not both — then that path closes. And these home-country rules key off where you're tax-resident, not your passport: if you stay tax-resident elsewhere, that country may apply CFC or anti-avoidance rules depending on your circumstances, the one hard exception being US citizens, taxed on worldwide income wherever they live. A visa is not a tax plan.

What recurs, every year

  • License renewal.The free zone license renews every year, plan for 60–70% of year one.
  • The visa cycle.The investor visa renews every two years; we place you with the specialist who handles it and stay your single guide through it.
  • Audited accounts, if you want 0%.QFZP status needs audited IFRS financials, AED 4,000–10,000 a year. We introduce the accountant.
  • One address for every question.The zone, the visa, the bank, the filing — one point of contact across all of it. Ours.

What residency does, and doesn't, do

Yes

A 2-year investor visa

Tied to the company license, live and work in the UAE, bank locally, sponsor family. 7–14 working days after the license.

Yes

A Golden Visa, later

A longer-term, self-sponsored residency for qualifying investors and founders, assessed on its own criteria and realistic once the company has a real track record. We flag whether it fits; the specific routes and thresholds are a conversation, not a headline claim.

No

An automatic exit from home tax

A visa isn't tax residency — the visa is at most one condition; residency turns on your days in the UAE and a home, job or business here — and US citizens are taxed on worldwide income regardless. Verify your home-country exit rules first.

If all you want is residency, a Green or Virtual Work Visa can do that with no company, and we'll tell you so. This page is for when you need the company too: the banking, the structure, the invoicing a visa alone won't give you.

Before you pay

The questions people ask first.

Does forming a company give me UAE residency?
Not automatically, it makes you eligible to apply for a 2-year investor visa after the license is issued. You can also form the company for banking only and skip the visa.
Is corporate tax really 0% for free zones?
Only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person: substance, qualifying income, a de-minimis allowance for a small amount of non-qualifying revenue, and audited IFRS accounts. Non-qualifying income — from mainland UAE clients, say — is taxed at 9% from the first dirham; the AED 375,000 free band belongs to standard companies, not to a QFZP's non-qualifying income. Go over the de-minimis threshold and you lose QFZP status for five years, not one.
Does a residence visa make me a tax resident?
No. UAE tax residency can be met three ways — 183+ days in the country, 90–182 days on a UAE residence permit plus a permanent home, a job or a business here, or making the UAE your main home and centre of life — and a visa without the days in the country meets none of them, so on its own it doesn't make you a UAE tax resident or release you from home-country tax.
What's the cheapest legitimate setup?
SHAMS from ~AED 5,750/yr; with one visa, roughly AED 8,000–12,000 in year one. RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah) is comparable. The trade-off is a Sharjah or RAK address, not a Dubai one.
What is the Golden Visa and how do I qualify?
A self-sponsored long-term visa for qualifying investors and founders, assessed on its own criteria and separate from your company visa. A brand-new company with no revenue won't qualify yet, so most people start on the 2-year investor visa and look at the Golden Visa once there's a track record. The routes and thresholds move, so we check the current ones with you rather than quote a number that dates.
Do I need to visit Dubai to form the company?
Not for formation, most free zones are fully digital. The residency visa needs a visit (medical, Emirates ID, stamping); many do formation remotely and make one trip for the visa and bank together.

Official sources

Dubai residency through a company, the honest picture.

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