UAE
Mainland or free zone · CIT 9%
✓100% foreign ownership on the mainland for most activities since 2021✓9% above AED 375,000; qualifying free zone income at 0%✓Regional banks work with non-residents where real presence exists
Opening a company in the Gulf is easy. Opening its bank account is not.
The region rewrote its rules in five years: the UAE allowed 100% foreign ownership on the mainland, Qatar and Oman followed, and then corporate tax arrived where it had never existed. Registration got simpler; bank compliance did not. So the conversation starts not with picking a zone, but with where the money comes from and how you will evidence presence.
14
jurisdictions covered
6,000+
companies registered
70+
banking relationships
Updated
Where we register
Fourteen jurisdictions: the Gulf, the Levant and the South Caucasus
Jebel Ali
JAFZA · Dubai free zone
✓Port and customs zone in one perimeter - logistics and warehousing on site✓100% foreign ownership and unrestricted capital repatriation✓Qualifying income at 0%, but only against real activity in the zone
Qatar
Mainland or QFC · CIT 10%
✓Law No. 1 of 2019 allows up to 100% foreign ownership in most sectors✓The QFC is a separate legal perimeter on English law with its own registrar✓10% on the foreign share of profit; VAT not yet introduced
Saudi Arabia
MISA licence · CIT 20% + zakat
✓The RHQ programme gives a regional headquarters 30 years at zero tax✓20% on the foreign share plus 2.5% zakat on the local one✓The largest Gulf market - and the most demanding on presence
Bahrain
No general corporate tax
✓No general corporate income tax outside oil and gas✓A 15% minimum tax on large international groups since 2025✓The cheapest entry into the Gulf and the bridge to Saudi Eastern Province
Oman
Mainland · CIT 15%
✓100% foreign ownership for most activities since 2020✓15% on profit, VAT at 5%✓Salalah and Sohar free zones for manufacturing and re-export
Kuwait
KDIPA or a local partner · CIT 15%
✓A KDIPA licence brings 100% ownership and up to 10 years of tax holidays✓Without it, the ceiling is 49% with a Kuwaiti partner on the rest✓15% on the profits of foreign companies
Israel
Ltd · CIT 23%
✓A deep high-tech and venture capital ecosystem✓Preferred regime for approved technology enterprises✓23% on profit, VAT at 18% since 2025
Jordan
LLC · CIT 20%
✓20% standard rate, 14% for industry✓Free trade agreements with the US and the EU✓A calm entry into the Levant with a predictable registry
Lebanon
SAL / SARL · CIT 17%
✓17% on profit and a historic role as the region’s trading intermediary✓The banking sector has been in crisis since 2019 - settlement is planned elsewhere✓Works as an operating jurisdiction, not as a settlement one
Türkiye
A.Ş. / Ltd. Şti. · CIT 25%
✓A customs union with the EU - duty-free industrial export✓Free zones with exemption on export profits✓25% on profit, 30% for financial institutions
Armenia
LLC · CIT 18%
✓Registration in days and affordable real presence✓A turnover regime for micro and small business✓EAEU membership - access to the union market without customs
Azerbaijan
MMC · CIT 20%
✓A transit hub on the Middle Corridor between China and Europe✓20% on profit, VAT at 18%✓The Alat free economic zone with its own legal regime
Georgia
LLC · Estonian model
✓0% on retained profit, 15% only on distribution✓Registration in days, minimal administration✓The Virtual Zone for IT - a preferential regime on exported services
The part that ends badly
The company is open, the account is not
It is almost never the registrar that says no. It is the bank, in week four, without reasons, after the company has been paid for and the free zone licence issued for a year ahead.
✓A free zone grants a licence, but it does not answer the bank’s question about where the business actually operates✓Substance rules in the UAE and Bahrain are tested against an office, staff and spend - not the address on the licence✓In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait the account follows the MISA or KDIPA licence; it does not run in parallel with it✓Lebanon’s banking crisis since 2019 means the settlement perimeter is planned outside the country
How it should go
The bank first, the licence second
We agree the bank before the zone is paid for: if your chosen bank will not take your activity or your country of residence, finding that out at the opinion stage is cheaper than after incorporation.
✓The bank is matched to the activity and the client geography, not to the name of the zone✓Presence is designed up front: office, staff and spend, in the volume that will actually be required✓Ownership is disclosed down to the beneficial owner from the start - rebuilding after a refusal costs more✓Where a local partner or an investor licence is needed, it sits in the plan and the quote from day one
What registration covers
What we do, and what you get at the end
Incorporation is the easy part. The work is choosing correctly, satisfying the registrar and getting a bank account opened afterwards.
