Branch Office

Yes, through a licensed branch or office. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies provides that, other than foreign companies licensed in free zones, a foreign company may not conduct an activity in the UAE or establish an office or branch without a licence from the competent authority of the emirate, approved by the Ministry of Economy, and that the licence states the activity permitted. The company must also be entered in the Ministry's Foreign Companies Register before it operates. The branch has no separate legal personality; the law treats it as the parent's domicile for its UAE activity. We obtain the Ministry approval, the emirate licence and the register entry in sequence.

Source: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

Scope of activity. A branch is licensed to carry on the parent's activity as stated in its licence and can contract and invoice in the UAE. A representative office, under Article 339 of Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021, is limited to the study of markets and production capabilities without engaging in any commercial activity, so it can promote and liaise but not sell. The reporting burden also differs: Article 338 requires branches to keep an independent balance sheet and profit and loss account, appoint an auditor registered in the UAE and file the audited accounts with the competent authority and the Ministry each year, while representative offices are excluded from that duty. We advise which form fits the activity you actually plan.

Source: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

Three stages, set by Ministerial Decision No. (138) of 2024 of 30 July 2024. First, an initial approval certificate from the Ministry of Economy, valid for eight months, supported by the trade name reservation and the emirate's initial approval, a legalised certificate from the home registry showing the parent's name, legal form, shareholders, capital, date of establishment and activity, the parent's resolution to open the branch and delegate its representative, and the legal representative's details. Second, the licence from the emirate's competent authority. Third, within one month of the licence, registration in the Ministry's register, with a certificate valid for one year. Foreign-language documents must be legalised abroad and translated into Arabic by a certified translator. We run all three stages and the translations.

Source: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Ministerial Decision No. 138/2024 On the Controls and Procedures for Registering Branches and Representative Offices of Foreign Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 requires a branch to have an auditor registered on the UAE roll of auditors and to provide the competent authority and the Ministry each year with its balance sheet and final accounts, the auditor's report and a copy of the holding company's final accounts, if any. Ministerial Decision No. (138) of 2024 makes the audited final account for the last fiscal year a condition of renewing the branch registration, which falls due within the month before the certificate expires, and limits an audit firm to six consecutive years with a change of engagement partner after three. Our accounting team prepares branch accounts to that standard and coordinates the auditor and the filings.

Sources: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Ministerial Decision No. 138/2024 On the Controls and Procedures for Registering Branches and Representative Offices of Foreign Companies; UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

It depends on the emirate's licensing checklist rather than on federal law. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 and Ministerial Decision No. (138) of 2024 set out the Ministry approval, the emirate licence, the register entry, a legal representative and an auditor, and do not list a national agent among the registration documents. Some economic departments still ask for one: the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development's published requirements for opening a branch of a foreign company include copies of a UAE citizen's passport and ID card as service agent for the licence, alongside the Ministry's initial approval and the legalised parent documents. We check the licensing authority's current list for your emirate and, where an agent is required, arrange one under a fixed-fee agency agreement.

Sources: Government of Ras Al Khaimah (rak.ae) — Opening Branches for Foreign Companies; UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Ministerial Decision No. 138/2024 On the Controls and Procedures for Registering Branches and Representative Offices of Foreign Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

The parent company. A branch is not a separate legal person; DMCC puts it simply: a branch is an extension of the parent company and the parent bears full liability, whereas a subsidiary has its own liabilities. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 adds a personal sting for starting early: if a foreign company or its branch conducts activity before the licensing and registration procedures are complete, the persons who conducted that activity are jointly and severally liable for it. For that reason we do not let a branch sign contracts or hire staff until the licence and the Ministry registration are both in hand. Where ring-fencing liability matters more than simplicity, a subsidiary is the better form, and we say so.

Sources: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) — Open a branch; UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 on Commercial Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes, and the route is different. Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 carves foreign companies licensed in free zones out of the mainland licensing rule, so the free zone authority licenses the branch under its own regulations. The UAE government portal lists a branch of a local or international company among the entity types free zones register, noting that not every free zone registers every type. DMCC, for example, registers branches of foreign companies and states that the process takes around ten working days. A free zone branch is confined to the zone's licensed scope, and trading onshore in the mainland still needs a mainland licence. We are accredited in DMCC, RAKEZ, IFZA, Ajman, Masdar City and Dubai South and register branches there directly with the authority.

Sources: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Starting a business in a free zone; Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) — Open a branch (accessed 24 October 2026)

Renew on time or use the suspension route. Under Ministerial Decision No. (138) of 2024 the registration certificate is valid for one year and must be renewed within the month before it expires; a branch not renewed for two consecutive years is administratively deleted, and a branch found in breach receives a written warning with up to three months to rectify before deletion, with re-registration possible only after a year. A parent that wants to pause can apply to suspend the registration for between one and three consecutive years, provided the branch has no workforce on the authorities' records and the emirate licence is suspended too. Closing requires a notice in two local newspapers, one in Arabic, inviting creditors to object within a month. We manage all three.

Source: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) — Ministerial Decision No. 138/2024 On the Controls and Procedures for Registering Branches and Representative Offices of Foreign Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)