• Emirate Dubai
  • Topic Business
  • Reviewed Substance reviewed 2026-10-12 · draft, human review pending

Short answer

Year one of a Dubai company is a stack of invoices: registrar, office, adviser, compliance and a buffer for what the bank and visa research still ask. This briefing splits the lines.

This is an orientation answer, not advice for an individual case.

A “setup from AED X” is rarely the first-year total. Licence fees, office, visa research, adviser, FTA registration, audit and a buffer for refusals rarely sit on one line. This briefing makes the stack visible. It is not a DET price list or a named free zone’s tariff — those change and depend on activity and legal form. It does not guarantee a total.

It is about formation in Dubai. Abu Dhabi or Sharjah are different cash plans.

Contents

Four invoice layers

  1. Government and registrar. Name reservation, licence, registration, any extra approvals. Source: DET/Invest in Dubai or the free-zone authority.
  2. Premises. Ejari office, warehouse, flexi-desk, business centre. Banks and visa counters look at the address.
  3. People. Establishment card, visa research, medical, Emirates ID — federal/emirate fees, not an automatic grant. Visa briefing.
  4. Professional. Corporate service provider, lawyer, bookkeeper, FTA registration, audit if required.

Layer 1 without 2–4 is the brochure. Step plan.

What quotes often omit

  • Renewal in year 2 (sometimes higher than year 1).
  • Deposits (visa, office).
  • Translation and attestation of foreign papers.
  • VAT on the adviser’s services (FTA, federal rate — verify).
  • Extra activities on the licence.
  • Bank compliance: accountant’s letter, business plan, shareholder travel. No opening guarantee: bank account.
  • Corporate-tax compliance even where the rate on qualifying income can be 0%. Registration and filing still matter. See the FTA Free Zone Persons guide (20 May 2024).

Mainland versus free zone in the costs

Mainland (DET) and a free zone are not two prices for the same product. Mainland may ask more on office and market access; a free zone may bundle a package that unpacks in year 2. Compare same activity, same number of visa researches, same office type, two years. Method: free zone or mainland.

If you keep a European company and start a Dubai entity, you are paying for two books. Relocation of a company.

Worked example: year one

Worked example, not a quote. Assumptions: one founder, unregulated advisory activity, Dubai free-zone flexi-desk, no staff, no promise of visa or bank.

Line Assumption AED
Registrar + licence year 1 14,000
Flexi-desk year 1 9,000
CSP / formation support 12,000
Legal review of documents 4,000
Translations / attestation 2,500
FTA registration + bookkeeping start 6,000
Visa research (fees, medical, ID) 8,000
Travel and stay for KYC 7,000
Buffer for refusals / extra papers 10,000
Sum 72,500

If visa research fails, the 8,000 plus part of the travel drop or are repeated; the licence may still run. If the bank refuses, the sum still sits there while you cannot receive invoices locally. That is why the buffer is on the list.

A mainland Ejari office can lift this sum; a warehouse licence more so. Ask for three quotes on this template.

Year two

Put beside year 1: renewal, office indexation, audit, FTA return, any economic-substance analysis, payroll if you pay yourself. An entity that was “almost free” in the pitch rarely is in year 2.

How to make quotes comparable

Send every provider the same email: activity code, number of shareholders, desired office type, whether you want visa research, whether they show year-2 fees, which lines sit outside scope, their licence number. Do not compare “from” prices. Choosing an advisor.

Help: Business, Investing.

Anyone choosing a warehouse, hospitality or a regulated activity counts extra approvals and often a dearer address. Ask for those lines separately, not as “we’ll see”. Visa deposits (refundable or not) belong in the cash plan; they are not profit.

Always compare two years. A zone that subsidises year 1 and doubles year 2 wins the pitch and loses the spreadsheet. Put FTA compliance (registration, audit if required) in year 1 even if the rate on qualifying income can later be 0%.

Formation is rarely one payment. Typical: CSP retainer, then registrar, then quarterly office, then visa fees, then FTA bookkeeper. If the bank takes 90 days, office runs without local collection. Keep the European account. Bank.

Worked example: cash (assumptions, beside the AED 72,500 sum): 40% in month 0 (CSP+registrar), 25% in month 1 (office+attestation), 20% in months 2–3 (visa research), rest buffer. If the visa fails, 20% is repeatable; the 65% before it is not automatically refunded.

FAQ

Is a “free visa” in the package actually free? Government fees are usually extra, or a quota cap applies. Make them unbundle.

Can I deduct the first-year sum through the company? That is a home and FTA question, not a marketing line.

Frequently asked questions

Who is “What does it cost to set up a company in Dubai in the first year?” for?

Dutch and Belgian readers considering dubai. The file organises process, cost logic and sources — it does not decide an individual case.

Does this apply in every emirate?

No. This briefing covers dubai. Other emirates have their own registrars, tariffs and portals.

Is this personal advice?

No. We do not guarantee a licence, visa, bank account, return or tax residence. Unknown items stay open.

Sources

Reviewed 17 September 2026. Request live fee schedules from the registrar. Knowledge library.

Hidden time as a cost

Each extra approval is calendar. Regulated activities can make the pitch’s “two weeks” void. Put lead time on the same sheet as AED. An extra month of office while you wait is first-year cost. Negotiate CSP fees against scope, not against “the other was cheaper” without year 2.

Currency of the quotes

Have everything put in AED. USD packages hide FX at the moment of payment. Ask whether government fees sit inside the CSP sum or are cash later at the till. That difference is not rounding.