Business Ideas for Women in Dubai 2026: The Idea Is the Easy Part, the Licence Is Where People Get Caught

There are no gender-based restrictions on business ownership in the UAE. A woman can own 100% of a free zone company, or a mainland company across most activities, on exactly the same terms as anyone else. No male guardian. No local partner required on that basis. No separate application track and no different fee schedule.

That settles the question most articles on this topic spend a thousand words circling, and it means the genuinely useful content sits somewhere else entirely. The ideas are the easy part. Everybody already has three of them. The expensive part is matching the idea to a licence route that will actually permit it.

There is one specific trap that catches more home-based and online founders than everything else combined. The e-Trader licence is the cheapest and most widely recommended route into a small Dubai business, from around AED 1,370 a year [1]. For an expat holder it permits service activities but generally not the sale of physical products. It cannot sponsor a residence visa. It cannot employ anyone [1]. A great many people buy it intending to sell products, and find out afterwards, usually after the first stock order has already shipped.

So this guide runs licence route first, business idea second. Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has registered UAE companies across every route described here, from AED 1,370 e-Trader licences to full mainland structures with staff and premises [9].

Are there any restrictions on a woman owning a business in the UAE?

Short answer: no. Ownership, licensing and visa sponsorship work identically regardless of gender.

100% foreign ownership is available in free zones and for most mainland activities [9]. That rule is written around nationality and activity, not around the owner's gender. A woman can be the sole shareholder, the sole manager and the sole signatory on the bank account, and can sponsor a residence visa for a husband and children from her own company on the same basis as any other sponsor.

Where confusion creeps in, it is one of three things being mistaken for a restriction.

Activity restrictions, which apply to everyone. Some activities require a UAE national partner or agent, some require professional qualifications, some require regulator approval before the licence issues. None of that is gender-specific.

Dependent visa status. If you are resident on a husband's visa, your residence depends on his sponsorship continuing. That is a feature of dependent visas generally, and one reason many founders eventually move onto their own permit.

Salon and personal care licensing. Ladies and gents salons are licensed as different activities with different premises requirements. That is a rule about the service, not about who owns the business. Our gents versus ladies salon licence guide covers the split.

Real Talk: The reason "business ideas for women in Dubai" is a high-volume search is not that the rules differ. It is that most people searching are starting from a family visa, with limited capital and a need for flexible hours, and want to know which routes fit that shape. That is a different question from "how do I set up a company", and almost nobody answers it.

What are the four licence routes, and what does each really permit?

Short answer: e-Trader is cheapest and most restricted, a freelance permit suits independent professionals, and only a free zone or mainland licence handles products, staff or residence.

Three consequences are worth fixing in your head before you look at a single business idea, because each one eliminates a different group of people.

If your model involves stock, e-Trader is generally closed to you as an expat [1]. That rules out an online boutique, handmade goods, reselling, subscription boxes, print on demand with physical fulfilment, and anything that arrives in a package.

If you need residence from the business, e-Trader will not give it to you [1]. Fine if you already hold residence through a husband or an employer. Fatal if the licence was supposed to bring you to Dubai, and the most common reason founders upgrade inside the first year [9].

If you plan to hire even one person, you need a free zone or mainland licence [1]. A licence that cannot employ caps the business at what you personally can deliver.

Pro Tip: Answer three questions before you shortlist ideas. Do you sell goods or services? Do you need staff? Do you need residence from the business? Three answers narrow four routes to one, and the survivor determines which ideas are available at your budget. Doing it in this order costs an afternoon. Doing it the other way round costs a licence fee and a stock order.

Our e-Trader licence guide covers the cheapest route in detail, and our free zone company setup and mainland company setup pages price the fuller routes honestly, including the parts that get left off package quotes.

Not sure which of the three answers applies to you? Check your eligibility→

Which business ideas work on the cheapest licence?

Short answer: anything that sells your time, skill or judgement rather than a physical object.

These fit an expat e-Trader licence or a freelance permit because they involve no stock [1], and they work best from a family visa because you can start without needing the business to produce residence.

Consulting in the profession you already have

Marketing, finance, HR, operations, procurement, supply chain, project management. The strongest option for anyone with a corporate background, because the credibility already exists and the network is the pipeline. Check your employment contract if you are still employed, because this is the category most likely to draw an objection. Our consulting firm setup guide covers the licensing detail.

