Dmitri Mihhailov
Managing Partner
Leads Prifinance and personally oversees complex multi-jurisdiction structures. Your UAE setup gets partner-level review before anything is filed.
Register a company in the UAE, the zero that grew up.
Set up in the Emirates: the Gulf's business capital, forty-plus free zones, common-law courts in DIFC and ADGM, no personal income tax, and a corporate rate of 9% that still leaves a genuine 0% lane for qualifying free-zone income. Now the caveats, all of them: the era of zero-forever ended in 2023, the qualifying rules are strict and technical, the banks take weeks and want substance, costs have risen with the city's skyline, and the choice between mainland and free zone decides most of your outcome before you earn a dirham.The Gulf's business capital: forty-plus zones, DIFC/ADGM common law, no personal tax, and a 9% corporate rate that keeps a genuine 0% lane for qualifying free-zone income. The caveats: zero-forever ended in 2023, the qualifying rules are strict, banks take weeks, and the mainland-vs-zone choice decides most outcomes on day one.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
6,000+
companies servedcompanies served
Updated
UAE · at a glance
Legal formMainland LLC / free-zone co
Time to set up1-2 weeks
Corporate tax9% · QFZP 0%
VAT5%
Personal income taxNone
Remote setupYes - by POA
4.7
★★★★★
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UAE in brief
The zero that grew up.
The Emirates built the region's default business address by making everything else easy. A company in days, forty-plus free zones competing for your licence, 100% foreign ownership on the mainland since 2021, no tax on salaries or dividends in your pocket. English-language common-law courts in DIFC and ADGM serve finance, VARA writes the world's most-watched crypto rulebook, and the airport puts two-thirds of humanity within eight hours. The 2023 corporate tax changed the arithmetic without killing it: 9% is still among the lowest real rates anywhere, the first AED 375,000 stays at zero, and free-zone companies earning qualifying income (trading through the zone, services abroad, the listed activities) keep 0% as Qualifying Free Zone Persons.
The terms. The zero is now a regime, not a birthright. QFZP status hangs on qualifying-income lists, de-minimis thresholds, audited accounts and substance; trip any wire and the whole profit taxes at 9%, so the structure must be designed rather than assumed. Banking is the region's true bottleneck: weeks of KYC, real questions about substance and flows, no appetite for empty shells. Costs have climbed across licences, visas and rents, and the cheap-Dubai era is memory. Large mainland employers meet Emiratisation quotas. With a fixed dirham peg and no currency drama, the UAE's real due diligence is choosing correctly on day one: which emirate, which zone, mainland or free. Relicensing later costs more than planning ever does.
The default address by design: companies in days, 100% foreign ownership everywhere, English courts for finance, VARA for crypto, visas attached to licences, and an airport reaching two-thirds of humanity in eight hours. The 2023 tax left the arithmetic excellent: 9% ceiling, first tranche free, QFZP at 0%.
The terms: the zero is a regime (lists, de-minimis, audits, substance) and tripping a wire prices everything at 9%. Banking is the bottleneck, costs climbed with the skyline, Emiratisation reaches large mainland employers. Choose the zone correctly once; relicensing costs more than planning.
Packages & pricing
Two ways to start.
01 - COMPANY · UAE
Company
from$4,400USD · all-in
Registration of a UAE company: zone selection, licence, incorporation and the first year of the registered address.
✓Mainland vs free zone decided on your numbers, not habit✓Zone shortlist from forty-plus - matched to activity✓Licence & incorporation filed✓Corporate-tax registration - QFZP analysis included✓Registered address - first year✓Free pre-incorporation consultation
Optional add-ons: residence visa (investor/partner) from $1,500, VARA / DIFC / ADGM licensing scoped per case, accounting and CT returns from $300/month, renewal from $2,500/year.Add-ons: visas from $1,500 · VARA/DIFC scoped · accounting from $300/month · renewal from $2,500/yr.
Start with a consultation →02 - COMPANY + BANK · UAE
Most popularCompany + Bank Account
from$6,900USD · all-in
Everything in the first package, plus a corporate account with a UAE bank. We prepare the file, submit it and defend it through the region's toughest KYC.
✓Everything in the Company package✓Bank file: business plan, source of funds, substance evidence✓Account with Emirates NBD, FAB, Mashreq or WIO✓AED + multi-currency structure✓VAT registration where thresholds require✓QFZP compliance calendar - the 0% kept, properly
Optional add-ons: visas from $1,500, licensing scoped, accounting from $300/month, renewal from $2,500/year.
Start with a consultation →Prices are starting points, confirmed before any work begins. Licence, visa and zone fees are itemised in your quote.Prices open here, fixed before filing. Licence and zone fees itemised in your quote.
What you can do
What our clients open in the UAE.
The hub serves everyone: traders through the zones, finance through the courts, and the world's relocators through the visa desk.Traders through the zones, finance through the courts, relocators through the visa desk.
