Freezone Vs Mainland

BY VR1 Global

If you are planning to start your company in UAE, then you need to choose the right area for your business. UAE has two main areas to start your company operation. FREEZONE & MAINLAND, You got to choose one between these two areas based on your type of Business activity.

Freezone or Mainland?

This is always a confusion for the Business owners, WHAT IS THE RIGHT AREA FOR OUR BUSINESS NEEDS? Which we will be explaining to you in detail step by step.

Objective	Freezone	Mainland
Ownership of the company	100% ex-pat ownership, not required to assign any shares to local sponsor	Foreign Investor can now own 100% ownership of their companies located on the mainland (for limited activities)
Scope	Freezone companies can perform business inside and outside the free zones they locate. Also, they are allowed to do business worldwide.	Businesses operating on Mainland can perform business all over UAE without any kind of restrictions
Office	There is no mandatory requirement for companies in the free zone to own office space.	Businesses on Mainland need to have an office space of at least 140 sq. ft
VISA	Freezone companies can take visas up to 6 numbers. But there are few restrictions on the same. If the number of visas is increased, then the office must be registered	There are no restrictions on the number of visas to be applied for. The more the number of visas the bigger the office premises
Financial Audit	The requirements for performing audits in Freezone companies differ with jurisdiction. Few free zones require companies to perform a yearly audit	Businesses in Mainland companies are made compulsory to perform financial audits.
Capital Investment	Freezones are managed by their authorities, so the capital requirement differs from Freezone to freezone	The capital structure is most commonly determined by the Legal structure.
Approvals	As free zones are managed by their authorities, the approval is taken within them.	Companies on Mainland need to get their business approved by various government bodies like the Department of Economic Development, Dubai Municipality, Ministry of Labour, etc.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FREE ZONE AND MAINLAND

If you need any assistance in finding the right area for your business based on your business activities, you can contact us anytime at +971508045640 or write us at info@vr1global.com