Design, branding and creative services

Workable as a service activity for expats [1]. Graphic design, brand identity, packaging, presentation design, interior styling. Retainers with two or three anchor clients are far more stable than project work, and easier to deliver around school hours. Note the boundary: interior styling and design are treated differently from interior fit-out, which is a contracting activity with its own approvals. Our interior design business guide sets out where that line falls.

Content, copywriting and social media management

Small and mid-size UAE businesses outsource this constantly, and it is recurring revenue rather than one-off project income. Monthly retainers beat hourly billing. Our digital marketing agency guide covers the fuller agency version once you place media spend for clients, which is a different activity.

Tutoring and exam preparation

Curriculum subjects, languages, university entrance testing, delivered online so the market is not capped by the UAE population. Individual tutoring is a service activity. A formal training institute with accredited programmes is a different thing entirely, running through the education regulator. Our training centre approval guide covers that end of the spectrum.

Bookkeeping, admin support and translation

Unglamorous, steady, and underserved precisely because it is unglamorous. Small companies that cannot justify a full-time finance hire still have to file, and bookkeeping clients rarely leave. General translation sits comfortably on a service licence, but legal translation is separately regulated and requires accreditation, so do not treat the two as one activity. Our translation services guide covers the distinction.

Coaching and training

Career, executive, leadership, wellness, subject-specific, with online delivery keeping it simple. Anything therapeutic, clinical or health-adjacent moves into regulated territory and needs health authority involvement, which is a different project with a different budget.

Photography, events and content creation

Photography is a service activity, though commercial shoots in many Dubai locations need location permits separate from your trade licence. Event work is workable at the advisory end and outgrows a light licence the moment you contract venues and suppliers in your own name, because that is procuring rather than advising. Paid promotional content has its own licensing position, covered in our influencer licence guide.

The service businesses that make real money in Dubai are overwhelmingly business to business. Consumer-facing service businesses at this scale rarely clear enough margin to justify the licence, because you compete on price with people who have no overheads and no intention of getting licensed. Selling to companies means fewer clients, higher invoice values and predictable retainers.

Which business ideas need a full trading licence?

Short answer: everything involving physical goods, and the moment stock exists the cheap route is gone.

As an expat, every model below requires a free zone or mainland trading licence rather than e-Trader [1]. The businesses themselves are frequently better than the service models, because they scale past your own hours. They simply cost more to licence and take longer to start.

Three deserve expanding, because the approval rather than the licence decides whether the business is startable.

Clothing and fashion. The licence is the straightforward part. The operational questions are where stock sits, whether you import under your own customs code, and whether you sell into the UAE market or export. Our clothing and fashion business guide covers the sequence.

Cosmetics and personal care. Product registration with the relevant health authority is a real timeline and a real cost, and it is per product rather than per company. Budget it before you order manufacturing. Our cosmetics trading guide covers what registration involves.

Food. Food trading, food production and food service are three separately regulated things, and municipality approvals attach to premises as well as product. Our food trading guide and our cloud kitchen guide cover the two most common versions.

Quick Math: A Dubai e-Trader licence is from AED 1,370 a year [1]. A free zone trading licence with registration typically runs several multiples of that before you add a residence visa, an establishment card, medical testing or Emirates ID. If you are selling a product with a thin margin at low volume, the licence alone can consume a year of gross profit. Work out how many units your realistic first year has to sell just to cover the licence, then decide whether the product is right, rather than discovering the answer in month eleven.

Selling into the UAE domestic market rather than exporting changes the answer again, because free zone companies face restrictions on mainland trade. Our free zone versus mainland versus offshore comparison sets out where that boundary falls, and our ecommerce business guide covers licence options for online retail specifically.

Which ideas are regulated, and who actually approves them?

Short answer: several of the most commonly suggested ideas are among the most heavily regulated activities in the UAE, and for those the approval is the project, not the licence.

Reverse the usual order here. Establish whether you can obtain the approval, on what premises and in what timeframe, before you pay for anything. A licence you cannot use because the premises fail inspection is a wasted year and a wasted deposit.

Salons and beauty services are the most commonly underestimated, because the approval attaches to the specific unit you have signed for. Our salon and beauty business guide and our mobile salon guide cover the fixed-premises and mobile models, which are licensed differently.

Clinics and aesthetic services require health authority licensing of the facility and of every practitioner in it. In Dubai that is the Dubai Health Authority, federally it is the Ministry of Health and Prevention, and which applies changes the process materially. Our DHA versus MOHAP clinic licence guide sets out the difference.

