Register a company in twofour54

Mostly. You apply online, CMA opens a customer portal account for you, documents are uploaded there and fees are paid by card or wire transfer. Licence renewals run through the same portal without in-person visits. CMA does not publish its document list or attestation rules, so we confirm both before you sign anything abroad. The residence visa is different: it needs you in the UAE for the medical test and the Emirates ID application, and each bank sets its own rules on meetings.

Our registration work starts from $2,900; with a UAE bank account set up, from $5,400. Zone fees come on top. CMA waives its licence and registration fees for the first two years, against list prices of AED 15,000 for a 5-activity business licence and AED 3,500 for FZ-LLC registration. The office is not part of the waiver and its prices are not published, so we quote it for your case together with visas, Emirates ID and health insurance. Renewal is listed at AED 12,500 for 5 activities, and the first renewal is waived.

For two years from the date of issue, CMA's licence and registration fees are waived. The waiver has applied since 1 December 2018, CMA gives no end date, and its 'T&C apply' note points to no published package terms. Everything else is paid as usual: the office, visas, medical tests and insurance. Extra activities beyond five are listed at AED 1,000 each with no waiver shown, and broadcast or publishing licences are priced per channel; we confirm in your quote whether the waiver reaches either. Fees paid to CMA are non-refundable unless CMA decides otherwise, so we settle activities and the office before anything is paid.

Yes, CMA requires an office in the Creative Zone. There are four types. Co-Lab is a digital start-up option with 1 digital activity, 1 individual owner and 1 residency visa. Co-Create is plug-and-play, with 2 activities, 2 owners and 2 visas. Co-Equip is a fitted-out office you furnish yourself, and Co-Customize is a core-and-shell space you design. Prices are not published, and neither are the visa quotas for the two larger types, so we confirm both before you apply.

If you work alone, it can fit. CMA's Sole Proprietor (Freelancer) licence is issued for 12 or 6 months, and its licence and registration fees are also waived for the first two years. The limits are strict: CMA must sponsor your residence visa (GCC nationals excepted), you cannot hire employees, and CMA says you work from within the zone with registered partner companies only. You can open a personal bank account, and the bank may ask for a contract or proof of upcoming work for at least three months. Freelancer visa costs are published, VAT included: AED 3,433.50 for a one-year residence visa at normal speed, AED 189 for a one-year Emirates ID, and health insurance from about AED 1,200 plus an AED 315 service charge.

No. CMA licenses media, gaming and entertainment activities only, grouped as General Media (48), Gaming & E-Sports (25) and Broadcast & Publishing (11). Its list includes advertising, animation, post-production, software and app development, AI development, gaming studios and e-sports league operators, and the application has a free-text field for other activities. Broadcasting needs a dissemination licence at AED 20,000 per channel, capped at AED 100,000; publishing costs AED 5,000 per channel, capped at AED 50,000. Filming permits, content approvals and printing and circulation permits are also on CMA's service list, and the Content Code applies to what you publish.

CMA's own estimate for its process, licence included, is 14 working days. We settle the office type before the application, because it decides your visas. Visas, the bank account and corporate tax registration follow the licence, and we set their timing in your quote. Corporate tax registration is due within three months of incorporation, and registering late costs AED 10,000.

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 statements included. Income from other free zone companies can qualify. Fees from clients on the mainland or abroad for media, advertising or software services are non-qualifying revenue, because those services are not on the ministerial list of qualifying activities. Once non-qualifying revenue passes 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower, QFZP status is lost for that tax period 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. CMA requires the share capital to be deposited in the new company's bank account, so the account belongs in the setup plan from the start. 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.

Not on its free zone 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%. We found no CMA or twofour54 rule on an Abu Dhabi dual licence or permit for their companies, and Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development mentions dual licensing options for free zones without details. We confirm the route for your case before you sign mainland contracts.