Process of Setting up a Branch Office in Dubai

The UAE government offers simple and quick way to set up branch offices in the UAE.

If you're planning to establish a branch office in Dubai, we've identified steps to follow for your convenience.

Step 1: Appoint a Business Consultant

The very first thing is to find and assign a local consultancy whose role will be limited to administrative tasks such as licensing, registration, visas, etc in return for a service fee and a contract.

The consultant will not be a part of the management nor does it have any company ownership.

Step 2: Reservation of trade name and preliminary permission

In order to register the trade name, the consultant will go to the Department of Economic Development (DED) and then submit for preliminary authorization from the Ministry of Economy to set up a branch in Dubai.

Step 3: Filing of Application

Application for Ministry of Economy will be submitted after initial approval and the application form should include full details of international parent company such as share capital, operations, corporate office, summary of projected operations to be undertaken by branch office and name of prospective general manager in Dubai.

The files with the application form to be submitted are:

Certificate of trade name reservation and initial approval

Company documents such as MOA (Memorandum of Association), AOA (Articles of Association) COI (Certificate of Incorporation) and Certificate of Good Standing.

Parent company’s management board resolution for establishing the branch office in Dubai

Power of attorney for General Manager in Dubai

General Manager’s passport copy

Audited financial statements of parent company’s for the last two years

Statement issued by parent company stating its major operations and trade activities and also the activities which will be carried out in Dubai

Notarized agreement with local services agent and his identification documents copy (if LSA is a company then company’s corporate documents)

Step 4: Get Approval from Ministry Of Economy and Federal Foreign Companies Committee

The Ministry of Economy shall give its own authorization and additional documents (hard copy) to be submitted shall be,

Application form

COI of parent company

MOE initial approval

Certificate of local bank deposit

The Ministry of Economy will forward the request to the Committee of Federal Foreign Companies with a notice that the branch office in Dubai will be allowed to conduct specific activities.

Step 5: Get License by Department of Economic Development

Once the Federal Foreign Companies Committee’s permission is received, the petitioner must send another request to DED requesting different documents submitted to MOE, with the inclusion of the proposed branch office address in Dubai.

The application must include

MOE approval as well as other authorities ' approvals in this context

Copy of proposed lease in Dubai

Copies of documents that were submitted to MOE in Step 3

Undertaking of parent company

Letter from UAE Auditor confirming his appointment and with the summary of parent company’s financial statements for two years.

After successful submission, DED will issue commercial license to branch office which will be valid for one year and renewable annually. Now there is a new law in Dubai that upon special request, 4 year license may also be obtained.

Step 6: Completing Administrative Tasks

After license issuance, the branch office can proceed to carry out administrative tasks such as creation of bank accounts, acquiring visas and labor cards for its employees etc.

Step 7: Registration with Commercial Authorities

After the successful completion of documentation work and licensing so that you have everything at hand, branch office can register itself with commercial authorities and it is entered in the register of Ministry of Economy and Commerce. Lastly branch office is registered at Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

PMC Solutions DMCC Services for Branch Office Setup

If you are new to Dubai or you have no information about setting up new company, we at PMC Solutions DMCC will do that just for you.

Having experience of more than 10 years and thousands of satisfied clients, we guarantee you that our experts will provide you with the best business solution according to your needs.

Do not get into the hassle of running from one authority to other, leave that upon us and we will setup your branch office whilst saving your time and money.

Contact our business consultants for further guidance.

Benefits of opening a Branch Office in the UAE

A business owner could choose from four different categories and choose the one that would be the most useful for their company.

Apart from the ability to trade in the local market and secure 100% ownership of your company, which is the scenario for most types of branch offices, there are several other reasons for establishing a branch in the UAE. Here are the top five:

 Benefits of opening a branch office in the UAE:

Tax exemptions:

Without hitting on the exceptional tax structure of the country, it is impossible to address the advantages of setting up any type of business in the UAE. Based on the jurisdiction and country of origin, branch parent companies may benefit from the zero percent corporate tax rate of the UAE.

Audit trail:

Auditing multi-national companies can be a quiet a task. Establishing a branch office enables to relieve this concern. Every transaction between the parent and the branch company gets legally monitored. This creates a stringent audit process for parent companies requiring audited books.

Less administrative burden:

In addition to bookkeeping and auditing, operating multi-national setups can be complicated. Also, when operating a branch office, most of this obstacle is avoided. There is normally no need for a distinct financing mechanism within branch offices of the UAE, as audited accounts are not needed.

Cost-efficient path to new markets:

It can be an expensive affair to enter new markets – notably those worldwide. Not so if you set up a UAE branch. Since there is no need for share capital, branch offices give enterprises a great opportunity to develop their business without high capital costs. However, because branch offices are often smaller than stand-alone companies, operating costs are also relatively lower.

Analyse before you buy:

All of the world's feasibility analyses and market research could never balance actual trading knowledge in a particular market. Branch offices deliver a bit of real understanding, enabling foreign investors to establish a presence in the local market and provide an access to the feasibility of trying to open up a sizable company within the UAE.

Do not get into the hassle of running from one authority to other, leave that upon us and we at PMC Solutions DMCC will setup your branch office whilst saving your time and money. Contact our business consultants for further guidance.

Log on to www.pmcsolutions.me or contact us at +971 588 631 656 or email at setup@pmcsolutions.me