Foreign Company Presence

Branch Office Registration in the UAE

One company, two locations

Branch office registration does not create a company. It extends one. The branch is the same legal person as its parent, carrying the same name and doing the same work, which means every obligation it takes on in the UAE is the parent's obligation. That is the whole point and the whole risk.

Register a Branch

Tell us what the parent does and what you want the UAE office to do.

Full Name

Where is the parent?

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Charges Quoted Separately

Parent Documents Attested for You

The Comparison

Branch, Representative Office or Subsidiary

Three ways a foreign company can be present here, and they are genuinely different instruments rather than three names for the same thing. Read this before choosing.

What Matters	Branch	Representative Office	Subsidiary
Separate legal person	No	No	Yes
Can invoice customers here	Yes	No	Yes
Who carries the liability	The parent	The parent	The subsidiary
Activities permitted	The parent's own	Promotion only	Its own licence
Trades under	The parent's name	The parent's name	Its own name

What We Handle

What Branch Office Registration Requires

Most of the work is proving the parent exists, is in good standing and has formally decided to do this. Expect the documents to come from head office, not from here.

Activity Match

A branch may carry on the parent's activities, not new ones. If the UAE plan is different from what the parent does, a branch is the wrong instrument and we will say so.

Parent Documentation

Certificate of incorporation, memorandum, board resolution and good standing evidence, attested and legalised for use here.

Board Resolution and Manager

A formal decision by the parent to open the branch and appoint a manager, with the powers that manager holds set out explicitly.

Approvals and Licence

The approvals a foreign branch requires, followed by the trade licence from the economic department of the emirate.

Premises and Establishment Card

Registered tenancy and the immigration file, so the branch can sponsor the people who will run it.

Banking and Tax

A corporate account for the branch and tax registration, which for a branch has consequences that reach the parent.

The Process

How a Branch Gets Registered

Start the attestation early. It runs through consulates and foreign ministries and it is the one part nobody here controls.

Confirm It Is a Branch

What the parent does, what the UAE office will do and who you will invoice. If those diverge, you want a subsidiary and we will tell you at this stage.

Parent Documents Attested

Incorporation documents, memorandum and board resolution legalised and attested in the parent's country, then here. Begin immediately.

Name and Approvals

The branch name registered against the parent's, and the approvals a foreign branch requires obtained.

Premises and Licence

Office arranged, tenancy registered and the trade licence issued to the branch.

Operating Setup

Establishment card opened, manager and staff visas processed, bank account opened and tax position registered.

Paperwork

What the Parent Will Need to Provide

Certificate of incorporation, attested

Memorandum and articles of the parent, attested

Board resolution approving the branch and naming the manager

Power of attorney for the appointed manager

Certificate of good standing and recent audited accounts

Passport copies for the manager and the parent's directors

Every parent document has to be legalised in its home country and attested for use here, and translated where required. That chain is the longest part of a branch registration and it sits outside anyone's control, so it starts on day one. The UAE government's business services overview covers the framework, and the Federal Tax Authority the registration obligations. The Ministry of Economy has historically been involved in approving branches of foreign companies.

Questions

Branch Questions

Is the parent liable for what the branch does?

Yes, and this is the single most important thing to understand. A branch is not a separate legal person, so its contracts, debts and claims are the parent's. If the point of coming here is to contain risk within the UAE operation, a branch does the opposite of what you want and you should be looking at a subsidiary.

Can a branch do something the parent does not?

No. A branch carries on the parent's activities, which is why the parent's objects and licence matter to your UAE application. If the UAE plan is a new line of business, that is a separate company rather than an extension of an existing one.

Can a branch invoice UAE customers?

Yes, and that is the main practical difference from a representative office, which cannot. A branch trades. If your UAE presence needs to sign contracts and raise invoices, the choice is between a branch and a subsidiary rather than including a representative office.

Does a UAE company need a branch to open in another emirate?

Expanding across emirates is commonly done by branch registration rather than by forming a fresh company, which keeps one entity with several licensed locations. It is a lighter exercise than a foreign branch because there is no attestation chain to run.

Do I need a national service agent?

Foreign branches have historically been associated with a national service agent arrangement, where the agent holds no equity and takes no share of profits but is party to the registration. Whether it applies to you depends on your activity and emirate, and we confirm it before filing rather than assuming.

Branch or subsidiary, which should I choose?

Ask whether you want the UAE operation's obligations to reach the parent. If the answer is no, form a subsidiary. If you want one entity trading under one name and accept the exposure, a branch is simpler and cheaper to run. If you only need presence without trading, look at a representative office.

Related Services

Representative Office Setup Parent Company Subsidiary Setup Mainland Business Registration Document Attestation Legal Translation

Decide the Instrument Before the Paperwork

Tell us what the parent does, what the UAE office needs to do and whether you want the exposure to reach head office. We will come back with whether a branch is right, the documents to start attesting now, and what the authorities and we will each charge, in writing.

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