Mainland
Mainland - Limited Liability Company
In its simplest definition, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business venture which is commercial in nature with a maximum of 50 shareholders.
An LLC is the easiest legal vehicle for expatriate residents and foreigners to set up a new company in the UAE. Unsurprisingly, it is also the most popular and commonly chosen route.
Understanding the basics of LLC formation in the UAE will make things simpler and speedier.
Process & Paperwork
company formation in the UAE follows a simple, systematic process:
Activities and trade name
Falling under industrial, commercial, professional, tourism, agricultural and occupational, the UAE offers more than 2,000 business activities, and the LLC will indicate chosen business activity. You are also allowed to form an LLC company with multiple business activities, subject to approvals.
The trade name of your new business must reflect your chosen activity/ies, and it must get approved. Approval is subject to the trade name not being in use or registered previously, and its observance of public morals and the public order of the UAE. When approved, the trade name is followed by the acronym LLC.
In some instances, a trademark needs to accompany the trade name. In the emirate where your business is located, the department of economic development (DEC) will approve and register your trade name. Trademarks are registered at a federal level, by the Ministry of Economy. Our teams are professional and proficient at what they do, be it handling a query or getting answers to all your questions.
Initial and Final Approvals
An initial approval simply means the UAE Government has no objection towards your business being established in this country. It also allows you to proceed with the next steps of establishing an LLC in the UAE. However, an initial approval does not grant you the authority to practice the activity or run the business, yet.
Some business activities may require additional approvals from local or federal government entities. These are related specifically to activities under the umbrella of legal affairs, security, financial securities, and commodities.
There are several steps associated with LLC company formation in the UAE between receiving an initial approval and collecting a final approval including documentation, attestations, lease agreements, and payment of fees. Once these tasks are completed, the issuance of a license allows you to start running your business.
Our long and continuous experience means we are not only equipped to do everything on your behalf, but are extremely efficient at doing so.
Documents & Attestations
Setting up an LLC in the UAE is the most common form of doing business here. It is also the easiest and most flexible, because its legal structure can accommodate any number of shareholders between up to 50. These shareholders can belong to different countries of origin, or have citizenship from almost any country in the world. (According to changed laws, it is not obligatory any more to involve UAE nationals in the formation of an LLC in the UAE). Further, each shareholder’s liability is limited to their shares in the business capital, even with differential profit-sharing arrangements.
To finalise LLC formation, all shareholders and their specific shares and roles in the new company along with other details have to be included in a notarised Memorandum of Association (MoA). Typically, LLC formation documents that must accompany the MoA are: Articles of Association (AoA), Certificate of Incorporation, Board Resolution, and Power of Attorney (PoA). Corporate documents that are translated into Arabic will need to be attested by the Ministry of Justice.
Each shareholder will also have to submit personal documents like copies of passports and visas, bank statements and bank reference letters, as required. If you are already a UAE resident, you will need to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your current sponsor or employers. If one or more shareholders reside outside the UAE, their personal documents will have to be attested and notarised from the home country, and re-attested at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Submission of all stipulated documents will allow you to move to the next step of leasing (or buying) office space before you can begin operating your LLC in the UAE. In Dubai, the lease agreement will have to be registered with Ejari, the government portal for property management.
Our business is helping people set up business in the UAE. You can rely on us to handle all your paperwork with ease, efficiency, speed and success.