Trading & re-exportlicensed
The classic free-zone play. Goods through Jebel Ali and beyond at 0% qualifying.
Holding & family officeslicensed
DIFC and ADGM structures under common law. The region's wealth seat.
Tech & servicesstandard
Global invoicing from a 9%-capped, no-payroll-tax base.
Crypto & VARAlicensed
The world's most complete virtual-asset regime. Licences that mean something.
Logistics & distributionstandard
The eight-hour airport and the region's deepest ports.
Real estate & relocationstandard
Golden visas, property books in dollars-pegged dirhams.
Trading & re-exportlicensed
The 0% qualifying lane.
Holding & family officeslicensed
DIFC / ADGM law.
Tech & servicesstandard
9%-capped invoicing.
Crypto & VARAlicensed
Licences that mean something.
Logisticsstandard
Ports and the airport.
Real estate & relocationstandard
Golden visas.
Why UAE
Why the UAE.
✓
The 0% lane survives
Qualifying free-zone income keeps zero - by rules, for the structured.For the qualified.
✓
9% as the ceiling
Among the lowest real corporate rates on earth, first tranche free.First tranche free.
✓
No personal tax
Salaries and dividends land whole. The relocation maths that works.Salaries land whole.
✓
Common-law islands
DIFC and ADGM courts in English, for finance that needs them.DIFC and ADGM.
✓
The hub itself
Two-thirds of humanity within eight hours; the region's banks and ports.Eight hours to everyone.
✓
Visas attached
Investor and golden visas turn a licence into a residence.Licence to residence.
How it compares
The UAE vs the region.
The Gulf compared, as of 2026:Saudi: the big market. Qatar: wealth per capita. Bahrain: the cheap seat. Singapore: Asia's boardroom. UAE: the hub, priced fairly. As of 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Corporate tax | Signature story | Signature edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE | 9% · QFZP 0% | The zero that grew up | The hub, priced fairly |
| Saudi Arabia | 20% | The funded transformation | The region's big market |
| Qatar | 10% | The gas colossus | Wealth per capita |
| Bahrain | 0% domestic | The affordable Gulf | Cheapest seat at the table |
| Singapore | 17% | The HQ default | Asia's boardroom |
UAEHub
Corporate tax9% · QFZP 0%
StoryThe zero that grew up
Saudi ArabiaScale
Corporate tax20%
StoryFunded transformation
QatarGas
Corporate tax10%
StoryThe colossus
BahrainValue
Corporate tax0% domestic
StoryThe affordable Gulf
SingaporeHQ
Corporate tax17%
StoryThe default
Requirements
What a UAE company requires.
01
One shareholder - Individual or company, any nationality. 100% foreign ownership mainland and zone alike.
02
The right licence - Activity lists decide everything. Zone menus differ, and mismatches cost relicensing.
03
Registered address - A zone flexi-desk or mainland office per licence type. Included in our packages.
04
Corporate-tax registration - Mandatory for all. With the QFZP analysis done before the first invoice.
05
Audited accounts - Free-zone 0% status requires audits. Budgeted from day one, not discovered.
06
Substance - Real activity where the licence lives. The banks check before the FTA does.
How it works
How registration works.
Six steps. The licence is quick; the zone choice and the bank are where expertise pays.Six steps. The licence is quick; the zone choice and the bank are where expertise pays.
01Same day
Free consultation
Mainland vs zone, QFZP fit, visa needs - mapped first.
021-3 days
Zone & structure
The shortlist priced, the licence activity matched.
032-3 days
Documents & KYC
Passports, proofs, POA. One clean pass.
043-10 days
Licence & incorporation
Zone or DED filing, licence issued.
053-7 days
Tax registrations
Corporate tax, VAT where required, QFZP calendar.
062-6 weeks
Bank account
File prepared and defended. NBD, FAB, Mashreq, WIO.
Quick facts
Legal formMainland LLC / FZ co
Corporate tax9% · first AED 375k at 0%
QFZP income0% - by strict rules
VAT5%
Personal income taxNone
Standard timeline1-2 weeks + bank
Renewal & accountingFrom $2,500/year
QFZP discipline is where zone companies win or lose: qualifying-income lists, de-minimis limits and audit duties decide whether you keep 0% or pay 9% on everything. Designed at incorporation it is a checklist. Discovered at the first tax return it is a bill.
On the ground
On the ground in the UAE.
Prifinance - UAE
Dubai
Dubai, UAE
01
Gulf specialists
Your setup runs with Dubai counsel who file zone and FTA work weekly.
02
Zone-selection craft
Forty-plus zones priced and matched - not defaulted.
03
QFZP-first structuring
The 0% lane designed and calendared from day one.
04
Also in Tallinn, London & more
A network of offices supporting cross-border structures.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
5/F, Yau Lee Centre, 45 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
Berlin
Germany
Rankestraße 26
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Türkiye
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Toronto
Canada
1110 Finch Avenue West, suite 406
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
Almaty
Kazakhstan
Republic Square 13
Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
32 Razzakov Street
Taxation
UAE taxes, the 9% era.
