If you plan a mainland company in Dubai, the office is not a formality. The lease sits at the centre of the licence, the visas and the bank file. A mistake here costs weeks.
Why Ejari matters to a company?
Ejari is Dubai’s tenancy register. A mainland company leases premises of at least 100 square feet and registers the lease in Ejari. DET, the Department of Economy and Tourism, which older texts still call DED, issues the licence against that address.
Tenants know Ejari from home rentals. For a company it does one more job: it fixes the address the authorities and the bank will check.
The lease also sets your visas
On the mainland the number of residence visas follows the floor space. A small unit supports a small team. When you hire, you either rent more space or accept that the visa count stays low. Plan the office for the team you expect in a year, not for the day you open.
When a full lease is not needed
Some companies do not need premises on day one. An activity that needs no outside approval can qualify for DET’s Instant License, issued in five minutes, with a virtual address for the first year. It is a starting point for a consultant or a small online business. A shop, a clinic or a restaurant still needs real premises.
What goes on the licence?
The licence lists what the company sells. DET issues a commercial licence for trade, a professional licence for services and an industrial licence for manufacturing. More than 2,000 activities are open, and a foreigner owns 100% of the company in more than 1,000 of them. An activity in health, transport or telecoms goes to its regulator for approval first, so ask about it before you rent anything.
A sensible order of work
Do the steps in this order and avoid paying rent for an unused office:
- Decide the activity and check whether it needs outside approval.
- Reserve the trade name with DET.
- Receive initial approval and the memorandum of association.
- Lease the premises and register the lease in Ejari.
- Receive the licence, usually 1 to 2 weeks after the work starts.
After the licence comes the establishment card, the visas, the tax registration and the bank application, which take a few more weeks.
Check the figures that repeat every year
DET’s licence fee returns each year and runs from AED 12,000 to 15,000. The lease renews too. Add both to the budget before you commit to a unit.
You can see each step, the authority’s fees and the timeline for a mainland LLC on one page: how to set up a mainland company in Dubai. Read it with your lease terms in hand, so the address, the floor space and the planned visas agree before you sign.
The short version
The lease is the first real decision of a mainland setup. Choose the activity first, then the space, then register Ejari. The licence follows from that chain, and so do the visas.
Related:
Ejari (Dubai) vs. Tawtheeq (Abu Dhabi) | The Ultimate UAE Rental Guide
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Written by : Barika Awad
Barika Awad is a writer at UAE Script, sharing insightful content on fashion, lifestyle, and personal style with a focus on practical, elegant ideas.
