Key Takeaways
- Under Executive Council Resolution 5 of 2024, DET has to issue licences instantly. The exception is a list of activities set by the Chairman of the Executive Council, where permits must come first.
- If a permit needs an on-site inspection, Resolution 5 of 2024 allows at most 3 working days from a complete application.
- Dubai's residency office (GDRFA) gives 48 hours for its establishment card and the federal identity authority (ICP) 2 days for an entry permit. The labour ministry (MOHRE) said in February 2026 that work-permit quotas are now instant (October 2026).
- Nobody publishes a total time from application to visa in hand. The times banks give for opening an account are their own claims and say nothing about approval rates.
- You must register for Corporate Tax within 3 months of incorporation and file the beneficial owner register within 60 days of licensing.
Most founders want to know how long it takes to open a company in Dubai, and there's no official answer. No authority publishes a total. The licence itself can be issued on the same day. After that, the Dubai company registration process has a few steps with a published time and many without one. Some steps are instant, some have a stated time, and some wait on someone else, such as a bank or a landlord.
Instant licence timeline, the short path and the typical path
The fastest case ends with a licence on the day you apply, but it only covers a narrow set of businesses. Executive Council Resolution 5 of 2024 requires the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai's mainland licensing office, to issue licences instantly. There's an exception for a list of activities set by the Chairman of the Executive Council. For those, permits or approvals must come before the licence. Investors sign an acknowledgement and an undertaking, and the permits and inspections then follow before the business may start.
Most founders go through more steps around that licence. With several partners, you need a memorandum of association (MoA), the founding contract between the owners. Foreign shareholders have to get their documents attested. Then come a tenancy registered in Ejari, Dubai's official register of tenancy contracts, any sector permits, the establishment card, visas, a bank account and the tax filings. Each one runs on its own clock.
Nobody publishes how long it takes from application to a working company. The totals consultancies quote aren't official figures. Plan from the times the authorities do publish, and treat everything else as a range you get from your zone or adviser.
What each step takes, with source labels
Use the table to see which times you can rely on. The last column says where each time comes from. Instant and Stated mean an authority publishes the time. Deadline is a legal due date. Claim means a zone or bank says it about its own service, and Not published means nobody gives a time. Times are as of October 2026 unless a row says otherwise.
| Step | Who | Time | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial approval and trade name | DET through Invest in Dubai | The dubai.ae guide gives no time; the DET Manual on Invest in Dubai sets time frames | Not published |
| Licence issue | DET | Instant, except listed activities that need a permit first (Resolution 5 of 2024) | Instant |
| Foreign ownership approval (strategic-impact activities only) | Economic department, then the regulator | A complete application is passed on within 5 working days; the regulator decides within 14 working days (Cabinet Resolution 55 of 2021, per the Ministry of Economy and Tourism) | Stated |
| Memorandum authentication | Licensing authority | No time given; Resolution 5 of 2024 allows e-signature without attending in person | Not published |
| Tenancy registration in Ejari | Dubai Land Department | 25 minutes at a trustee centre, according to the Dubai Land Department service page | Stated |
| Inspection before a permit | DET with the sector regulator | Within 3 working days at most after a complete application (Resolution 5 of 2024); each regulator has its own permit time | Stated |
| Establishment card and quota | GDRFA Dubai; MOHRE | 48 hours; MOHRE quotas instant since February 2026 | Stated |
| Entry permit | ICP | 2 days, and you must enter within 60 days | Stated |
| Medical test and Emirates ID | Medical centre; ICP | Medical: set by the centre; Emirates ID: 5 days (ICP) | Stated (ID only) |
| Bank account | The bank | Wio says 3 working days; RAKBANK says about an hour for eligible RAKEZ licence holders | Claim |
| Tax and ownership filings | Federal Tax Authority (FTA); registrar | Corporate Tax registration within 3 months of incorporation; beneficial owner register within 60 days of licensing | Deadline |
Where time is lost, names, approvals, MoA and attestation
A refused trade name sends you back to the name step. Under Article 12 of the Commercial Companies Law (2021 text), a name can't copy or resemble one already registered, and it has to show the legal form. Keep three candidate names ready. A refusal then just means one more submission.
A licence issued on the day doesn't let you sell anything yet. The permits and the inspection come next. Resolution 5 of 2024 allows at most 3 working days for the on-site inspection, counted from a complete application. Founders who treat the licence date as their launch date can end up paying rent while they're still waiting for a permit. The undertaking they signed commits them to meeting the permit requirements before the business starts. Talk to the regulator before you pay for the licence. The guide to choosing the activity code explains how.
Partners who are still haggling over the memorandum hold up a partnership licence. Once they agree, the memorandum has to be in Arabic and authenticated by the authority, either in person or by e-signature (Commercial Companies Law, Article 14, 2021 text, so check the current wording).
