Invest in Dubai

Expected. Banks want the establishment card and, in nearly all cases, a resident signatory holding an Emirates ID. The Instant Licence produces neither. Complete the establishment card, then the investor or partner visa, then the Emirates ID, and approach the bank after that - typically 7 to 14 working days later.

DET activity names often differ from ordinary commercial language. Search by the outcome rather than your job title - 'management consultancy' rather than 'strategy advisor'. If nothing matches, the activity may require external approval from a sector regulator, which the portal will surface once the closest code is selected.

Licence renewal for most mainland activities depends on a currently valid, attested tenancy. Renew or re-attest the Ejari first, then return to the licence renewal - the dependency runs one way and the portal will not let you skip it.

The search covers DET mainland records only. A company with no result there is very likely a free-zone company, which is registered with its free-zone authority instead - check that zone's own register. It can also mean the name differs from the registered legal name.

Penalties do not stop because trading stopped. If the company is genuinely finished, cancel the licence formally - that ends the accrual and resolves the establishment card and any visas attached to it. Letting it lapse quietly is the more expensive option.

The licence and the visa are assessed by different authorities. A licence-stage approval says nothing about the immigration file, so an existing overstay, an unpaid fine, an unresolved absconding report or a prior ban will stop the visa independently. Establish the immigration flag through GDRFA Dubai or an Amer centre before resubmitting.

The licence itself is issued in roughly 5 to 15 minutes for eligible activities, and that part is accurate. What it does not include is the establishment card, the partner or investor visa, and the Emirates ID, each of which runs separately afterwards. Realistically, plan 7 to 14 working days from licence to a company that can sponsor a resident and open a bank account.

Yes. The licence search on invest.dubai.ae takes a trade licence number or a company name and returns the status, expiry date, legal type and the licensed activities. There is no fee and no login needed for a basic lookup, and it is the fastest way to confirm that a company you are dealing with is actually licensed for what it claims to do.

For most activities, yes - a registered address with an Ejari-attested tenancy contract. This is the single biggest structural difference from a free zone, where a flexi-desk usually satisfies the requirement. Some activities, notably the e-trader licence, do not require commercial premises.

Yes, as of 2026. DET activity code 6312009, the online seller commercial activity, was opened to all nationalities, removing the earlier restriction that limited expatriates under the e-trader licence. It remains the cheapest legitimate entry point into Dubai mainland e-commerce.

Mainland if you need to trade freely across the UAE, contract with government entities, or hold premises in Dubai proper. A free zone if you want a lower and more predictable entry cost, no commercial lease, and a defined visa quota, and your customers are outside the UAE or you can work through a distributor. The decision is structural - changing later means forming a new company, not amending the existing one.

Penalties begin accruing and compound over time, and an unrenewed licence can block other transactions on the same file, including visa applications and licence amendments. If the licence is genuinely no longer needed, cancelling it formally costs less than letting it lapse.

No. It covers eligible activities only, and anything requiring external approval - health, education, transport, legal and food activities among them - follows the standard route and the approving authority's own timeline. Check activity eligibility before planning around the 5-15 minute figure.

The licence itself, yes - name reservation, initial approval, activity selection, payment and issue all run through the portal. The steps after it are more mixed: the establishment card and visa flow involve medical testing and biometrics that require physical attendance, and most banks still require an in-person meeting to open a corporate account.

Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism operates the portal and handles licence-stage problems. Where the block is on the visa or establishment card stage rather than the licence, that sits with GDRFA Dubai and its Amer service centres, which is a different authority with a different queue - establishing which stage is actually stuck saves the most time.