Branch office in Dubai

What a branch actually is

A branch is the same legal company as the business that opens it, operating in the UAE — not a separate entity. The parent owns it entirely, carries its liabilities, and the branch can only do what the parent already does.

Why owners choose a branch

A branch is rarely the cheapest or simplest option to set up — owners choose it for what keeping one company gives them.

• One company, not a separate UAE company underneath it (a subsidiary). The UAE revenue rolls up into the parent’s group accounts rather than into a separate company a buyer has to fold in — cleaner if you plan to sell or raise investment. The branch still keeps its own audited UAE books and corporate-tax return; what it avoids is a separate company on the share register.
• It protects the parent’s lending. Keeping the UAE activity in the same company avoids disturbing the parent’s borrowing, the conditions its lender attached to that borrowing (its covenants), and banking relationships that a separate subsidiary can complicate.
• Control stays at the top. No local partners and no separate company to govern — the parent’s board runs the branch directly.
• It carries your name and track record. The branch trades under the existing company, so its reputation, accreditations and history come with it — and it can hold contracts that require the parent entity itself.
• It is a low-commitment way to test the UAE. If you will be invoicing customers here, you can trade through a branch first and set up a separate company later if the business grows into one.

Three situations, and the route that fits

The real choice is between a branch (the same company), a separate mainland company (an LLC) and a separate free zone company. A branch keeps everything in one company; the separate routes ring-fence the UAE side.

A company planning to sell in a few years

• You run an established UK company with a board.
• You are likely to sell the group within a few years.
• You want all revenue, including the UAE, under one company for a clean valuation and due diligence.

A branch keeps the UAE arm inside the parent rather than in a separate company a buyer has to fold in — one less entity on the share register to explain at sale. We have run that exact structure — taking over a stalled UAE setup and finishing it as a mainland branch →

A company with lending on the parent

• The parent has bank facilities and covenants in place.
• A separate UAE subsidiary could complicate the group’s borrowing or trigger disclosures.
• You want the UAE activity to sit in the same entity.

A branch keeps it under one company, so the parent’s lending position stays undisturbed.

An owner launching a different activity, or wanting local partners

• The UAE venture is a different line of business from the parent, or you want a UAE partner or outside investor involved.
• You want any problem in the UAE kept away from the parent.
• You are happy for the UAE business to run on its own accounts and management.

A separate company — a mainland LLC or a free zone company — is the better base here: liability is ring-fenced, the activity can be whatever you license, and partners or investors go on their own share register.

Setting up a branch is usually more involved — and a little more costly — than a separate company, mainly because of the parent’s documents and the bank’s requirements, not the licence itself. Whether that extra effort is worth it comes down to the reasons above: your accounts, your lending, your name and keeping control.

A mainland trade licence runs around AED 28,000 to AED 35,000 a year depending on the activity and the emirate, and a mainland branch sits on top of that; at DMCC — the one Dubai free zone that publishes a branch line — a free zone branch is not the dearer option. Attestation of the parent’s documents — having them officially stamped so the UAE will accept them — is the line most owners miss, and the cost question below covers both.

At Start Business Services we start that choice from the parent’s accounts and its lending, not from the Dubai licence. A branch is right when keeping one company is worth more to you than ring-fencing the UAE side.

See how a branch sits next to mainland LLC, free zone company, sole establishment and holding on the types of company in the UAE page.

Branch or subsidiary — the difference in one place

A subsidiary here means a separate UAE company you own: a mainland LLC or a free zone company. A branch is the same company as the parent.

The branch, in full

Mainland branch

A mainland branch lets the parent deal with the UAE market in its own line of business. A foreign company’s mainland branch goes through two authorities: the Ministry of Economy and Tourism gives initial approval, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism issues the trade licence, and the Ministry then completes the registration.

That final registration has a deadline. The parent has one month from the date the licence is issued to apply to the Ministry for the branch’s certificate of registration (Ministerial Decision 138/2024, Article 3), and a foreign company that fails to register itself and obtain a licence faces an administrative fine of AED 100,000 (Cabinet Decision 102/2022). We file it inside that window as part of the setup.

It no longer needs a UAE local service agent — a UAE national that foreign-owned mainland businesses once had to appoint for a fee, with no ownership or control. That requirement went in 2020, when the Commercial Companies Law was amended (Federal Decree-Law 26/2020, now consolidated into Federal Decree-Law 32/2021). The old AED 50,000 (UAE dirhams) bank guarantee went in 2024, under Ministerial Decision 138/2024.

A small number of activities, mainly regulated or strategic ones, still carry extra approvals or national-participation conditions, which we check for your activity.

Registration needs the parent company’s documents — its certificate of incorporation, audited accounts and a board resolution approving the branch — officially certified for use in the UAE. That certification is a step called attestation: notarised at home, then stamped by the relevant authorities.

