Dubai company & residency · the full picture

Dubai residency, through a company.

Most Dubai guides are written by agents who earn a fee when you sign, so people form on half the picture, then meet a tax they didn't expect.

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Best if you'll actually spend time in Dubai and want the residency and the company as a single move.

Residency in one setupThe company qualifies you for a 2-year investor visa.
100% foreign ownershipFree zone, or most mainland activities since 2021.
Formed remotelyMost free zones take fully digital applications.
0% only if you qualifyQFZP needs substance and audited accounts, or you pay 9%.

Who this is for

Who Dubai residency-by-company actually fits.

01

Clients outside the UAE, and you want residency.

International service businesses that need a legitimate company for banking and a visa to match.

02

You'll actually spend time in Dubai.

Founders who want the company and the residence visa together, and mean to use it.

03

You need a non-employment residency path.

Individuals with international income and no UAE employer.

04

You're building a UAE-facing business, properly.

Through mainland or dual structures, not a free zone quietly serving mainland clients.

What we handle

The setup, one step at a time.

  1. 1

    Activity and free zone

    We match your activity to the right zone, SHAMS (Sharjah) or RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah) on a budget, IFZA or Meydan mid-range, DMCC for trading credibility.

  2. 2

    License application

    Mostly digital, no UAE visit at this stage. The trade license lands in 3–10 business days.

  3. 3

    Residency visa

    Entry permit and medical, then the residence visa, issued together with the Emirates ID as one application. Optional: some form the company for banking and keep home residency.

  4. 4

    Bank introduction

    A separate, demanding step, 4–8 weeks. We prepare what banks ask for and introduce them; some want an in-person visit or a minimum balance.

The tax side

183

Days in the UAE for the simplest of three routes to tax residency — you can also qualify with 90–182 days on a UAE residence permit plus a permanent home, a job or a business here, or by making the UAE your main home. A residence visa alone does none of it, and doesn't release you from home-country tax.

The 0% rate is real but conditional, and there are two systems to keep apart. A standard company pays 0% on the first AED 375,000 of profit and 9% above it. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income, and non-qualifying income stays at 0% only while it is within the de minimis limit (the lower of 5% of revenue or AED 5 million); go over it and the company loses QFZP status for five tax periods, with all its profit taxed like a standard company's. QFZP status also means real substance, qualifying income and audited IFRS accounts. Corporate tax is also separate from VAT, which can require registration once turnover passes AED 375,000 even at 0% corporate tax. Under AED 3,000,000 revenue an eligible company can instead elect Small Business Relief for 0% through 31 December 2029 — a company is QFZP or SBR-eligible, not both — then that path closes. And these home-country rules key off where you're tax-resident, not your passport: if you stay tax-resident elsewhere, that country may apply CFC or anti-avoidance rules depending on your circumstances, the one hard exception being US citizens, taxed on worldwide income wherever they live. A visa is not a tax plan.

What recurs, every year

  • License renewal.The free zone license renews every year; ask for the renewal price of your package before you sign.
  • The visa cycle.The investor visa renews every two years; we place you with the specialist who handles it and stay your single guide through it.
  • Audited accounts, if you want 0%.QFZP status needs audited IFRS financials every year, priced by the auditor. We introduce the accountant.
  • One address for every question.The zone, the visa, the bank, the filing — one point of contact across all of it. Ours.

What residency does, and doesn't, do

Yes

A 2-year investor visa

Tied to the company license, live and work in the UAE, bank locally, sponsor family. You apply once the license is issued.

Yes

A Golden Visa, later

A longer-term, self-sponsored residency for qualifying investors and founders, assessed on its own criteria and realistic once the company has a real track record. We flag whether it fits; the specific routes and thresholds are a conversation, not a headline claim.

No

An automatic exit from home tax

A visa isn't tax residency — the visa is at most one condition; residency turns on your days in the UAE and a home, job or business here — and US citizens are taxed on worldwide income regardless. Verify your home-country exit rules first.

If all you want is residency, a Green or Virtual Work Visa can do that with no company, and we'll tell you so. This page is for when you need the company too: the banking, the structure, the invoicing a visa alone won't give you.

Before you pay

The questions people ask first.

Does forming a company give me UAE residency?
Not automatically, it makes you eligible to apply for a 2-year investor visa after the license is issued. You can also form the company for banking only and skip the visa.
Is corporate tax really 0% for free zones?
Only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person: substance, qualifying income, a de-minimis allowance for a small amount of non-qualifying revenue, and audited IFRS accounts. Non-qualifying income — from mainland UAE clients, say — stays at 0% only while all of it is within that limit, the lower of 5% of revenue or AED 5 million. Go over it and you lose QFZP status for five tax periods, not one, and all your profit is taxed at 0% up to AED 375,000 and 9% above.
Does a residence visa make me a tax resident?
No. UAE tax residency can be met three ways — 183+ days in the country, 90–182 days on a UAE residence permit plus a permanent home, a job or a business here, or making the UAE your main home and centre of life — and a visa without the days in the country meets none of them, so on its own it doesn't make you a UAE tax resident or release you from home-country tax.
What's the cheapest legitimate setup?
SHAMS (Sharjah) sits at the low end, and RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah) is comparable. The SHAMS cost calculator gives estimates; ask us and we price it for your activity and visa count. The trade-off is a Sharjah or RAK address, not a Dubai one.
What is the Golden Visa and how do I qualify?
A self-sponsored long-term visa for qualifying investors and founders, assessed on its own criteria and separate from your company visa. A brand-new company with no revenue won't qualify yet, so most people start on the 2-year investor visa and look at the Golden Visa once there's a track record. The routes and thresholds move, so we check the current ones with you rather than quote a number that dates.
Do I need to visit Dubai to form the company?
Not for formation, most free zones are fully digital. The residency visa needs a visit (medical and Emirates ID); many do formation remotely and make one trip for the visa and bank together.

Official sources

Dubai residency through a company, the full picture.

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Nothing on Atlasway is legal or tax advice.