Many foreign investors are looking forward to starting their business in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is known as the business centre of the Middle-East, thanks to its straightforward regulations, lenient taxation policies that grant it immense ease in doing business. Business owners and entrepreneurs from around the globe are looking for a location which affords them with the ease to do business. And with the initiative proposed by the Dubai government called the Initiative of Instant License from Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) in Dubai Department of Economic Development Dubai, it made it more manageable and quicker to start a business in Dubai.
Let’s promptly go through what an Instant License is in Dubai and what are some key benefits of getting it.
What is an Instant License?
The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) started the initiative of Instant License in the year 2018 to better promote the UAE’s economy by attracting fresh and new investors into the market and making it more straightforward and faster to set up a commercial trade license in the mainland UAE. An instant license is processed almost instantly -hence the name- via a digital portal, permitting for business licenses to be issued within 5 to 10 minutes.
Critical Advantages of Obtaining an Instant License
The first advantage is you can get an Instant License in no time. Typically, the procedure of getting a trade license in mainland UAE is long. It can take from one and three months or longer, based on the type of chosen business activities, document preparation period and other distinct requirements of the business.
A tenancy contract or Ejari as it is called in the UAE is mandatory for the trade license. However, an Instant License does not need a tenancy agreement for twelve months, which enables the investors to enter the market at a more economical cost and allows them to review the business market before investing to a more significant expense. The primary license will have ‘Dubai Municipality’ registered as the office address; once the permit is renewed after the twelve months period has elapsed, a registered commercial lease contract must be presented.
Although once you get the instant license, the businesses are lawfully authorized to start conducting business activities immediately with a grace period of 12 months to run the business without a commercial space lease and without obtaining the fully notarized legal documents for the business setup.
Are You Qualified for Obtaining an Instant License?
Anyone aside from private-public shareholding entities can ask for an Instant License including general trading organizations.
Instant licenses grant the following legal structures.
- Limited Liability Company
- Single Limited Liability Company
- Sole Proprietorship
- Civil Company
Acquiring an instant license is only feasible for individual shareholders; they cannot be permitted for companies that have corporate shareholders. In the instance of a Limited Liability Company, the fifty-one per cent of the local sponsor must be an individual UAE national. The remaining 49% must belong to an individual. The LLC can be set up utilizing individuals initially, and then corporate stakeholder can be transferred. Besides, instant licenses only apply for business activities which do not require any external approvals.
Only foreign shareholders with a legal UAE residence visa and Emirates ID can petition for an Instant license. They will need to apply for a UAE Smart Pass to be prepared to finish the online application process.
Procedure to Get an Instant License in Dubai
The steps that must be taken to get an instant license in Dubai are as follows.
- Pick a corporate entity application form from the types already mentioned earlier
- Pick a business activity from the list of the available and permissible activities in DED
- Pick the structure of shareholding of the company, including a company manager
- Pick a trading name
- Define the total share capital of the company
- Complete filling required application forms
- Submit the demanded documents
- A payment voucher will be created
- Pay the charges
- An instant license will be issued within a week
All the shareholders need to be present while applying for an instant license.
The required documents are as follows.
- Passport copies of all the shareholders
- Residence visa copy and an Emirates ID
- NOC from current sponsor/employer (if needed for foreign shareholder)
- Copies of both the Passport and Emirates ID of the Local Sponsor
- If you are applying for a General Trading license in Dubai, then you will also need to obtain a Dubai Smart Pass ID
How Can We Help?
We at KWS Middle East Business Setup Consultancy provide a platform that helps you to incorporate a business in the UAE. We can also help you to get your instant license in Dubai and can prescribe the best method and the right actions for your singular incorporation. KWS Middle East business setup experts can also act as your reliable local sponsor for the instant license to guarantee that you completely own and control the business.
For further information, contact us today.
