Path two — Starting a company
A licence, a visa, and a bank account that actually opens.
Residency route
Investor / partner residence visa — 2 years, renewable
For founders and self-employed professionals who need a UAE entity and residency that stands on their own business rather than an employer. The licence is the easy part. Choosing the right jurisdiction for your actual activity — and getting through bank onboarding afterwards — is where most setups go wrong.
Where the rules currently stand
- The investor / partner residence visa is issued for two years and is renewable.
- Under rules applying from 1 January 2026, each investor or partner visa applicant is expected to hold at least AED 48,000 of share capital in the company, evidenced in the company's records.
- Renewal now also looks at business substance — a valid company lease, a utility bill, and six months of UAE corporate bank statements are commonly requested.
- Investor visa applicants are generally expected to be the sole shareholder; partner visas are typically capped at two per company, subject to the licensing authority's quota.
What's included
What we handle on this path.
Activity & jurisdiction advice
Mainland versus free zone, and which free zone genuinely fits your activity, client base and visa quota — not whichever one pays the highest agent commission.
Company formation & trade licence
Name reservation, initial approval, MOA, licence issuance and establishment card, coordinated with licensed formation agents.
Investor / partner visa application
The 2-year residence visa that attaches to your shareholding, including entry permit, status change, medical and Emirates ID.
Corporate bank account support
Bank selection based on your activity and shareholder profile, application preparation, and compliance-question rehearsal. Introductions only — the bank makes the decision.
Registered office / flexi-desk
A compliant address that satisfies both your licensing authority and the substance requirements that now apply at visa renewal.
Emirates ID & medical coordination
Booking, accompaniment where useful, and document delivery.
Compliance calendar
Licence renewal, establishment card, visa expiry, corporate tax registration and ESR/UBO filing dates, tracked in your portal with reminders ahead of each deadline.
Accounting partner introduction
Optional. Bookkeeping, VAT registration where applicable, and corporate tax filing through independent licensed firms.
The sequence
How it runs, week by week.
Indicative timings for a straightforward case. Government processing times, bank compliance and document attestation in your home country are the variables that move them.
- 01Week 0
Structure call
What you actually do, who pays you, where they are, and how many visas you need. The jurisdiction answer falls out of that.
- 02Week 1
Jurisdiction recommendation
A written comparison of two or three viable options with real cost lines, visa quotas and renewal obligations — including the ones agents leave out.
- 03Weeks 1–3
Licence issuance
Name reservation, initial approval, MOA signing, licence and establishment card through licensed formation partners.
- 04Weeks 3–6
Investor / partner visa
Entry permit or status change, medical fitness test, biometrics and Emirates ID.
- 05Weeks 4–10
Corporate banking
Bank selection, application file, compliance interview preparation. Timelines here are the bank's, not ours.
- 06Week 10+
Compliance handover
Every renewal date, filing deadline and licence expiry loaded into your portal with reminders.
Packages
Choose the whole path, or one piece of it.
Every package can be paid in full at the start, or released as each service completes. Pricing is quoted after your brief, because a single founder and a family of five are not the same job.
Formation Essentials
The entity, correctly chosen.
- Activity & jurisdiction advice
- Name reservation and licence processing
- Registered office / flexi-desk for year one
- Establishment card
Best for
Founders who already have residency or don't need a visa yet.
Formation + Visa
Entity plus your own residency.
- Everything in Formation Essentials
- 2-year investor / partner visa
- Medical, biometrics and Emirates ID
- Corporate bank account introduction and application support
Best for
Most first-time founders relocating to the UAE.
Formation + Ongoing
Set up and kept compliant.
- Everything in Formation + Visa
- Annual compliance calendar & renewal management
- Corporate tax and VAT registration guidance
- Dependant visa sponsorship when you're ready
- Named account manager
Best for
Founders who want the admin off their desk permanently.
Please note
Figures on this page were reviewed in August 2026 and are subject to change by the relevant UAE authorities. Thresholds, eligibility rules and fees should be confirmed for your specific case before you commit funds. FirstKey Dubai coordinates with licensed partners and is not itself a visa-issuing authority, a licensed real estate brokerage, or a bank.
Individual services
Or engage just one thing.
Residency
Residence visas & Emirates ID
Entry permits, medicals, biometrics and Emirates ID, tracked end to end.
Business
Company formation & trade licence
Mainland or free zone, chosen for your activity rather than a commission.
Business
Bank account opening support
Personal and corporate introductions, with the file prepared properly.
Life admin
Driving licence
Direct conversion where you're eligible, the fastest test route where you're not.
Life admin
Health insurance
Compliant cover for you and your dependants, before the deadline.
Residency
Family & domestic staff sponsorship
Bringing your household onto your residency.
Questions
Asked and answered.
Mainland or free zone?
It depends on who your customers are. If you invoice UAE-based clients directly and want to trade onshore without a local service agent arrangement, mainland is usually the answer. If your clients are overseas, a free zone is normally cheaper, faster and gives you a cleaner visa quota. We map it to your actual activity code rather than starting from the answer.
How much do I need to invest?
There isn't a single flat number, and anyone quoting one hasn't asked what you do. The requirement is tied to your company's share capital and the licensing authority's rules for your activity — from January 2026 the working floor for an investor or partner visa applicant is AED 48,000 of documented shareholding. We confirm the exact figure for your chosen free zone or mainland activity before you commit funds.
Will the bank definitely open my account?
No, and be wary of anyone who guarantees it. UAE bank onboarding is a compliance decision the bank makes on its own. What we can do is pick banks whose appetite matches your activity, nationality and expected turnover, prepare the file properly, and prepare you for the questions. That materially changes the odds; it doesn't remove the risk.
Does this route give me a Golden Visa?
Not by itself. The investor / partner visa attached to company formation is a 2-year permit. The 10-year Golden Visa is a separate framework with its own qualifying routes — property at AED 2 million, salary and executive thresholds, SME revenue, or specialised talent. If a Golden Visa is your goal we'll tell you which route you're closest to.