Requirements
1. Overview of Business:
A mainland registered entity is allowed to carry out its business activities throughout the UAE market, It can work with anyone inside or outside the UAE and not restricted to just working within its freezone.
2. Ownership Structure
Previously, 51% of shares needed to be held by a UAE National and only 49% of shares were able to be allotted to the expatriate partner. However, since the update the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL) in July 2021, it is now possible to own a LLC in the mainland 100% with the vast majority of activities.
3. Office Space
For every mainland license, there is a minimum requirement of 200 square foot office space needed. Only once an Ejari (Dubai) or Tawtheeq (Abu Dhabi) has been presented to the Department of Economic Development, will they release the license.
4. Visas Eligibility
There is no limitation on the visa eligibility for a mainland entity, An Electronic Quota is issued to every company by the Ministry of Labour(MOL) which shows their visas eligibility and this can be increased by increasing the size of your office space. Per 80 square foot of office space gives you the allocation of 1 visa. If you also have staff who are not in the office, like sales, PRO’s and drivers then you can apply for a separate quota for them and this will not affect your office space quota.
5. Governing body approvals
a) A mainland license does require standard approvals for the license. For example, Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai Municipality (DM), Ministry of Labour (MOL), Ministry of interiors or Immigration (MOI).
b) In some cases, there are also third party governing approvals that will be needed, depending on your business activities: Knowledge and Human Development Authority(KHDA) for all Education related activities, Dubai Health Authority(DHA), Health Authority Abu Dhabi(HAAD) for all medical related business activities, Food Control Department of Municipality for all food-related license, Civil Defence for all security-related activities, Real Estate Regulation Authority(RERA) for all real estate regulated business activities.