Nurseries and childcare carry premises, ratio, staffing and safeguarding standards set by the regulator rather than by you, and the premises search is the hard part. Our daycare and nursery guide covers the process end to end.

Home-based food is the most common regulated idea we are asked about, and it is not a simple trade licence question. The rules attach to the kitchen, the storage, the handling and the product, and they vary by emirate.

Common Mistake: Signing a tenancy before the regulator has confirmed the premises will pass. This happens constantly with salons, nurseries and clinics, because the unit looks perfect and the landlord wants a decision this week. The licence follows the approval, the approval follows the premises inspection, and if the unit fails you are paying rent on a space you cannot trade from. Make the approval conversation happen first, in writing, and let the tenancy wait.

If your idea sits in this section, the licence fee is the small number on the page. Get a free consultation→

Do you need your own residence visa?

Short answer: not if you are already resident, and if you are not, that single fact removes every cheap option.

If you are already resident on a husband's sponsorship or an employer's, you can start on a light licence and test the model without touching your immigration status. That is a genuine advantage: you can spend AED 1,370 finding out whether the business works, rather than many times that [1].

If you need residence from the business, e-Trader cannot provide it [1], and neither can most low-cost freelance arrangements depending on the issuer. The routes that do:

Investor or partner residence through a free zone or mainland company you own, bringing the full immigration chain with it: establishment card, entry permit, medical testing, Emirates ID and stamping. Our investor visa guide covers the requirements.

Green Visa, investor and partner route. Five years, renewable, self-sponsored, with no UAE employer required, and it allows you to sponsor a husband and children. ICP's published conditions are proof of investment or contribution to a UAE business venture plus the necessary licences and approvals, and ICP publishes no minimum investment amount [5]. That is worth knowing if you have read a figure somewhere, because a lot of published content asserts one.

Green Visa, freelance route. Requires a bachelor's degree, specialised diploma or equivalent, a Ministry-issued freelance or self-employment permit, and annual income of not less than AED 360,000 in each of the two previous years [5]. Read that condition carefully. It is a consolidation route for an established freelancer, not an entry route for someone starting out this month.

Green, Golden and Blue residence holders and their family members have a 180-day grace period after expiry or cancellation [6], which is considerably more room than most permits allow. Our Green Visa guide covers all three routes.

Real Talk: If you are currently on a husband's visa, your residence and your children's residence both depend on his sponsorship continuing. If the marriage changes, or his employment changes, your status changes with it, and the business you built sits underneath that. Holding your own permit through your own company is worth something well beyond convenience, and it is the reason a good number of founders make the move to a free zone licence earlier than the business strictly requires. Our family visa requirements guide covers how sponsorship actually works.

What will you actually pay in tax?

Short answer: almost certainly nothing, and you must still register and file a return.

Corporate Tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. Returns and payment are due within nine months of the end of the tax period [3].

Small Business Relief treats a business with revenue at or below AED 3,000,000 as having no taxable income, on election. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026, issued 29 July 2026, amended Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 to extend availability to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, from a previous cut-off of 2026 [4]. Every business model described in this guide starts comfortably inside that threshold.

Four conditions catch people out. The threshold applies to the current tax period and all previous ones, so crossing it once closes later periods too. It is not available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. Other exemptions, reliefs and deductions are switched off for any period in which you elect. And artificially separating a business to stay under the threshold engages the general anti-abuse rule at Article 50 of the Corporate Tax Law [4]. Tax losses and disallowed net interest expenditure are carried forward rather than lost [4].

VAT is 5%, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000, and voluntary registration available above AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or taxable expenses [2]. Voluntary registration is worth considering if your clients are VAT-registered businesses, because it makes your input VAT recoverable. It also adds a filing obligation, so weigh the recovery against the administration.

No personal income tax applies to salary or dividends you draw [9].

Common Mistake: Concluding that owing nothing means having nothing to do. Registration and filing obligations exist independently of liability, and Small Business Relief is elected on a return you still have to file [4]. A founder who reads "no corporate tax under AED 3 million" and stops there accumulates administrative exposure for years while believing she is fully compliant. At this scale it is the single most common failure we see, across every type of business [9].

Our Small Business Relief guide covers the conditions and the exclusions, and our first-90-days guide sets out the registration sequence in order.

Want the registration and filing handled rather than remembered? Talk to a setup expert→

What does the first year actually cost?

Short answer: the licence is the small, visible number. Renewals, banking and compliance are the recurring ones.

