Guides United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates · Written for operators

What opening a franchise in the UAE actually involves.

A federal agency law that can make a distributor impossible to remove, rent paid a year at a time in post-dated cheques, and a licence regime that differs between the mainland and forty-odd free zones. These guides set out the published figures, name their sources, and say plainly which part of the decision this platform can carry.

An illustrated view of Dubai's coastline, marina and business districts.
Dubai · editorial illustration

The library

3 guides
on the UAE decision.

Practical reading for each stage of the decision. Published figures carry sources; these guides are general orientation, not legal advice or a promise of market coverage.

United Arab Emirates · Regulation · 4 min read

Franchising in the UAE: agency law first

The UAE has no franchise statute either, but it has something with sharper teeth: a commercial agencies law that, where it applies, can leave …

Inside this guide
  • What a registered commercial agency does to a brand owner
  • What Federal Decree-Law 3 of 2022 changed
  • Mainland, free zone, and which one a store can trade from
Read the guide

United Arab Emirates · Property · 4 min read

UAE retail leases: Ejari, cheques and VAT

UAE occupancy runs on conventions a European or Indian operator will not expect: annual rent settled in a handful of post-dated cheques, a tenancy …

Inside this guide
  • Why rent is quoted per year and paid in cheques
  • Ejari registration, and what it protects
  • The RERA index, and what a landlord may raise rent to
Read the guide

United Arab Emirates · Compliance · 3 min read

Opening a store in Dubai: licences and approvals

A Dubai outlet is licensed by activity, not by premises alone. Get the activity list wrong on the trade licence and the fit-out approvals, …

Inside this guide
  • The trade licence, and why the activity list governs everything
  • Municipality and Civil Defence sign-off on the fit-out
  • What a food outlet needs beyond a retail one
Read the guide

Be clear about this

A guide about United Arab Emirates
is not coverage of it.

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  • Open in United Arab Emirates: every town and city — featured cities include Dubai.
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