Business Setup in Dubai from India: Remittance, Tax and Licensing

Business setup in Dubai from India is a two-country exercise: the UAE side decides your license, visa and bank account, and the Indian side decides how the money leaves India and how the profit is taxed back home. This page puts both sides in one place for Indian residents and NRIs, covering what the UAE offers, what the Indian remittance and tax rules mean for your plan, how documents are attested, which structure suits which business, and the steps from first quote to first invoice.

It is a planning guide, not tax advice. Indian foreign-exchange and tax rules change often, so the figures below are the ones you can check at the source named beside them, and anything that depends on your personal tax position is left for your Indian chartered accountant.

Reviewed by CA Akbar Ali, Chartered Accountant (ICAI), who leads the India desk at HenryClub.

Quick Summary: Business Setup in Dubai from India

• Ownership: 100% foreign ownership is available for most activities, on the mainland and in free zones.
• Tax in the UAE: 0% personal income tax; 9% corporate tax on taxable profit above AED 375,000, with Small Business Relief available to 31 December 2029 for businesses with revenue of AED 3 million or less.
• Sending money from India: The RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme allows USD 250,000 per resident individual per financial year; TCS of 20% applies to most purposes above INR 10 lakh since 1 April 2025.
• Documents: Indian documents are attested through a chain ending at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because the UAE is not a Hague Apostille member.
• Cheapest entry points: UAQ from AED 5,500, SPC from AED 5,750, IFZA from about AED 12,500; DMCC is AED 35,484. Mainland cost depends on activity and office lease.
• Residency: Investor or partner visa for 2 years; golden visa for 10 years with AED 2 million of property or investment.

Why Indian founders choose the UAE

The UAE has a few features that matter to a founder who is used to Indian compliance load. None of them removes your Indian obligations, but they change the economics of where the business sits.

No personal income tax. The UAE does not levy personal income tax on salary or on most individual income, according to the UAE government portal. That is the headline reason founders ask about relocating, and it is also the point that most needs care, because it only helps if you are no longer treated as an Indian tax resident.

A low, defined corporate tax. Corporate tax is 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000, and 0% below that level. Small Business Relief, extended by the Ministry of Finance to 31 December 2029, lets eligible businesses with revenue of AED 3 million or less elect to be treated as having no taxable income. Free zone companies can qualify for a 0% rate on qualifying income, but only if they meet the conditions, so it is not automatic. See our UAE corporate tax guide for the detail.

Full ownership and a flexible base. You do not need a local sponsor for most activities, and the same structure can serve India, the Gulf, Africa and South Asia as markets. Common uses are a contracting entity for international customers, a regional sales office, or a trading vehicle.

What India's rules mean for your plan

This is the part most UAE setup guides skip. Your UAE license is issued by the UAE; getting the capital there and deciding where profit is taxed is governed by India.

Remitting money: the LRS and TCS

A resident individual can send up to USD 250,000 per financial year abroad under the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme. The limit is per person, so each adult family member has their own, but it is a single pool for every permitted purpose, so money sent for travel, education or investment all counts against it.

Remittances above INR 10 lakh in a financial year attract tax collected at source (TCS) under section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, at 20% for most purposes, with effect from 1 April 2025. TCS is not an extra cost in the final sense, because it can generally be claimed as a credit against your Indian tax when you file, but it ties up cash in the meantime. Rates for education and medical remittances differ, and the Income-tax Act, 2025 re-numbers the provision for later years, so ask your bank which rate applies to your purpose code on the day you remit.

ODI or LRS for a company stake

Putting equity into a foreign company can follow the LRS route or the overseas direct investment (ODI) route under India's foreign-exchange rules, and the two come with different reporting. Which one applies to you depends on your structure, your shareholding and whether the UAE company will have its own operating business. We do not quote limits or percentages for ODI here; check with your Indian CA before the first transfer, because the route you choose determines the reporting that follows.

The India–UAE tax treaty and your residency

India and the UAE have a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA), which allocates taxing rights between the two countries and gives credit for tax paid in one against tax due in the other. Under Indian law, a resident is generally taxable in India on worldwide income, so a UAE company's profit paid out to you can still be taxed in India while you remain an Indian tax resident. Moving your tax residency out of India is a separate question that turns on days spent in India and other tests, and it should be decided with your CA before you rely on the UAE's 0% personal income tax.

Which setup fits an Indian founder

The licensing choice follows your customers. If you sell to clients outside the UAE, to other free zone companies or online, a free zone is usually cheaper and quicker. If your customers are UAE businesses or consumers, or you need to bid for local contracts, a mainland license is the cleaner structure. The prices below are the entry points we have verified; each rises with visas, office needs and activity.

Route	Starting price	Best suited to	Read more
UAQ Free Trade Zone	From AED 5,500	Lowest-cost holding or consulting license	Free zones overview
SPC Free Zone (Sharjah)	From AED 5,750	E-commerce, publications and services with no UAE retail	SPC guide
IFZA	From about AED 12,500	A wide activity list for service and trading businesses	IFZA guide
DMCC	AED 35,484	Trading businesses that want a DMCC address	DMCC guide
Dubai mainland	Fee per activity, plus an office lease	Direct UAE market access and government work	Mainland guide

Mainland cost is set by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism fee for each activity plus the office lease, so there is no single honest price to quote. Run your activity and visa count through the business setup calculator for a costed comparison, or read the full Dubai business setup guide.

Documents and attestation from India

Expect to provide passport copies, proof of address, and for some structures an existing Indian company's incorporation papers, board resolution and a power of attorney. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so an Indian document cannot simply carry an apostille. It follows a chain instead:

1. Notarisation or issue by the competent Indian authority.
2. Legalisation by India's Ministry of External Affairs.
3. Attestation by the UAE Embassy in India.
4. Final attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) after arrival.