Quick Math: On the cheapest realistic combination, an e-Trader licence at AED 1,370 a year plus a Ruya Standard account at AED 79 a month comes to AED 2,318 for a full year of legitimate trading. On the more expensive end, the same licence with a FAB Basic account at AED 250 a month is AED 4,370, plus an AED 10,000 minimum average balance you have to keep sitting there, plus AED 100 a month if you fall below it [1][8]. The account choice is worth more than twice the licence fee, and almost nobody compares it.

If you pay contractors or suppliers often, the transfer line matters more than the monthly fee. Forty local transfers a month at AED 25 each is AED 12,000 a year, dwarfing every monthly-fee difference in the table [8]. Our UAE business bank account comparison works that through.

Budget year two before you commit to year one. The licence renews annually, the establishment card renews, and on the mainland Ejari gates the licence renewal, which gates the establishment card, which gates every visa on the file [9]. Founders who budget setup precisely and stop there get caught at month twelve with three renewals landing in the same fortnight.

Which emirate should you licence in?

Short answer: Dubai is not automatically the answer, and for a service business the difference can be significant.

The e-Trader licence is a Dubai instrument [1]. Free zone and mainland licences exist across all seven emirates, and licence and premises costs vary considerably between them. If your clients are remote, international, or spread across the UAE, the emirate on your licence matters far less than the cost of holding it.

What genuinely ties you to a specific emirate is premises. If you need a salon, a nursery, a clinic or a kitchen that customers physically visit, location is a business decision and licensing follows it. If you need none of those, the choice is open. Our Sharjah setup page and Ajman setup page price two of the lower-cost routes, and our cheapest free zones ranked guide compares zones on what they charge rather than on their marketing.

One caution. A cheaper emirate is only cheaper if the licence permits your activity and supports the visa quota you need. Choosing on headline price and then finding the activity unavailable is a false economy that costs a migration.

When does the cheap licence stop being enough?

Short answer: when any one of four things happens, and each of them forces the upgrade regardless of what you want.

You need to hire. Neither e-Trader nor a freelance permit permits employment [1]. This one is absolute. Our hiring guide covers what comes next.

You need residence from the business. Whether because your circumstances changed or because you always did. E-Trader cannot sponsor [1].

You want to sell products. Physical goods need a trading licence [1].

Revenue is approaching AED 3,000,000. Crossing it removes Small Business Relief, and because the test looks at the current period and every previous one, breaching it once closes later periods as well [4].

A fifth signal is softer but just as real: you are turning down work. The constraint is then your own hours, and the business is asking for capacity a solo licence cannot legally give it.

Pro Tip: Plan the upgrade instead of tripping into it. Moving from e-Trader to a free zone licence means a new legal entity, which means a new bank account, new client contracts, a new tax registration and a transition period where both exist. Doing that deliberately in a quiet month is a manageable project. Doing it mid-contract because a client just asked you to take on two people is not. Our Dubai setup cost breakdown prices both destinations.

What is definitely not a route?

Short answer: three shortcuts that get suggested constantly and create more exposure than they remove.

Trading with no licence and sorting it out later. Earning income outside a licence that authorises the activity is not a grey area, and for a resident the exposure attaches to residence status rather than being a simple fine. Violations accrue at AED 50 per person per day, flat rate, plus an AED 100 smart services fee, and paying does not resolve the violation because ICP requires that status is adjusted or the person leaves the UAE [7].

That figure is per person, not per family. A mother and three children in violation for sixty days is AED 12,000 rather than AED 3,000 [7], because dependants derive residence from the sponsor and a problem on one file is a problem on all of them. Our overstay fines guide covers the grace periods, which differ enormously by permit type.

Invoicing through someone else's company. Your revenue sits inside an entity you do not own, with no legal claim to it, and both parties inherit each other's problems. Every version of this we have seen ends badly for at least one side [9].

Nominee arrangements sold as a cost saving. They carry their own costs and risks and they do not make a business cheaper. Our guide to running two businesses in Dubai sets out structures that actually hold up.

Real Client Stories

Real examples from businesses we have helped set up. Names have been changed for privacy.

Layla, the consultant for whom the cheap route was exactly right

Layla was a marketing director on her husband's residence visa, wanting to consult two or three days a week around school hours. She took an e-Trader licence for consultancy services, a permitted service activity for expats [1], at around AED 1,370 a year.