Attestation means getting a foreign document officially confirmed so that UAE offices will accept it. Foreign company documents go through four stages in turn: the UAE embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an Arabic translation and the Ministry of Justice (dubai.ae, October 2026). Each stage charges for its own step and takes its own time. According to advisers, one missing link in the chain can cost weeks. To see what to prepare, look at the guide to attested documents and powers of attorney and the guide to documents required for company setup.
The tenancy is the last paper step. Get the landlord to approve the Ejari request straight away. For a company lease, Ejari costs AED 220 through a trustee centre. The AED 177.75 rate through the Dubai REST app or the Dubai Land Department website is for leases where both tenant and landlord are individuals (as of October 2026).
Visa and Emirates ID timing
Each visa step has its own published time, but nobody publishes the total. The General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai lists 48 hours for an establishment card, the immigration record that lets your company sponsor visas. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) said in February 2026 that it now issues work-permit quotas instantly. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) lists 2 days for an entry permit. You then have 60 days to enter the country. The Emirates ID, the national identity card, takes 5 days.
Between the entry permit and the Emirates ID come the medical fitness test and the biometrics (fingerprints and a photo). The test fee and the wait depend on the centre and on how fast a service you pay for. No authority publishes these as a total. Dubai employers must also buy health insurance for private-sector staff, and the policy is checked whenever a residence permit is issued or renewed.
Investors have a separate listing. GDRFA Dubai shows a green residence permit for investors and partners, valid for up to five years, with a 48-hour completion time. It's worth checking whether the establishment card has to be active before you apply for the investor visa.
Bank account timing and why it varies
The bank sets the pace, and what banks publish are claims about speed, not approval rates. Wio says setting up an account can take as little as 3 working days. On 1 October 2026, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) announced that eligible RAKEZ licence holders can open a RAKBANK account in about an hour. Both statements describe the process for customers who qualify. Neither says how many applications succeed.
The Central Bank's rules frame all of this. Its guidance on customer due diligence, the checks a bank runs on who you are and who owns your company, is listed as in force from 7 November 2025 (check the rulebook for the April 2026 update). It tells banks to verify each customer and beneficial owner. It also says they should not open or keep a relationship when they can't complete those checks. On 25 December 2025, the Dubai Free Zones Council said free zone companies were having trouble opening bank accounts and that shared standards for classifying risk were being developed.
If you only start on the bank papers after the licence is issued, the account will be the last thing to finish. The guide to rejected business bank accounts shows how to prepare them while the licence is still in progress.
How to save time on a typical setup
Several steps can run side by side. If you start the slow ones first, the whole setup gets shorter. None of the steps below has to wait for the one before it.
- Pick the activity code first, and find out which permit you need before you can trade.
- Begin the attestation chain for foreign documents while the trade name is being cleared.
- Get the partners to agree the memorandum before the signing appointment.
- Have the landlord approve the Ejari request on the day you sign.
- Prepare the bank papers before the licence is issued.
- Put the Corporate Tax and beneficial owner deadlines in your calendar.
Doing it yourself is reasonable if there's one shareholder, a standard activity, 0 to 2 visas and no foreign company documents. An adviser checks in advance the points where applications tend to stall: the trade name, the regulator's approval, the memorandum signing and the attestation. To see what the online portals cover, read the guide to registering a company online in Dubai. If you're unsure, whether you need a consultant walks through a simple test.
Timeline by type of company
The kind of company you set up decides which of these times apply to you. Find yours below.
- Dubai mainland LLC, a limited liability company licensed outside the free zones: the licence is instant unless the activity is on the Chairman's list. The other steps follow the table above.
- Free zone company, licensed by a zone with its own authority and rules: every zone publishes its own times. Meydan says its Fawri package licenses a single shareholder in 60 minutes, where that one person is also manager, director and beneficial owner (Meydan, October 2026). Other zones will tell you their times on request.
- Free zone company working on the Dubai mainland: the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit launched on 8 October 2025. It lasts six months, costs AED 5,000 and needs a Dubai Unified Licence. You apply online through Invest in Dubai. The announcement doesn't say how long processing takes.
- Activity with strategic impact: allow up to 5 working days for a complete application to reach the regulator and up to 14 working days for its decision (Cabinet Resolution 55 of 2021).
For when each of these clocks starts, see the step-by-step guide to opening a company in Dubai or the shorter seven-step overview.
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More Company Setup Guides
Related Company Setup Guides
- How to open a company in Dubai yourself, step by step
- How to start a business in Dubai in seven steps (2026)
- Requirements to start a business in Dubai, documents by route
- Online company registration in Dubai, what the portals cover
- Business bank account rejected in Dubai, why and what to fix
- DED activities list and how to choose the right code
- Power of attorney UAE and attested documents for company setup
- Business setup consultant or DIY, when you need one