These include:
✓Choice of jurisdiction and legal form against your real activity✓Name check, incorporation and the full corporate document set✓Registered office and registered agent for the first year✓Beneficial ownership filings where the jurisdiction requires them✓Apostille and legalisation of documents for use abroad
Additionally, where it is needed:
✓Bank or EMI account opening, with 70+ relationships behind the application✓Nominee or resident director where the law requires one✓Substance. Office, staff and local presence✓Accounting, annual returns and tax registration✓Licences, permits and sector approvals
Several of these jurisdictions now require annual filings and substance reports that did not exist five years ago. We keep them filed.
| What | Typical time | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Name approval | Same day to 3 days | Reserved company name |
| Incorporation | 1 day to 8 weeks | Certificate, charter, register of members |
| Corporate documents | With incorporation | Resolutions, share certificates, POA |
| Apostille set | 3-10 business days | Legalised documents for the bank |
| Tax and social registration | 1-3 weeks | Tax number, VAT where applicable |
| Bank account | 2-8 weeks | IBAN and access to the account |
The bank is the slow step everywhere, and it is the one that decides whether the structure was worth building. We start it in parallel, not after.
Comparison of jurisdictions
The Gulf, the Levant and the Caucasus: how they differ
The three sub-regions solve different problems. The Gulf is access to money and standing, the Levant is manufacturing and trade with the EU and the US, the Caucasus is speed and price.
01
The Gulf: standing costs presence
The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait. The company opens fast, the bank slowly, and both look at whether you have an office, staff and spend in the country. Rates run from 0% to 20%, but the economics are set by the cost of presence, not the rate.
02
The Levant and Türkiye: markets, not rates
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye. You come here for access: a customs union with the EU in one case, free trade agreements in another, a venture ecosystem in a third. Rates are ordinary - 17% to 25%.
03
The Caucasus: fast and affordable
Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Registration in days, presence at local prices, tax from 0% on retained profit. The weak point is how much weight the jurisdiction carries with Western counterparties.
| Jurisdiction | Corporate tax | Foreign ownership | Realistic timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAEMore details → | 9% · 0% in zone | 100% since 2021 | 1-4 weeks |
| QatarMore details → | 10% | Up to 100% since 2019 | 3-8 weeks |
| Saudi ArabiaMore details → | 20% + zakat | 100% on a MISA licence | 6-12 weeks |
| BahrainMore details → | 0% · 15% DMTT | 100% | 2-6 weeks |
| OmanMore details → | 15% | 100% since 2020 | 3-6 weeks |
| KuwaitMore details → | 15% | 100% on a KDIPA licence | 8-16 weeks |
| TürkiyeMore details → | 25% | 100% | 1-3 weeks |
| IsraelMore details → | 23% | 100% | 1-3 weeks |
| GeorgiaMore details → | 0% · 15% on distribution | 100% | 1-5 days |
| ArmeniaMore details → | 18% | 100% | 2-7 days |
Important: {
"title": "The rate is not the headline number",
"text": "What a Gulf structure costs is set by presence: office, staff, audit and the annual zone renewal add up to more than the tax. We price the full year, not the rate."
}
Nothing in this table is a recommendation on its own. The right line depends on where your customers are, what licence your activity needs, and how the profit is meant to come back.
Before you register
What registration will require
The pack is similar across the region; the differences sit in investor licences and in what the bank asks for.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Note: The pack for your specific country and specific bank is fixed in the opinion before work starts - together with the timeline and the full cost of the first year.
On the ground
Seventeen offices, our own people
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
Berlin
Germany
Rankestraße 26
Singapore
Singapore
3 Church Street, #29-68 Samsung Hub
Bangkok
Thailand
Unit P01, Penthouse, VASU1, 1 Sukhumvit 25 Alley
Foshan
China
A-Tower, Yuneng Digital Plaza, 46 Lishui Avenue South
Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
32 Razzakov Street
How it works
Five stages from the first call to a working account
STEP 01
The opinion
Where you live, where you work, where you will bank and what the company will do. Out of that comes a jurisdiction, a legal form and a written reason. Free.
STEP 02
Documents and name
Certified passports, proof of address, the activity description and a name the registrar will accept. Translations and legalisation where they are required.
STEP 03
Incorporation
Filed by us or by our local partner. You receive the certificate, the constitutional documents and the registers.
STEP 04
Legalisation and the bank
Apostille where the bank needs it, then the account application. Started in parallel with the incorporation, not after it.
STEP 05
Keeping it alive
Registered agent, annual return, accounting and the substance filings. The part people forget until the company is struck off.
Why Prifinance
Why this is worth paying a lawyer for
Anyone can file the incorporation. The value is in what gets registered on the way in and what can be moved on the way out.
01
The route out is designed before the company exists
Capital registration, dividend approvals and the documents the central bank will ask for at the far end. Arranged while the money is arriving, which is the only time it is easy.
02
6,000+ companies, so the awkward cases are familiar
A registrar that rejects the activity wording, a legalisation that fails at one embassy, a shareholder who cannot travel. None of it is new to us.
03
We say no when the structure will not work
If the activity is reserved, if an ownership rule moves the profit away from you, or if the licence will not be issued to a company of that shape, you hear it before you pay.
04
The sector licence runs in parallel, not afterwards
Mining, energy, telecoms and financial services are licensed by a ministry on its own timetable. Filing that application only after the company exists is how a project loses a year it did not need to lose.
05
The company keeps running afterwards
Resident directors and company secretary where the rule requires them, local accounting and audit, annual returns and tax filings - from the same team that incorporated it.