All three e-Trader limits happened to be irrelevant to her. No stock, no staff, residence already held. She ran a retainer practice for two years at almost no fixed cost, comfortably inside Small Business Relief throughout [4]. When she took on her first employee she moved to a free zone licence, because e-Trader cannot employ [1]. That was an upgrade driven by growth, not a correction.

Her comment: "The cheap licence was not a compromise. It was exactly right for what I was doing, and the only reason I outgrew it is that it worked."

Noor, the founder who bought a licence that could not do the job

Noor planned an online accessories brand and took an e-Trader licence on the strength of its price and the number of articles recommending it for online businesses. Expat holders generally cannot sell physical products on that licence [1]. She found out after applying, and after the first stock order had already been placed.

The licence money lost was small. The three months of inventory sitting in a spare room while she arranged a free zone trading licence were not, and neither was the launch window she had built a whole content plan around.

Her comment: "Everything I read said it was the cheapest way to start an online business. Not one article said it would not let me sell anything physical."

Amira, the salon founder who signed the lease first

Amira found a unit she loved for a ladies salon and signed the tenancy to secure it against another interested party, then began the approval process. The premises did not meet the layout and facility requirements, and the changes needed were the landlord's to authorise rather than hers. She spent five months and a full tenancy on a space she never traded from. The second unit, taken only after the approval conversation had happened in writing, was licensed and open in a fraction of the time.

Her comment: "I was worried about losing the unit. What I actually lost was five months of rent and the whole first season."

Start from the licence, then choose the idea

The useful sequence is the reverse of the one most people follow.

Decide whether your model involves physical products, whether you need to employ anyone, and whether you need residence from the business. Those three answers narrow four routes to one or two, and the surviving route determines which ideas are genuinely available at your budget. Only then does choosing between consulting and candles become an interesting question.

Get that order right and you can be trading legitimately from about AED 1,370 a year [1], owing no corporate tax under Small Business Relief while still filing properly [4]. Get it wrong and you have bought a licence that cannot do the job, leased premises that will never pass approval, or created exposure against your family's residence rather than your wallet.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has registered UAE companies across free zone, mainland and low-cost routes [9]. We will tell you which licence permits your specific activity before you pay for it, and when the cheap option is a false economy for what you are trying to build. Our post-setup services team then handles the tax registration, renewals and PRO work that new businesses most often miss.

Get a free consultation→

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a woman own 100% of a business in Dubai?

Yes. There are no gender-based restrictions on business ownership in the UAE. Full foreign ownership is available in free zones and for most mainland activities, on identical terms [9].

Do I need my husband's permission or sponsorship to start a business?

No. Business ownership does not require a male guardian, partner or sponsor. You may separately need your own residence visa if you are not already resident in the UAE.

What is the cheapest way to start a business in Dubai?

A Dubai e-Trader licence, from around AED 1,370 a year [1]. Check its three limits before buying: expat holders generally cannot sell physical products, it cannot sponsor a residence visa, and it cannot employ anyone [1].

Can an expat sell physical products on an e-Trader licence?

Generally no. The licence supports service activities for expat holders, and physical product sales require a free zone or mainland trading licence [1].

Can I get a residence visa through an e-Trader licence?

No. E-Trader cannot sponsor visas [1]. You would need a free zone or mainland company with the immigration chain attached, or a qualifying Green Visa route [5].

Can I employ someone on an e-Trader licence?

No. The licence cannot employ staff [1]. Hiring requires a free zone or mainland licence.

What business can I run from home in Dubai?

Service businesses generally work: consulting, design, content, tutoring, coaching, bookkeeping, translation, virtual assistance. Home-based food production and physical product sales carry additional regulatory requirements and are not simply a licence question.

Which business ideas need the most approvals?

Salons and beauty services, nurseries and childcare, clinics and aesthetic services, training institutes, and anything involving food. For all of these, establish whether the approval is obtainable on your intended premises before spending anything.

Who approves a clinic or aesthetic services licence?

The health authority, which in Dubai is the Dubai Health Authority and federally is the Ministry of Health and Prevention. Both the facility and every practitioner require licensing, and which authority applies depends on where you licence.

Can I run a nursery or daycare from my home?

Childcare is a regulated activity with premises, ratio, staffing and safeguarding standards set by the regulator. It is not a home business in the ordinary sense, and the premises requirement is usually the binding constraint.

Is a freelance permit better than an e-Trader licence?

They suit different situations. A freelance permit authorises you to provide services independently and may support residence depending on the issuer. E-Trader is a Dubai trading licence with the three limits described above [1].