The MoFA attestation fee is AED 150 per personal document and AED 2,000 per commercial document. The exact documents depend on whether you are an individual shareholder or a corporate one, so ask the licensing authority for its checklist first and start with the corporate documents, which take longer.

Visas and residency

A licensed company can sponsor an investor or partner residence visa, valid for 2 years. How many visas you can sponsor is linked to your office or package, which is why a flexi-desk license often carries fewer visa slots than a leased office.

The golden visa is a separate 10-year route for investors and property owners. Eligibility through property is based on a Dubai Land Department valuation of AED 2 million or more, and an investment in a company or fund can qualify on the same threshold. The 10-year permit costs AED 1,200 at ICP and AED 1,640 at GDRFA Dubai when issued in-country. Indian buyers weighing a property route can read our guide to buying Dubai property from India.

Banking: what to expect

A UAE corporate account is where most Indian founders lose time. Banks run know-your-customer (KYC) checks on every shareholder and on the source of funds, and they ask for evidence that the business is real: a contract, an invoice or a clear business plan. No UAE bank publishes a guaranteed turnaround, so any adviser who promises a date is guessing. Our business bank account guide sets out the documents.

Step by step: from Indian founder to UAE license

1. Decide the activity and customers. This fixes mainland versus free zone and the license category.
2. Speak to your Indian CA first. Settle the remittance route (LRS or ODI), the TCS impact and your residency position before money moves.
3. Choose the zone or the mainland and get a costed quote. Include visas, office and renewal, not just the first-year license.
4. Start the attestation chain. Begin with commercial documents because they take longest.
5. Apply for the license, register for corporate tax and sign the lease or package. Corporate tax registration applies even where the rate is 0%.
6. Apply for visas and open the bank account. Open the account in parallel with the residence process so neither waits on the other.

An angle some Indian founders ask about: Singapore through the UAE

Some Indian groups run a UAE company as the regional hub and a Singapore company as the operating or fundraising entity. That structure raises its own questions on substance, tax residency and Indian reporting, and it is worth settling with your CA before you build it. If this is your direction, our Singapore company setup guide explains the Singapore side and how it fits with a UAE parent.

Mistakes to avoid

• Treating the UAE's 0% personal tax as automatic. It applies to the UAE's treatment of you, not to India's, so the Indian residency question comes first.
• Remitting before choosing the route. The LRS and ODI routes carry different reporting, so decide which one applies before the first transfer.
• Choosing a free zone for a UAE-customer business. You then pay for a second route into the mainland.
• Leaving attestation to the end. The corporate chain is the usual cause of delay.

When you are ready for a costed plan, request a quote and tell us your activity, the number of visas and where your customers are.

Sources & Official References

Figures on this page come from the sources below. Indian remittance and tax rules change, so check the current position with your authorised dealer bank and your Indian chartered accountant before you remit.

• UAE Government Portal — Taxation — Federal overview of taxes in the UAE, including the absence of personal income tax.
• UAE Government Portal — Starting a Business — Federal guidance on mainland business setup.
• Federal Tax Authority — Corporate Tax — The 9% rate, the AED 375,000 threshold and registration.
• Ministry of Finance — Small Business Relief extension — Relief extended to 31 December 2029.
• Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) — Golden Residency — Golden visa eligibility and fees.
• UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Attestation Guide — Attestation process and fee schedule.
• Reserve Bank of India — Liberalised Remittance Scheme and overseas investment rules; see the Foreign Exchange Management FAQs.
• Income Tax Department of India — Tax Collection at Source — TCS on foreign remittances above INR 10 lakh.
• Income Tax Department of India — Where the India–UAE double taxation avoidance agreement is published.

Frequently Asked Questions — Business Setup in Dubai from India

Can an Indian resident own 100% of a Dubai company?

Yes. The UAE allows 100% foreign ownership for most activities, on the mainland and in free zones. A small number of regulated or strategic activities still carry conditions, so confirm your exact activity with the licensing authority before you commit.

How much money can I send from India to set up a company in Dubai?

A resident individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year under the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and that limit is per person, not per family. Whether your plan is better routed through the LRS or through an overseas direct investment is a question for your Indian chartered accountant before you send money.

Is there TCS on money sent to the UAE for a company?

Remittances under the LRS above INR 10 lakh in a financial year attract tax collected at source under section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, at 20% for most purposes since 1 April 2025. The rate and treatment depend on the purpose code, so confirm with your bank and your Indian CA.

Does India have a tax treaty with the UAE?

Yes. India and the UAE have a double taxation avoidance agreement, and it is one of the documents your Indian CA will use to decide where income from the UAE company is taxed. Indian residents are generally taxable in India on worldwide income, so the UAE 0% personal income tax does not by itself remove an Indian tax liability.

Do my Indian documents need attestation for a UAE license?

Usually yes, when the document was issued in India and is used for a UAE company or visa. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so documents go through the longer chain: Indian notary or issuing authority, the Ministry of External Affairs, the UAE Embassy, then the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Which is better for an Indian founder, a free zone or the mainland?

It depends on where your customers are. A free zone suits businesses that sell abroad, to other free zone companies or online, while a mainland license suits businesses that need to trade directly with UAE customers or take government contracts. The cost difference is real, so compare both on your activity.

Can I get UAE residency by setting up a company?

Yes. A company with a valid license and a suitable office or package can sponsor an investor or partner residence visa, issued for 2 years. A separate 10-year golden visa exists for property owners and investors who meet the AED 2 million threshold.

Will a UAE bank open an account for a company owned by an Indian resident?

It can, but banks run their own checks on ownership, source of funds and the business plan, and none publishes a guaranteed timeline. Prepare clean documents, a clear explanation of the business and your source of funds before you apply.