Register a company in ADGM

Yes, for the company itself. Online filing is ADGM's preferred method and shareholders do not have to be physically present. Documents go in English and resolutions need no notarisation. A corporate shareholder adds proof of signing authority, such as its register of directors, no more than three months old. Visas are different: the medical test needs you in the UAE.

Our registration work starts from $4,900; with a UAE bank account set up, from $7,400. Zone fees come on top: USD 5,800 in year one for a standard non-financial licence under ADGM's 2025 fee schedule - name 200, application 300, licence 200, activity 4,800 and data protection 300. Renewal fees, data protection included, are USD 5,300 a year; office rent, visas and the audit are quoted separately.

Yes, unless the company is an SPV. Physical presence is an ADGM requirement: you show the lease when you apply, and the lease has to be registered. ADGM's list runs from dedicated desks in Al Reem Island business centres to offices of 46 to 1,900 sqm in the Al Maryah Island towers, and we confirm what your licence and visa plan need. ADGM's pages give no visa quota per office except for the tech licence, which gives 3 visas per dedicated desk and does not accept hot desks.

ADGM's FAQ expects approval within 10 business days. The Tech Startup Licence quotes five working days, after a Hub71 eligibility review that averages 21 days. The lease has to exist before you file. The establishment card, visas, bank account and CT registration follow the licence, and we set their timing in your quote.

Corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. As a Qualifying Free Zone Person the company pays 0% on qualifying income if it meets every condition, audited accounts included. Consulting or IT fees from clients outside free zones are non-qualifying, and once that revenue passes 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower, QFZP status is lost for that year and the next four. VAT is 5%, withholding tax is 0%, and there is no personal income tax.

We prepare the application and stay with it, but the bank decides. ADGM's FAQ for tech startups says the account comes after the licence is issued and that opening it depends on each bank's own policies; ADGM can also share a list of banks familiar with its registration process. We match your profile to UAE banks and EMIs and build the KYC file: source of funds, contracts, business plan. Then we tell you honestly where the application stands.

Four things with ADGM, plus the federal CT return. The licence renewal on the registration anniversary: USD 5,000 for a non-financial licence. The confirmation statement within one month of the incorporation anniversary: USD 100, or a USD 300 fine if late. The data protection renewal, USD 300, filed separately, which brings renewal fees to USD 5,300 a year. And annual accounts in US dollars within nine months of the year-end, the same window as the CT return. An ADGM-registered auditor signs the accounts unless the company fits the small companies regime (ADGM's test: turnover up to USD 13.5 million and no more than 35 employees). A QFZP needs audited statements anyway.

Only for passive holding. An SPV costs USD 1,900 in zone fees in year one and USD 1,400 a year after, and it needs no office. It cannot run a business or hire staff. A non-exempt SPV must appoint a Company Service Provider, and the Nexus Policy asks for a link to the UAE or the GCC: an SPV wholly owned by a foreign non-resident that only holds assets outside the region fails it.

Not on its ADGM licence alone. Under the federal rules a free zone company works through a licensed mainland distributor or sets up a mainland branch or company, and a mainland branch's income is taxed at 9%, not 0%. The one ADGM shortcut we found is for eligible tech startups: a dual licence from Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development without a second office. For other companies we confirm the Abu Dhabi route case by case.

If you fit it. You need a Hub71 eligibility letter first, at least a prototype, and a product that can be deployed in the UAE. Technology service providers are excluded, and so are regulated financial services. The 2025 fee rules set the activity fee at USD 1,500 for issuance and two renewals, while ADGM's FAQ mentions USD 4,000 a year at the emergent stage, so we confirm the figure for your stage. You also need a dedicated desk, which carries 3 visas.