Will I pay corporate tax on a small Dubai business?

Almost certainly not. Corporate Tax is 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above [3], and Small Business Relief can treat revenue at or below AED 3,000,000 as nil taxable income for periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [4]. You must still register and file.

Do I have to register for corporate tax if I owe nothing?

Yes. Registration and filing obligations exist independently of liability, and the relief that produces the nil result is elected on the return itself [4].

When do I need to register for VAT?

Once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000. Voluntary registration is available above AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or taxable expenses [2].

What happens if my revenue crosses AED 3 million?

Small Business Relief becomes unavailable. Because the threshold test considers the current tax period and all previous ones, crossing it once also closes later periods even if revenue falls back [4].

Can I split my business into two companies to stay under the threshold?

No. Artificially separating a business to claim the relief engages the general anti-abuse rule at Article 50 of the Corporate Tax Law [4].

What income do I need for the Green Visa freelance route?

Annual income of not less than AED 360,000 in each of the two previous years, plus a Ministry-issued freelance or self-employment permit and a bachelor's degree, specialised diploma or equivalent [5].

Is there a minimum investment for the Green Visa investor route?

ICP publishes no minimum investment amount. The stated conditions are proof of investment or contribution to a UAE business venture plus the necessary licences and approvals [5].

What happens to my business if my husband's visa is cancelled?

Your residence, and your children's, derives from his sponsorship, so a change there changes your status. Green, Golden and Blue holders and their families have a 180-day grace period on expiry or cancellation [6], but a dependent visa on an employment sponsorship does not offer the same room. Holding your own permit through your own company removes the dependency.

Do I need an office to start?

Not for e-Trader or most freelance permits. A mainland licence generally requires premises evidence such as a tenancy or Ejari, and that Ejari gates the licence renewal, which gates the establishment card, which gates every visa on the file [9].

How much does a business bank account cost?

Monthly fees across common UAE business accounts run from AED 79 to AED 250, only one of them carries a minimum average balance requirement, and local transfer pricing ranges from free to AED 25 per transaction. Figures as at August 2026, so confirm with the bank [8].

What is the biggest mistake founders make here?

Choosing the idea before the licence. The second biggest is signing a tenancy for a regulated activity before the approving authority has confirmed the premises will pass, which costs months rather than fees.

Related reading: e-Trader Licence Dubai, Side Hustles in Dubai, Dubai Business Setup Without Money, What to Do After Setting Up a Company in Dubai

References

[1] BusinessDubai.ae analysis of Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism e-Trader licence conditions: indicative annual cost from AED 1,370, nationality and residency based eligibility, the restriction preventing expat holders from selling physical products, and the inability to sponsor visas or employ staff. e-Trader licence guide

[2] Federal Tax Authority. Registration for VAT, setting mandatory registration at AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports and voluntary registration at AED 187,500 of taxable supplies, imports or taxable expenses, at a rate of 5%. FTA VAT registration

[3] The Official Portal of the UAE Government and Federal Tax Authority. Corporate tax at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, with returns and payment due within nine months from the end of the tax period. u.ae corporate tax

[4] UAE Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026, issued 29 July 2026, amending Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief, extending availability to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, with the AED 3,000,000 threshold applying to the current and all previous tax periods, election required on the return, Qualifying Free Zone Persons excluded, and Article 50 anti-abuse applying to artificial separation. MoF financial legislation

[5] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). UAE Green Residency: the five-year self-sponsored permit, the freelance route requirement of not less than AED 360,000 in each of the two previous years with a Ministry-issued permit and qualification, and investor and partner conditions with no published minimum investment amount. ICP Green Residency

[6] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). Cancellation of residency permits, including the 180-day grace period for Golden, Green and Blue residence holders and their family members. ICP residence permit cancellation

[7] Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). Payment of visa or residence violation fine: AED 50 per person per day flat rate, plus a smart services fee, with status required to be adjusted or the individual to leave the UAE after payment. ICP visa and residence violation fines

[8] BusinessDubai.ae. UAE business banking comparison covering monthly fees from AED 79 to AED 250, minimum balance requirements, fall-below fees and transfer pricing, as at August 2026, to be confirmed with the bank. UAE business bank account comparison

[9] BusinessDubai.ae. Internal data from UAE company registrations since 2013, including low-cost and home-based formations, upgrades driven by hiring, product sales or residence, approval timelines for regulated activities, and the renewal dependency chain from Ejari to licence to establishment card to visa. businessdubai.ae