Your team
The people who will run your file
Dmitri Mihhailov
General Partner
Leads Prifinance's corporate practice and oversees client engagements, with senior expertise in international company structuring and bank-account setup.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
Corporate services advisor
Corporate services and compliance: documents, legalisation, annual filings and the bank's questions.
Alex Danila
Company formation specialist
Your day-to-day contact - coordinates incorporation, documents and the bank introduction, from the first call through to launch.
Follow Prifinance
Active across our channels.
▶
Watch: free zone or mainland - how the choice is made and what the bank says afterwards
Worth knowing
What the region takes from profit
The Gulf stopped being a zero-tax region but stayed a low-tax one. The Caucasus competes on rates; the Levant and Türkiye on market access.
UAE: 9%, and zero in the zone
9% on profit above AED 375,000. Qualifying free zone income is taxed at 0%, but qualification is tested against real activity in the zone, not the address.
Bahrain and Qatar: 0% and 10%
Bahrain has no general corporate tax; Qatar charges 10%. Since 2025 large international groups in both pay the 15% minimum.
Saudi Arabia: 20% plus zakat
20% on the foreign share and 2.5% zakat on the local one. A regional headquarters under the RHQ programme is exempt for 30 years.
Georgia: pay on distribution
The Estonian model: 0% while profit stays in the business, 15% when it is distributed. The cheapest way in the region to accumulate profit.
Türkiye and Israel: 25% and 23%
Ordinary developed-economy rates - but with a customs union with the EU in the first case and a venture market in the second.
VAT almost everywhere
5% in the UAE and Oman, 10% in Bahrain, 15% in Saudi Arabia, 18% in Israel and Georgia, 20% in Türkiye. Qatar has not introduced it yet.
Important: {
"title": "About the 15% minimum tax",
"text": "Since 2025 the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar apply a minimum tax to groups with global revenue of €750m or more. For mid-sized business nothing changes; for large structures everything does, and it is modelled before incorporation."
}
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
Google
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
Google
“We found PRIFINANCE COMPANYvia the Internet and asked for help in organizing the opening of their company in Estonia. PRIFINANCE COMPANY specialists helped us a lot with this. Their professional, competent approach and knowledge of their business left us with only the best impressions.”
Google
“I'm thrilled with my experience with PriFinance! They helped me obtain a crypto license in Estonia without any hassle. The team was super understanding and always available to answer my questions and assist. It was great to see how they put effort into preparing the documents to ensure everything went smoothly. I'm delighted with the outcome and highly recommend PriFinance to anyone looking to get a license…”
Google
“Opening an account with Prifinance in a Swiss bank was such an easy and quick process that I was shocked. It all started with the first call, where I received detailed guidance on the required documents and the entire procedure.One of the key highlights was their attention to detail. As someone who usually gets tangled up in paperwork, I was pleasantly surprised when they sent me all the documents and…”
Google
“I recently had the pleasure of working with Boris.. and I must say, it was a fantastic experience. Boris went above and beyond to assist me with my residency needs. His professionalism, knowledge, and dedication truly stood out. I highly recommend working with Boris and the team!”
Google
Questions and answers
The Near East: what people ask most
Do I need a local partner?+
Not in the UAE since 2021 - 100% foreign ownership is allowed on the mainland for most activities. The same is true in Qatar and Oman. Kuwait requires a local partner unless a KDIPA licence is obtained; Saudi Arabia requires no partner but does require a MISA licence.
Free zone or mainland?+
A zone is cheaper and faster, but its licence limits work with the domestic market and reads worse to banks. The mainland costs more and gives full access to local clients and government contracts. The choice follows whoever pays you.
Is free zone tax really 0%?+
Only on qualifying income, and only against real activity in the zone. Income from mainland clients and from activity carried on outside the zone is taxed at 9%. You evidence the qualification, not the zone.
How long does the bank account take?+
From two weeks to three months - longer than the registration itself. That is why we agree the bank before the zone is paid for and collect documents against that bank’s requirements, not the other way round.
What does the substance requirement mean?+
An office, employees and spend in the country in proportion to the declared activity. In the UAE and Bahrain this is separate regulation with annual reporting; failing it brings penalties and the loss of the preferential regime.
Why are Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan on this list?+
The Caucasus covers what the Gulf covers expensively: fast registration, affordable presence and low rates. Georgia charges 0% on retained profit, Armenia opens the EAEU market, Azerbaijan sits on the Middle Corridor.
Can it all be done remotely?+
In Armenia, Georgia and some UAE zones - yes, by power of attorney. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and most banks need at least one visit in person. We say so before work starts, not halfway through.
Does Lebanon work?+
Registration works; the banking system does not. The country has been in crisis since 2019, and we do not plan settlement through Lebanese banks. A Lebanese company makes sense as an operating entity with its settlement perimeter in another jurisdiction.
Free consultation
Tell us what you are going to do there
Your activity, the country or the region, where the customers are, who is putting the money in and where the profit is meant to end up. You get a written recommendation with a country, a legal form, the licences you will need, a total cost and the reasoning - free of charge.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days