The Costs of Starting Business in Dubai

Dubai is one of the best destinations to start your entrepreneurial journey. The city provides great infrastructure and flexibility to do business internationally and locally.

When you are planning to setup your business in Dubai, there are many additional charges apart from the license cost that needs to be considered. For example approval costs from the external authority depending on the activity to activity.

Like Dubai Municipality, RTA, KHDA, Ministry of Education, DHA, DTCM and Dubai Customs, etc.

The approval cost varies on the type of activity and the number of activities added to the license.

Some external authority cost Details:-

Apart from the approval cost, there are some other additional charges like:-

• Foreign Name added AED 2,000 fees for words like Emirates, Gulf, International, and Abbreviation.
• Market Fees5-5 % of the annual rent of office /warehouse/shop etc. is added as the market fees in the license.
• Partner Accommodation Fees AED 1000 approximately per additional partner is added to the license cost. If any of the partners paid his accommodation fees with any other license, you can approach DED to remove his fees after get issued the Payment Voucher (to be paid every year)
• Employee Accommodation Allowance Fees for Managers and Degree/PG level profession holders should pay Dh500 approximately per head and for low-level staff Dh300 approximately per head. This amount should be paid every year.
• Ejari Issuance – Generally this document is issued by the real estate from where you are taking the commercial space some of the real estate people include this with rent some charge separately for Ejari issuance AED 215.
• Immigration card Issuance AED 580 approximately for the first year followed by a yearly renewal of AED 680 without failure failing which a person will be penalized after 30 days.
• Investor Visa the cost of an investor visa is approx. AED 3500-3700 including Normal Medical and Status Change.
• Investor Dependent Visa AED 1,500 has to be kept as a deposit per dependent. With LLC agreement mentioning Share Value not less than AED 70,000 per investor.
• Employment Visa Cost depends on designation and qualifications – skilled, limited. It also depends on the company category. Employment visa ranges approx. AED 4500-6000.
• Company Stamp Starts from AED 55 depending on the design you wish to take.
• Health Insurance This is mandatory for each individual holding residency in Dubai to hold Health Insurance.
• Trade Name and Initial Approval have validity for 6 months the license work has to be done before the completion of 6 months. If not then the Trade name and initial approval have to be renewed again.
• Bank account Opening- We need to maintain a certain amount depending on the bank you select. There is Zero balance account as well with a monthly charge.

These all cost need to be considered before starting the business. It is always recommended to consult with a business advisor before starting the company. All the additional costs need to be kept in mind before getting into the business.

If you have any query related to setting up a business in Dubai or anywhere across the UAE then please feel free to contact us at +971 4 4542366 or mail your query at info(at)flyingcolour(dot)com.

*Please note that this article has been published on 03/11/2021 in accordance with the federal policies and updates at the time of writing. For the latest info please talk to our consultant.