The 2023 reform ended the mythology and left excellent arithmetic: 9% as the ceiling, 0% for the properly qualified, 5% VAT, and nothing on personal income. The planning moved from avoiding tax to qualifying correctly.The reform ended the mythology and left the arithmetic: 9% ceiling, 0% for the qualified, nothing personal. Planning means qualifying correctly.
Corporate - 9%
The ceiling. With the first AED 375,000 at zero.First AED 375k free.
QFZP - 0%
Qualifying free-zone income keeps zero under strict, technical rules.Strict and technical.
VAT - 5%
Low, broad, electronically administered.Low and broad.
Personal - none
No tax on salaries, dividends or gains in individual hands.The relocation maths.
The levies that matter
Corporate tax9% · first AED 375k 0%
QFZP qualifying income0%
VAT5%
Personal income taxNone
Withholding taxesNone
Renewal & accountingFrom $2,500/year
Owners remain responsible for tax where they live; UAE residence changes that only when it is real. The dirham's dollar peg makes treasury boring, which is the compliment.
Your team
The specialists who'll handle your case.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
International Business Consultant
Walks you from first call to working company - structure, documents, timelines - in plain language, in five languages.
Alex Danila
Corporate Services Specialist
Handles zone licensing, FTA registrations and the bank file day to day, so your UAE company launches without delays.
Follow Prifinance
Active across our channels.
Watch: opening a company in the UAE with Prifinance
The zero that grew up, entered correctly: zone, licence, QFZP design and bank in one prepared project. Full support, start to finish.
Talk to a specialist →FAQ
The questions every intake starts with.
Can I open a UAE company without visiting?+
Yes. Most zones incorporate by power of attorney, and corporate-tax registration follows remotely. The bank and the residence visa want biometrics, so most clients pair one visit with both. We sequence everything so the trip is short and single.
Mainland or free zone?+
The first and biggest decision. Mainland sells to the local market freely and meets Emiratisation at scale; zones offer the 0% qualifying lane, faster setup and activity-matched licences, with mainland sales routed via distributors or branches. We decide it on your revenue map, not on habit. Mismatches cost relicensing.
Is the 0% still real after the corporate tax?+
Real and conditional. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income (zone-to-zone trade, exports of services, the listed activities), while non-qualifying income is capped by de-minimis rules. Audited accounts and substance are mandatory. Trip a wire and everything taxes at 9%. It is a regime to be designed for, and we design for it.
Who actually pays the 9%?+
Mainland companies on profits above AED 375,000, free-zone companies on non-qualifying income, and anyone who loses QFZP status. For most structured foreign businesses the blended outcome lands between 0% and 9%, still among the lowest real burdens anywhere.
How hard is UAE banking now?+
The region's true bottleneck: two to six weeks of real KYC, questions about substance, flows and counterparties, and no appetite for empty shells. Digital banks like WIO widened the funnel. A defended file with real substance passes; improvisation queues forever. We build the file before the application.
What does a residence visa require?+
A licence plus the visa quota it carries. Investor and partner visas run through the company, golden visas through investment thresholds, and biometrics happen in-country. For most founders the two-year investor visa via their own company is the working default, from $1,500 with medicals and Emirates ID handled.
What is VARA and do I need it?+
Dubai's virtual-asset regulator, running the most complete crypto rulebook in operation. Exchanges, brokers, custodians and advisory businesses touching virtual assets need its licence (or ADGM's regime). It is real regulation with real capital and compliance duties, which is exactly why its licences carry weight.
Have costs really risen?+
Yes, and visibly. Licences, visas, rents and salaries all climbed with the city's success, and the sub-$2,000 setups of memory are gone. The UAE now prices as what it is: the region's hub. It remains excellent value for businesses that use the hub. It is no longer the cheap flag for dormant shells.
What about Emiratisation?+
Mainland companies with fifty-plus employees meet growing Emirati-hiring quotas, with real fines for missing them. Free-zone companies sit outside the programme. For most foreign SMEs it is a non-issue; for mainland scale-ups it is a planning line we put in early.
What does it cost and how long does it take?+
From $4,400 for the company, from $6,900 with a bank account. The licence takes days; realistic zero-to-operating is one to two weeks, plus two to six for the bank. Visas from $1,500. Renewal from $2,500/year, zone fees included in the quote.
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
More from Prifinance
Other jurisdictions & licenses.
Free consultation
Start your UAE company today.
Tell us about your business, and a specialist will reply within one business day with a recommendation (zone, mainland, QFZP design, or a different flag), a timeline and a fixed quote.Tell us about your business - a specialist replies within one business day with a recommendation, a timeline and a fixed quote.
✓No obligation; the first consultation is free✓Zone shortlist and QFZP fit before you pay✓Transparent fixed fees, confirmed up front✓EN · RU speaking team