Kareem Odeh
MANAGING PARTNER
Twelve years in Dubai formations, four of them inside a free-zone authority. Handles anything that has gone wrong somewhere else first.
Arabic · English
§ 07PROCESS
Fourteen days to a licence and a visa. Then the bank.
The formation itself is fast and boring, which is how it should be. The two parts that genuinely vary are attestation of your documents in your home country, and the bank — and we will tell you at the start which of those is likely to be your problem.
§ —DAY BY DAY
DAY 0
Name reservation and initial approval
Three name options, submitted the same day. Names that reference a country, a religion or a regulated activity are refused — we check before submitting.
DAY 1–3
Licence issued
Free zone: two to three working days once the passport copies are clean. Mainland adds notarised MOA and takes a week.
DAY 3–5
Immigration file and e-Channel
The establishment card. This is where a company with no office address can stall, and where a good consultant earns their fee.
DAY 5–10
Entry permit and status change
Inside the country, the status change takes a day. Outside, the person flies in on the permit.
DAY 10–14
Medical, Emirates ID, stamping
Medical results in 48 hours, or 24 with the express fee. The residence visa is stamped after that.
WEEK 3–8
Bank account
The part nobody can promise. Three banks approached in parallel, a real business plan, and proof of activity. Some applications simply fail, and we tell you when we think yours will.
§ —WHAT YOU SEND US
- —Passport copy, valid at least six months, for every shareholder
- —A passport-style photograph on a white background
- —Your current visa page or entry stamp, if you are in the UAE
- —Three name options, in order of preference
- —A one-paragraph description of what the business actually does
- —Proof of address in your home country, dated within three months
That is the whole list for a standard free-zone company. Anyone asking for a notarised business plan up front is either doing mainland work or padding the engagement.
§ —WHO DOES IT
Sofia Iqbal
HEAD OF IMMIGRATION
Runs the visa desk. Knows which medical centres clear in 24 hours and which will cost you a week.
English · Urdu · Hindi
Marc Devlin
CORPORATE STRUCTURING
Chartered accountant. Writes the corporate tax and substance advice, and will tell you when your structure does not need to exist.
English · French
Alina Petrova
BANKING
Prepares bank files and attends the meetings. Publishes her real approval rate to clients, which last year was 71%.
English · Russian