UAE Business Setup Glossary
Setting up a UAE company comes with a wall of jargon — establishment cards, e-channel, QFZP, flexi-desks. Here are the ~30 terms first-time founders actually meet, defined clearly and honestly. No fluff, and we never cold-call.
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Section 1Company structures & setup basics
Where you register decides your costs, your market access and your ownership. Start here.
- Free zone
- A designated economic area where foreign founders can own 100% of their company, with its own licensing authority and a streamlined setup. The UAE has 40+ free zones — you can compare all-in costs across the main ones and find the cheapest free zone for 2026.
- Mainland
- A company licensed by an emirate's Department of Economic Development (DED) rather than a free zone, so it can trade directly anywhere in the UAE market and bid for government work. Since 2021 most mainland activities also allow 100% foreign ownership — see our mainland vs free zone comparison.
- Flexi-desk
- A shared or virtual desk allocation included in most free-zone packages that satisfies the legal requirement for a registered address — without renting a full private office. It is what makes low-cost, no-office company formation possible. A flexi-desk meets the licence requirement; a private office is an upgrade you only need once you have staff on the ground.
- Registered agent
- A licensed firm authorised to file company-formation, visa and amendment applications with a free zone or authority on your behalf. Formenzo acts in this capacity, handling the paperwork end to end so you don't deal with the portals yourself.
Section 2Formation & legal documents
The paperwork that turns an idea into a licensed company.
- Trade name
- The official registered name of your company, approved by the licensing authority before incorporation. UAE naming rules bar offensive or religious terms and abbreviations of personal names, so it's wise to submit two or three options for approval.
- Activity / licence type
- The specific business activity (or activities) your licence permits — trading, consultancy, e-commerce, media and so on — grouped under a licence type such as commercial, professional/service or industrial. Your chosen activities decide which free zones and packages are open to you, and many packages include several activities at no extra cost.
- Memorandum of Association MoA
- The founding constitutional document of a company, setting out its shareholders, share split, activities and governance. Free zones usually issue a standard MoA template that shareholders sign as part of incorporation.
- Establishment card
- Also called the immigration card, this document registers your company as an employer with the immigration authority and lets it sponsor residence visas. You generally need it in place before applying for any staff, investor or family visa. It is often a once-per-company cost.
- E-channel registration
- A one-time registration of your company in the UAE federal immigration e-channel system, required before it can file entry permits and residence visas online. Some free zones bundle it into the package; others charge it as an add-on, usually once per company rather than per visa.
- Dual licence
- An arrangement that lets a free-zone company also hold a mainland (DED) licence — or the reverse — so it can operate in both the free zone and the local UAE market without forming a second entity. Availability and terms vary by emirate and free zone.
Section 3Visas & immigration
How you and your team gain the right to live and work in the UAE. We handle every step of this — see our UAE residence & investor visa services.
- Entry permit
- A short-validity electronic visa (typically 60 days) that lets a future resident enter the UAE — or change status if already inside — so they can complete the medical test, Emirates ID and visa stamping. It is the first stage of the residence-visa process.
- Residence visa
- A UAE residence permit, usually valid for two years for free-zone and mainland employees and investors, that lets the holder live in the country, sponsor family and open personal bank accounts. It is renewable and stays tied to an active company. You only pay for the visa count you actually need — every Formenzo quote shows the price by visa count.
- Medical fitness test
- A government health screening — a blood test and chest X-ray — that every applicant aged 18 and over must pass to be granted a UAE residence visa. It is done at an approved centre and checks for a small set of communicable diseases.
- Emirates ID
- The mandatory national identity card issued by the ICP to every UAE resident. It carries your residence-visa data and is required for banking, telecoms, signing a tenancy and most government services. Its issuance runs alongside the residence-visa process.
- Golden visa
- A long-term UAE residence visa (5 or 10 years) for investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals and other eligible categories, with self-sponsorship and more stability than a standard two-year visa. Eligibility depends on investment level, salary or qualifications — not simply on owning a company.
- No Objection Certificate NOC
- A signed letter confirming that a relevant party — an employer, sponsor or free zone — has no objection to a specific action, such as taking a second job, a dependant working, or transferring a visa. Many immigration and licensing steps require one.
- Attestation
- Official authentication of a foreign document — a degree, marriage certificate or company paper — so UAE authorities will accept it. It typically means stamps from the issuing country, that country's UAE embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- GDRFA
- The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs — the emirate-level immigration authority (most prominent in Dubai) that issues entry permits, residence visas and related approvals. It works alongside the federal ICP.
- ICP
- The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security — the UAE federal body that runs the national population register, issues Emirates IDs and, in several emirates, processes residence visas through its smart channels.
Section 4Tax & compliance
What you owe after the company is live — usually less than people fear. See our corporate tax in UAE free zones guide.
- Corporate tax
- The UAE federal tax on business profit, in force since June 2023. The rate is 0% on annual taxable profit up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that; qualifying free-zone income can stay at 0%. Most companies must register with the Federal Tax Authority even if no tax is ultimately due.
- Qualifying Free Zone Person QFZP
- A free-zone company that meets the corporate-tax conditions — adequate substance, qualifying income and audited accounts — and therefore pays 0% corporate tax on its qualifying income instead of 9%. Income that doesn't qualify is taxed at the standard rate.
- VAT
- Value Added Tax, a 5% consumption tax on most goods and services in the UAE. Registration is mandatory once taxable turnover passes AED 375,000 a year and optional from AED 187,500. VAT is separate from corporate tax and applies regardless of free-zone status.
Section 5Pricing & licensing
The one term that decides whether a quote is honest.
- All-in price
- The total confirmed cost to get a company fully set up — government and authority fees, the setup service and any chosen visas — with nothing billed later. Formenzo quotes every package this way and locks the figure in writing before filing, so the number you see is the number you pay. Run your own with the cost calculator.
All definitions are written for the UAE in 2026 and are general guidance, not legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change — confirm specifics for your activity and emirate before you commit. Formenzo confirms every price in writing before filing.
Know the terms? See the real prices.
No jargon, no sales calls — just the all-in cost of every free zone, side by side.
Last reviewed 16 June 2026 · Formenzo (FZE)