Topic Summary
What Does It Mean to Relocate Company to Dubai?
To relocate company to Dubai means moving an existing company's legal home into a Dubai free zone, which is called redomiciliation. The alternative is closing the original company and incorporating a new one under a Dubai license. Requirements vary by home jurisdiction, so confirm current steps with a lawyer there and with the Dubai South Business Hub team.
Redomicile vs New Company: How Do the Two Routes Compare?
Redomiciling keeps the same record, so contracts and history may stay in place where the home jurisdiction and counterparties allow. A close-and-restart creates a new entity, which usually means re-papering agreements. Compare continuity, contracts, cost, speed and risk before you choose.
Which Route Fits Your Business? A Decision Guide
Choose redomiciliation when continuity matters most, such as licenses, bank relationships and long contracts. Choose a close-and-restart when the old company carries liabilities or a cancelled license you want to leave behind. Treat this as a framework, not legal advice.
How Can You Relocate Company to Dubai Step by Step?
Moving a company to the UAE follows a sequence: confirm home-country requirements, gather records, prepare attested documents, then apply through Dubai South Business Hub. Treat this order as a checklist to verify, not a fixed timeline.
What Does Close and Start Again Really Cost?
Closing and restarting adds exit costs, new setup fees and a fresh compliance cycle on top of wind-down obligations. Redomiciling avoids some of these but carries its own home-country exit work. Exact figures vary, so request a written quote from Dubai South Business Hub and your home-country advisers.
What Should You Do Next?
If you plan to relocate company to Dubai, start with one question: does the existing record matter more than a clean slate? Map your contracts, get written advice from a lawyer in your home jurisdiction, then request a route-specific quote. Contact Dubai South Business Hub Free Zone to review your options before you file anything.
To relocate company to Dubai, you either redomicile your existing company into a Dubai South free zone or close it and incorporate a new one. Dubai South Business Hub supports over 25,000 businesses [1], and many arrived by moving an existing entity. Both routes change where your company is legally based, but they differ sharply in what carries over. The UAE has over 130 double tax treaties in force [2], and corporate tax applies at 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000 [3]. Your route choice therefore affects tax as well as legal structure.
What Does It Mean to Relocate Company to Dubai?
To relocate company to Dubai means moving an existing company's legal home into a Dubai free zone, which is called redomiciliation. The alternative is closing the original company and incorporating a new one under a Dubai license. Requirements vary by home jurisdiction, so confirm current steps with a lawyer there and with the Dubai South Business Hub team.
Does Redomiciling Keep Your Company's Legal History?
Redomiciling moves the same legal entity, so the company record and trading history can continue. Take Maya, a hypothetical UK consultant with a three-year trading record. Whether her history follows the company depends on the exit rules at home, and those rules differ from country to country. She should ask a lawyer in her home jurisdiction to confirm the exit process before she commits.
Redomiciling vs Closing and Starting Again: Route Comparison
Feature | Redomicile Existing Company | Close and Start Again |
|---|---|---|
Continuity | Same legal entity, so the company record and history continue. | Clean record with no inherited history. |
Contracts | Many agreements can stay in force, subject to change-of-control clauses. | Key contracts usually need assignment or re-signing in the new name. |
Cost | Home-country exit work and attestation fees. | Wind-down costs plus new setup fees and a fresh compliance cycle. |
Speed | Depends on the home jurisdiction's exit process. | Two stages, wind-down then incorporation, each with its own timing. |
Risk | Historic liabilities travel with the entity. | Liabilities can stay behind, but only after a clean wind-down. |
Redomicile vs New Company: How Do the Two Routes Compare?
Redomiciling keeps the same record, so contracts and history may stay in place where the home jurisdiction and counterparties allow. A close-and-restart creates a new entity, which usually means re-papering agreements. Compare continuity, contracts, cost, speed and risk before you choose.
What Changes for Contracts and Liabilities?
Redomiciling preserves the entity, so many agreements keep running without re-signing. A new company needs assignment or novation of key contracts, and you should check change-of-control clauses first. Redomiciling also carries the historic liabilities of the existing entity, including any open tax query. A restart can leave those behind, but only after a proper wind-down.
If you want the mechanics before deciding, read our guide to the redomiciliation process and requirements, which covers each filing in order.
Which Route Fits Your Business? A Decision Guide
Choose redomiciliation when continuity matters most, such as licenses, bank relationships and long contracts. Choose a close-and-restart when the old company carries liabilities or a cancelled license you want to leave behind. Treat this as a framework, not legal advice.
Keep the existing record if licenses, banking or key contracts depend on it.
Restart if the old company carries liabilities you want to leave behind.
Restart if you have few contracts and a simple structure.
Get a home-country lawyer to confirm whether the exit is permitted.
Record your reasons in a written decision memo before any filing.
Investors with a holding chain should review how a free zone company as a shareholder fits into the structure before restructuring anything.
How Can You Relocate Company to Dubai Step by Step?
Moving a company to the UAE follows a sequence: confirm home-country requirements, gather records, prepare attested documents, then apply through Dubai South Business Hub. Treat this order as a checklist to verify, not a fixed timeline.
Confirm home-country requirements. Ask a lawyer in your home jurisdiction which consent and filing rules apply, and get the list in writing.
Prepare corporate and contract records. Gather constitutional documents, registers and major contracts. Check your proposed name using our guide to duplicate company name checks in the UAE.
Apply through Dubai South Business Hub. Submit the application and supporting papers, then arrange a free zone trade license and any residency visa packages tied to it.
If you also own a UK company, review UK tax rules when you also own a Dubai company before you file anything.
What Does Close and Start Again Really Cost?
Closing and restarting adds exit costs, new setup fees and a fresh compliance cycle on top of wind-down obligations. Redomiciling avoids some of these but carries its own home-country exit work. Exact figures vary, so request a written quote from Dubai South Business Hub and your home-country advisers.
Corporate tax under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023 [3]. Qualifying free zone persons can access a 0% rate on qualifying income, but only if they meet strict conditions. Check your registration steps in the guide to registering for corporate tax as a free zone company, and confirm the rules directly with the Federal Tax Authority.
Deciding between a branch and a subsidiary changes the tax picture, so compare corporate tax branch vs LLC in the UAE early. Timelines are not guaranteed, so add a buffer for consent delays.
What Should You Do Next?
If you plan to relocate company to Dubai, start with one question: does the existing record matter more than a clean slate? Map your contracts, get written advice from a lawyer in your home jurisdiction, then request a route-specific quote. Contact Dubai South Business Hub Free Zone to review your options before you file anything.
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Frequently Asked Questions
