On this page 5 sections
Almost everything written about opening a Dubai company assumes you are already standing in Dubai. If you are in Bengaluru or Mumbai, the licence itself is the easy half. The half that catches Indian founders sits on the Indian side of the transaction: how much capital may legally leave India and under which window, and why the apostille your notary in India puts on a document will not be accepted by a UAE authority on its own. This page covers those two problems and the short list of things that genuinely need your physical presence. Every rule quoted below carries the source it came from and the date it was read, 8 August 2026.
Getting the money out of India legally
The Reserve Bank of India governs this, not any authority in the UAE, and no Dubai consultancy can widen the window for you. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme an individual resident in India may remit up to USD 250,000 in a financial year. The Reserve Bank states that a resident individual may make an overseas direct investment by way of investment in equity capital within the overall ceiling prescribed for resident individuals under the LRS in force at the time of investment. Two consequences follow and both surprise people.
| What the rule says | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Share capital counts inside the USD 250,000, not beside it | Money already sent this year for tuition, travel or property reduces what is left for the company |
| Anything already remitted in the same financial year reduces the limit | The Reserve Bank is explicit that the applicable limit is reduced by the amount already remitted |
| The account must have been held for a minimum of one year before a capital account transaction | Opening a fresh account in order to fund the setup does not work; plan the account, then the company |
| Funds held in an RFC account or foreign currency deposits of a person not permanently resident sit outside the LRS limit | Money that is already legitimately offshore is a different conversation from money leaving now |
None of this makes a Dubai company harder to own. It changes the sequence. Decide the paid-up capital and the first year of running costs first, check what remains of this year’s window, and only then choose the licence package. A founder who signs for a package sized to next year’s ambition and discovers in month two that the remittance window is spent has bought a problem, not a company.
Why your Indian apostille is not the finish line
India joined the Apostille Convention with effect from 14 July 2005, so Indian public documents carry an apostille for most of the world. The United Arab Emirates does not appear on the Convention’s list of contracting parties at all. An apostille is therefore the wrong instrument for a document travelling from India to the UAE, and this single mismatch is the most common reason an Indian founder’s file stalls.
The route that does work is the older consular chain, in this order.
| Step | Done by | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Home attestation of the document inside India | The competent Indian authorities for that document type | Indian schedule, not a UAE fee |
| 2. Legalisation by a UAE mission in India | UAE embassy or consulate | AED 150 for an ordinary document, AED 2,000 for a commercial one |
| 3. Attestation inside the UAE | UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs | AED 150 personal certificate, AED 2,000 commercial document, AED 150 invoice |
The Ministry attests a maximum of five documents per application, refuses laminated certificates, and requires Arabic or English or a certified translation. It also states that an application which is not completed correctly is rejected automatically and cannot be edited after submission. The full chain, including where a Ministry of Education step is needed for degrees, is set out in our certificate attestation guide.
What you can do from India, and what needs you here
Free zone formations are routinely completed while the shareholder is abroad, because the zone authority accepts scanned and legalised documents and issues the licence electronically. The steps that resist remote completion are the ones where a bank or an immigration officer needs the human being.
| Step | Usually possible from India | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name reservation and initial approval | Yes | Portal submissions on scanned documents |
| Licence issue in most free zones | Yes | Electronic licence, courier for originals |
| Shareholder signatures on constitutional documents | Sometimes | Depends whether the authority accepts a legalised power of attorney |
| Corporate bank account opening | Rarely | Banks generally want the signatory in the branch and ask about the source of funds |
| Residence visa medical and Emirates ID biometrics | No | Both are physical procedures inside the UAE |
Plan one trip, not three. The trip that pays for itself is the one where the licence already exists, the establishment card is out, and the bank appointment, the medical and the biometrics sit inside the same week.
Owning a Dubai company does not by itself move your tax residence
Two separate questions get merged and they should not be. Whether you stop being a tax resident of India is decided by Indian law and belongs with an Indian adviser; nothing on a UAE trade licence answers it. Whether you become a tax resident of the UAE is decided by UAE law, and Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 sets that out: physical presence of 183 days or more in a relevant 12 consecutive month period, or 90 days or more for a holder of a valid UAE residence permit or GCC nationality who also meets a further condition such as a permanent place of residence in the State. Days and parts of days both count. A company gives you the route to a residence permit; the day count is still yours to satisfy.
Choosing who does the work
Our directory holds 42 companies covering company formation in Dubai out of 69 live entries, of which 35 record free zone formation, 36 mainland formation and 37 setup consultation. What is worth asking an Indian-facing consultant, and what most quotes hide: who prepares the legalisation file and whether their fee includes the UAE mission and Ministry charges or only their own; whether the licence package assumes a visa quota you actually need; and what happens to the fee if the remittance window forces you to reduce the capital. Ask for the answer in writing before you pay a deposit.
The equivalent walkthrough for British founders is setting up in Dubai from the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Indian resident own 100 percent of a Dubai company?
Yes. Foreign ownership of a UAE company is a UAE question, and free zones have always allowed full foreign ownership. The Indian side of the transaction is about the remittance, not the ownership: your investment in the equity capital of the foreign company sits inside the Liberalised Remittance Scheme ceiling of USD 250,000 per financial year.
How much money can I send from India to fund a Dubai company?
Up to USD 250,000 in a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and that ceiling is shared with everything else you remit in the same year. The Reserve Bank also requires the bank account used for a capital account transaction to have been maintained with that bank for at least one year beforehand.
Is an apostille from India accepted in the UAE?
No. The UAE is not a contracting party to the Apostille Convention, so an Indian apostille alone will not make a document acceptable to a UAE authority. The document needs legalisation by a UAE embassy or consulate in India and then attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which charges AED 150 for a personal certificate and AED 2,000 for a commercial document.
Can I set up the company without flying to Dubai?
Usually the licence itself, yes, particularly in a free zone. The parts that resist remote completion are the corporate bank account, where banks generally want the signatory present, and the residence visa medical and Emirates ID biometrics, which are physical procedures inside the UAE.
Does a Dubai company make me a UAE tax resident?
Not on its own. Under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 a natural person is a UAE tax resident by presence of 183 days or more in a relevant 12 month period, or 90 days or more for a UAE residence permit holder or GCC national who meets a further condition. Whether you cease to be a tax resident of India is a separate question decided by Indian law.
What should I have ready before contacting a setup firm?
The activity you want licensed, how many residence visas you actually need in year one, how much of this financial year’s remittance window is still unused, and which of your documents already carry Indian attestation. Those four answers change the quote more than anything else you can tell a consultant.
Comparing setup offers from outside the country? Browse company formation firms or set the case out once and let several of them answer.
Official references used for context in this article.
- Reserve Bank of India: Liberalised Remittance Scheme FAQs
- Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction on Overseas Investment
- HCCH Apostille Convention status table: the UAE is not listed
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attestations Guide with the fee tables
- Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 on the Determination of Tax Residency
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