With the virtual business licence offered by Abu Dhabi, business owners or investors from other countries can apply for a business licence in the Emirate from anywhere in the globe.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) debuted the virtual licence for non-resident foreigners in 2021. The full application procedure is conducted online through “Tamm,” Abu Dhabi’s official government services portal.
What is the Abu Dhabi virtual business licence?
The virtual licence, according to ADDED, covers 13 business sectors. If you want to form an LLC (Limited Liability Company) or a sole proprietorship within certain industries, you also have the option of full ownership.
The following are the business areas that are eligible for the virtual licence:
- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Repair
- Contracting
- Maintenance and installations
- Retail trade
- Transport
- Services
- Leasing services
- Health and entertainment events
- Management and provision of the supporting services
- Wholesale trade and
- Import and export.
Numerous business activities, such as “taxation consultation services,” “web design,” “tv production,” and “event management,” are included in each of these economic sectors.
Entrepreneurs can add up to six company activities to one licence, claims “Tamm.” However, you must first create a “UAE Pass” account before you can begin applying for the licence. Those who are nationals, residents, or visitors to the UAE can use the UAE Pass as their digital identification. On the app, creating an account as a guest is a simple procedure. If you are a citizen or resident of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), you may use your National ID or the information from your passport to complete the process.
How to apply for the Abu Dhabi virtual business licence
After creating your UAE Pass account, go to the “Tamm” platform at www.tamm.abudhabi and complete the following steps:
- Choose “Department of Economic Development” from the list of services provided by governmental entities.
- Choose the service – Request for Issuing Economic Licence from the “economic” category (Virtual Licence)
After that, you will be guided step-by-step through the process of setting up your company licence. Depending on the kind of business activity you select, there may be subtle variations in the procedure, papers, and cost.
However, regardless of their line of work, all applicants should adhere to a few fundamental steps, claims “Tamm.” Which are:
1. Selecting the legal type of the business – Sole proprietorship or Limited Liability Company (LLC):
A business licence known as a “sole proprietorship” enables a single person to possess 100% of a company. Being a business licence, it enables one to collaborate with both individuals and other enterprises.
A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business formed through a written agreement between two and a maximum of 50 people. An LLC licence is provided by an Emirate’s economic department, and it is free to conduct business anywhere in the UAE (unlike a free zone company).
2. Finding your business activity:
The “Tamm” site is where you may locate a list of business initiatives open to foreigners: https://www.tamm.abudhabi/services/business/ded/search-and-view-activities?lang=en
‘Business activity’ is a general term, which refers to any activity a business operates in.
3. Registering a trade name:
You must then reserve the trade name for your company. You can use this link from “Tamm” to search for already-existing trade names if you have a name in mind and want to know if another business has already registered it. https://www.tamm.abudhabi/services/business/ded/tradename-search/home?lang=en It’s crucial to remember that ADDED authorises trade names for companies in Abu Dhabi, and there are rules that must be observed.
4. Enter contact details:
Then you must enter their contact information, which includes complete name, mobile number, email address, and country of residence.
5. Mandatory documents:
No matter the type of business you chose, there are two primary documents that each application needs to submit:
- A copy of a valid passport
- Recent passport-sized photo.
You will receive a transaction number from “Tamm” after submitting your licence application, which you can use to check the status of your application. By clicking on the following URL, https://www.tamm.abudhabi/services/business/ded/application-status/landing, you can track the status of your application.
After reviewing the application, ADDED will decide whether to accept or reject the licence request. If your application is accepted, you will need to pay the fees online and then use the “Tamm” website at www.tamm.abudhabi to obtain the official virtual licence.
Also Read: Having trouble deciding which free zone to start your business in? Use this platform