The Ministry also asks for a copy of the economic licence issued by the competent authority, and for a letter of appointment from an auditing firm registered with the Ministry to audit the annual financial statements, which representative offices are excluded from. It also checks that all of a foreign company's UAE branches sit under a single registration number.

Free zone branch

A free zone branch is set up through the free zone authority — not the Ministry of Economy and Tourism or Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. Like a free zone company, it operates within its free zone and internationally; to sell directly into the UAE mainland it uses the same routes as any free zone company — through a UAE distributor, or a mainland licence alongside it.

In Dubai there is now a third route: since March 2025 Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism can also issue a short-term permit for specific activities outside the free zone, under Dubai Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025. It does not reach the other emirates, and it does not cover financial establishments licensed in the DIFC, Dubai’s financial free zone.

A free zone branch is often the lighter, lower-cost way for a parent to have a presence in the UAE, and each free zone sets its own documents and requirements.

The lighter option: a representative office

A branch is not the only way to put the parent company’s name in the UAE. The law also recognises a representative office, and the same 2024 rules cover both — they are called the Controls and Procedures for Registering Branches and Representative Offices of Foreign Companies.

The difference is what it is allowed to do. Under the Commercial Companies Law, a foreign company may set up a representative office “whose object is limited to the study of markets and production capabilities without engaging in any commercial activity” (Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, Article 339). So it can look at the market for you and represent the company here. It cannot trade.

If what you actually want is to test whether the UAE works before committing, and you are not going to invoice anyone here yet, a representative office does that without taking on a trading branch. The moment you want to sell, you need the branch or a company — and we would rather say that at the start than after you have paid for the wrong one.

Setting one up runs through the same 2024 rules as a branch: the application is filed with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, and the same one-month registration deadline applies. Because it does not trade it is lighter than a branch, and we cost it alongside the branch on the first call.

Which one applies to you

If you need to sell directly to customers inside the UAE in the parent’s line of business, that points to a mainland branch. If you are using the UAE as a base to trade regionally and internationally, a free zone branch is usually the lighter, lower-cost route.

What a branch can and cannot do

Either way, a branch carries out the parent’s activities under the parent’s name — it cannot take on a different line of business. It can sign contracts, invoice, employ staff and sponsor visas in the UAE. Because it is the same company, the parent stands behind everything the branch does.

How long it takes

Mainland branch. Once the parent’s documents are attested, registering with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism usually takes one to two weeks, sometimes three — it goes through two authorities and needs a registered office.

Free zone branch. Usually quicker — often within a week or so once the documents are ready, as it goes through a single free zone authority.

The attestation comes first, and it is the same for both. A branch of either kind needs the parent’s documents attested. For UK, Irish and Australian companies most of that is done in the home country — the foreign ministry authenticates the documents, then the UAE embassy there attests them — with a final attestation by the UAE’s own foreign ministry once they arrive, and a certified Arabic translation.

The home-country side has moved increasingly digital since 2025, so it is typically a few weeks now rather than the months it once took. A branch can often start registering while the last documents are still coming through.

After the licence. Visas and the bank account add more time, and the bank account is usually the longest part (a few weeks, sometimes a couple of months).

The bank account is often the real challenge

With a branch, the licensing is usually the straightforward part — the bank account is where it gets harder. To open an account for a branch, a bank wants the complete corporate structure behind it: the parent’s incorporation documents, all shareholders, any holding companies above the parent, and the people who ultimately own and control the business (banks call these the ultimate beneficial owners).

For a straightforward company that is manageable. For a larger or more complex group — multiple shareholders, holding companies, several jurisdictions — gathering all the documents and getting them officially certified can take weeks, sometimes months.

That is why the account, not the licence, sets the pace — and why at Start Business Services we check the activity with the bank before the branch is registered. The bank tells us what it needs to open the account, so it does not stall later on a document surprise.

Moving from a branch to your own company later

A branch is not a one-way door. If the UAE side grows and you want a separate local company — usually a mainland LLC, to ring-fence liability or bring in partners — there are two routes.

In some cases the licensing authority will convert the branch into an LLC, keeping the same trade licence number, so the contracts, bank account and staff carry across with it. In others it is cleaner to set up a new company and wind the branch down. Which route applies depends on the emirate, the activity and your structure.

It is worth knowing the likely path before you start, so the branch is set up in a way that makes the later step easier — and that is one of the things we check at the outset.

Is a branch right for you?

If you are extending an established business into the UAE and want to stay one company — for clean group accounts, your lending, your name, or control — a branch is usually the right route. If you want to ring-fence the UAE side, run a different activity, or bring in local partners, a separate company is the better base.

If you are still weighing it up, that is what the first conversation is for. We confirm it, flag anything specific to your group, and set out what the setup actually involves — the licence, visas and the bank. No cost, and no commitment.

Written by Gareth Jones, Founder of Start Business Services — in UAE business setup since 2009, with a background in corporate and contracts law. He advises UK, Irish and Australian owners on UAE company structures, banking and setup.