Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a business license in Dubai?
With Meydan Free Zone, a Fawri license is issued in under 60 minutes and a Regular license within one business day, once documents are submitted and verified.
Can a French entrepreneur set up remotely from France?
Yes. The entire process is online, with no requirement to visit the UAE or hold a residence visa at the licensing stage. Partner banks including CBI support digital KYC, so banking can be arranged remotely too.
What documents are required?
For a standard solo setup, a passport copy, proof of address and the application form. Regulated activities or corporate shareholders may require additional documents.
How much does a Meydan Free Zone license cost?
The Regular license starts at AED 12,500 (roughly EUR 2,979) a year, and the Fawri instant license is AED 15,000 (roughly EUR 3,575). Both include workspace.
Do I need a residence visa before applying?
No. The license comes first, and residency can be arranged afterwards through mResidency if you decide to relocate.
Topic Summary
Choose Your Business Activity First
Your activity determines the scope of business you can legally conduct and what you can invoice for. Meydan Free Zone offers over 2,500 business activities, so French founders should confirm their exact category before submitting anything — amendments after the fact add time and cost to the process.
Run a Company Name Check Early
Names must not conflict with existing trademarks or carry prohibited terms. Availability is confirmed quickly, with alternatives suggested if your first choice is taken. This step costs nothing and prevents a rejection that restarts the entire sequence.
The Document Set Is Minimal
French nationals need a valid passport copy with at least six months' validity, a passport-sized photograph, and a completed application form. No NOC is required. This is the part that surprises most French founders, who are used to notary appointments and multi-stage notary requirements at home.
Two License Routes: Regular or Fawri
The regular Trade License starts from AED 12,500 and is issued within three to seven business days. The Fawri License delivers it in under 60 minutes for eligible activities. The choice comes down to whether you need to invoice a client urgently or can wait for standard processing.
Post-License: Residency and Banking Follow
Your business license is the foundation. It unlocks the investor visa process, and your business bank account — accessible through 26+ partner banking institutions with SWIFT support — follows once residency is stamped. These are not separate projects; they run as one coordinated timeline.
Tax Obligations Apply Above Clear Thresholds
UAE corporate tax at 9% applies only above AED 375,000 taxable profit, per the Federal Tax Authority. VAT registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 annual turnover, with voluntary registration available from AED 187,500. Most early-stage free zone founders do not pay any corporate tax in year one.
French Tax Exit Obligations Are Separate
A Meydan Free Zone company does not remove your French tax obligations on its own. France applies an exit tax on unrealised gains when you transfer tax residency abroad. Seeking specialist advice to address your French tax exit obligations before the process starts is not optional.
Business License at Meydan Free Zone: French Guide
Ask a French founder what company formation involves and you get a familiar list: drafting statutes, depositing capital, publishing a legal notice, registering with the greffe, waiting for the Kbis. It works, but it is a process built on formality.
Dubai was built the other way round. The application is online, the document list is short or non-existent, and the license can be in your hands the same day. According to the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, the country has attracted around 760,000 new companies since the Commercial Companies Law was introduced in September 2021, taking the total past 1.4 million.¹
That volume is only possible because the process was designed for speed. It is part of why the French community keeps growing. France Diplomatie reports more than 26,000 French nationals registered with the consulate, out of an estimated 35,000 living in the country, the largest French community in the Gulf.²
This guide covers exactly what happens, from choosing your activity to holding the license, and how to complete all of it without leaving France. With Meydan Free Zone, a business license can be issued in under 60 minutes.
What Is Different From Setting Up in France
Four differences stand out, and they explain why the process feels unfamiliar:
- No statutes to draft or notarise: Your Memorandum of Association is generated as part of the application, not prepared separately by a lawyer or notary.
- No capital deposit: There is no requirement to block share capital in a bank account before incorporating, as with an SAS or SARL.
- No legal notice or greffe registration: There is no publication requirement and no commercial court registry step. The free zone authority issues the license directly.
- No social charges from month one: In France, cotisations begin regardless of profit. In Dubai, your fixed annual cost is the license itself.
The practical effect is that what takes weeks in France takes a day here, and the cost is knowable in advance rather than accumulating through professional fees.
