Business owners considering the UAE are often asked early about licences, free zones and office space. Those decisions matter, but they depend on questions that should be answered first.
Five questions before any licence
- Who are the customers, and are they in the UAE or served from it?
- Which activities will be carried out locally, and which remain elsewhere?
- Does the business need to trade with the local market directly?
- What does the first two years of presence need to prove?
- How will success or failure of the entry be measured?
The answers point to the right emirate, the right structure and a sensible scale for the first step — often smaller than first planned.
Related marketsUnited Arab Emirates
TI
About the author
Trois Advisory
Written by the Trois advisory team, drawing on client work across mobility, real estate, private markets and strategy.
