Opening a company in Dubai in 2026: steps and prices

Registering a company in the UAE has genuinely become simpler over the past two years: filing goes through a single window, an electronic signature replaced appearing in person, and a licence is issued in minutes. A good deal of confusion grew around that, and the biggest is about the Unified Licence.

Here is what is what, what it costs and which stages still require you to be physically present.

Three different things people keep mixing up

The Unified Licence number lets government bodies, banks and counterparties pull verified company data.

One figure gives the scale: by November 2025 more than 900,000 such numbers had been issued.

What the instant licence gives you

An Instant Licence is issued in five minutes. An ordinary licence takes ten. The instant package includes:

• the memorandum of association;
• a virtual address for the first year;
• membership of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce;
• a GDRFA immigration establishment card;
• a labour ministry card with a quota for three employees.

The price on the service page: AED 1,070 in licence fees including the Knowledge and Innovation dirhams, plus AED 300 for Chamber membership.

That is the starting price of one specific service. The total depends on the activities, office requirements and sector approvals, which for some activities come from a specialised authority.

The main catch: you still have to come

The Department of Economy's page states the condition plainly: the applicant must hold a valid tourist or visit visa before filing the licence application.

Presence is needed once more later: a residence visa requires a medical test and biometrics for the Emirates ID.

What the single window did not remove

Executive Council Resolution 5 of 2 March 2024 fixed the principles: filing through one window, entering data once, an electronic signature instead of appearing in person, premises inspected within three working days at most, and licensing separated from permits.

What stayed outside that perimeter:

• the bank opens an account under its own client checks;
• the lease is registered in the Ejari system run by the Land Department;
• certain activities require approvals from specialised authorities.

There is a measurable effect on banking: in November 2025 the Department of Economy reported the average time to open a corporate account falling from 65 days to 5. That is an average across all applications and guarantees nothing for a specific one. The speed-up came from a separate project with service providers.

Mainland or free zone

The single legal perimeter does not work identically. Decree 13/2024 and resolution 5/2024 state explicitly: applications for free zones, special development zones and the DIFC go through the single window but are processed by the zones' own systems, under their procedures, timelines and tariffs.

The practical conclusion: in a free zone the timeline and price are set by the zone itself, and the portal does not change them. The spread is wide.

A permit for a free zone company to work on the mainland

Since 8 October 2025 there is an answer for companies that have outgrown their zone: a permit allowing a free zone company to operate on the mainland. It is filed through the same single window, requires separate accounting, and revenue from mainland activity is taxed at the 9% corporate rate.

The order of steps

1. 1Choose the jurisdiction: mainland or a specific free zone.
2. 2Settle the activities — fees and the need for sector approvals follow from them.
3. 3Enter on a tourist visa if you are not a resident yet.
4. 4File through the single window with an electronic signature and receive the licence.
5. 5Arrange the establishment card and visa quota, then apply for a residence visa.
6. 6Pass the medical test and biometrics, receive the Emirates ID.
7. 7Open a corporate account and register with the tax authority.

Steps 5 and 6 are covered by an Emirates ID through a company from $1,400 and visa quotas from $440; step 7 by a corporate account from $2,000.

About the statistics doing the rounds

The figure of “58,337 new licences in six months” spread through messaging channels as official statistics. The original source is an interview with the head of Dubai's licensing centre published by Gulf News on 3 September 2026, and it covers all licences issued, free zones included.