Choosing Between the Two License Routes at Meydan Free Zone
One decision shapes the rest of the process: which license you take.
| Fawri license | Regular license | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Solo founders, consultants, remote workers | Startups and growing teams planning investor visas |
| Speed | Under 60 minutes | One business day |
| Cost | AED 15,000 (roughly EUR 3,575) | From AED 12,500 (roughly EUR 2,979) |
| Shareholders | One individual shareholder | Multiple shareholders supported |
Fawri is the instant route, built for a single founder who wants to be licensed today. The Regular license takes one business day to be issued, and supports more than one shareholder, which matters if you are bringing in a partner or sponsoring visas for a team.
The choice is about structure as much as speed. Pick the one that matches how the business will actually be owned.
The Five Steps From Application to License
The process runs in a set order, and all of it happens online.
1. Choose your business activity: Meydan Free Zone offers over 2,500 business activities, and you can combine up to three activity groups under a single license. Your activities determine what you can legally invoice for, and banks read them when assessing your account application. Choose them to match what clients will actually pay you for.2. Choose your license type. You have two options: Fawri or the Regular license. You will also confirm how many visa allocations you need, which affects the package.
3. Check and reserve your company name: Submit up to three options through the free name check tool. Availability and compliance with UAE naming rules are confirmed quickly in under 20 minutes, with alternatives suggested if your first choice is taken.
4. Upload your documents: For most French founders this is a passport copy, proof of address and the application form. Additional documents may apply for regulated activities or corporate shareholders. Nothing needs to be notarised in France for a standard solo setup.
5. Receive your license: Once verified, the license is issued, in under 60 minutes on Fawri, or within one business day on the Regular license route. Your documents appear digitally in your dashboard.
The Documents You Receive
At the end of the process you hold the founding documentation of a UAE company:
- Business license, stating your legal type and approved activities
- Memorandum of Association
- Share certificate
- Certificate of formation
These are not just records. Banking, visas, VAT registration and client contracts all require them.
What Happens After the License Is Issued
The license creates the company. Three things make it operational, and all can start the same day.
- Banking. Meydan Free Zone provides a guaranteed IBAN through 26+ partner banks, with multi-currency accounts supporting EUR alongside AED and USD, and SWIFT and SEPA transfers. For a French founder still invoicing European clients or moving money home, that is often the single most useful part of the setup.
- Residency: If you are relocating, mResidency handles the investor visa end to end, including the medical test required for everyone aged 18 and over, Emirates ID applications, and dependent visas for a spouse and children.
- Compliance: mAccounting covers corporate tax registration and filing, bookkeeping and VAT compliance in Dubai, worth arranging early rather than at the first deadline.
Setting Up a Dubai Company From France with Meydan Free Zone
This is the part French founders most often do not realise is possible.
The entire licensing process can be remote with Meydan Free Zone. You do not need to be in the UAE, and you do not need a residence visa to hold a license. A non-resident setup lets you incorporate from Paris, Lyon or Bordeaux and begin trading before deciding whether to move at all.
Banking works remotely too, which is usually the sticking point founders expect. Partner banks including CBI support digital KYC, so identity and compliance checks are completed online rather than in a branch in Dubai. That means a French founder can hold a UAE corporate account with EUR, SWIFT and SEPA support without leaving France.
That sequencing suits how French founders typically relocate: gradually, testing the market while keeping a foot at home. You can establish the company, win your first Gulf clients, and add residency later when the business justifies it.
Two further points that surprise French applicants:
- The license comes before residency, not after. It is the reverse of the sequence most people assume.
- No NOC is needed if you are currently employed, including if you already work in the UAE.
One caution worth stating: holding a Dubai company does not by itself end French tax residence. If your home, family and main activity remain in France, French obligations can continue. Take cross-border advice before restructuring.
In Conclusion
The business license process in Dubai is shorter than most French founders expect: choose your activity, choose your license, reserve the name, upload a passport, and receive the license the same day. No statutes, no capital deposit, no greffe, and no need to leave France.
What takes longer is everything the license unlocks, banking, residency and compliance, which is why it is worth starting those the moment the license is issued rather than treating them as a separate project.
To walk through the right setup for your business, book a free consultation with a setup advisor at Meydan Free Zone.Footnotes
¹ UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Commercial Companies Law amendments, the UAE has attracted around 760,000 new companies since September 2021, taking the total past 1.4 million, 2026.
² France Diplomatie, France and the United Arab Emirates, over 26,000 French nationals are registered with the consulate out of an estimated 35,000 in the UAE, the largest French community in the Gulf, 2026.
