Free zone company formation
Who does this work. This is a regulated activity in the UAE and is carried out by a licensed partner firm there, who quote it directly. We coordinate the engagement and handle everything on the Indian side.
There are more than forty free zones across the UAE, and they are not interchangeable. Each has its own regulator, its own licence categories, its own visa allocation per office type and its own view of which activities it will authorise. DMCC, JAFZA, IFZA, RAKEZ, Meydan, ADGM and DIFC serve very different businesses, and picking the zone before understanding the activity is the most common and most expensive mistake in UAE set-up.
The trade-off is consistent. A free zone gives you full foreign ownership, a set-up measured in days rather than weeks, and a package that bundles licence, office and visas. What it restricts is onshore trade: selling directly into the UAE mainland from a free zone entity generally requires a mainland distributor, a branch, or an arrangement the zone permits explicitly.
Corporate tax changed the calculation again. A free zone company is not automatically exempt. It has to qualify — which means earning qualifying income, maintaining adequate substance in the zone, and not electing out. A shelf company with a flexi-desk and no people in it will not meet that test.
Talk to us
Free Zone Company — and what it means for your Indian position
Tell us what you are setting up or filing. We come back with the UAE quote from our partner firm and the Indian side from us, so you see the whole cost at once.
Or call +91 98265 84555Who this is for
Founders trading internationally, holding companies, consultancies and service businesses whose customers sit outside the UAE mainland.
Scope
What the engagement covers
- Zone comparison against your actual activity, customer location and visa need
- Trade name reservation and initial approval with the chosen authority
- Licence issue — commercial, service, industrial or holding, as the activity requires
- Office solution appropriate to the visa count, from flexi-desk to fitted unit
- Establishment card and immigration file
- Share certificate, incorporation certificate and MOA/AOA issue
- Bank account introduction with a substance file the bank will accept
From you
Documents needed
- Passport copies of shareholders, directors and the company secretary where required
- Passport-size photographs
- Proof of residential address in the home country
- CV or professional profile, which several zones ask for on service licences
- Attested parent company documents for a corporate shareholder
- Bank reference letter, where the zone or bank requests one
Worth knowing first
Where this goes wrong
Cheapest package, wrong zone
Zones compete on headline price, and the cheapest licence usually carries the tightest activity list and the smallest visa allocation. Changing zone later means a fresh incorporation, not an amendment — you cannot migrate a licence between most authorities.
Selling to the mainland is the constraint people miss
A free zone entity invoicing a UAE mainland customer directly is outside what most licences permit. The workarounds exist — a mainland branch, a distributor, a dual licence in some zones — but they cost money and should be decided before formation, not after the first customer.
Qualifying free zone status has to be earned each year
The 0% rate on qualifying income is conditional on substance, on the nature of the income, and on not electing into the standard regime. Failing the test in one year can cost the status for several. It is an annual assessment, not a permanent attribute of the licence.
Audited accounts are expected in most zones
Several free zones require audited financial statements to renew the licence, and corporate tax makes proper books unavoidable regardless. Books reconstructed at year end from a bank statement will not support either.
Before you act on this
UAE corporate tax, free zone qualifying income and substance rules are still being clarified, and thresholds change. This explains the position in general terms and is not advice on your facts. Confirm the current rule before you act on anything here.
Handled by us, in India
The Indian side of this
A UAE structure almost always leaves something to do in India. These are ours, with fees published.
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- Hidden charges
Priced before we start
Every service on this site carries its fee. You get a written scope and a number before any work begins, and the invoice matches it.
Two people on every filing
Nothing goes to a department on one pair of eyes. A second professional reviews the return before it is submitted.
A person, not a ticket
You get a named associate who knows your file, reachable on WhatsApp, not a queue and a different voice every call.
We watch the calendar
Once you are on our books we track your due dates and reach out before the deadline, not after the late fee.