Dubai has recently been considered one of the best investment countries in the world, especially in attracting foreign investments, as it ranked sixth in the world in the field of foreign investments. Therefore, any investor must know the steps of security approval for investment in Dubai before starting to invest in Dubai. Security approval is the approval of the security authorities; such as investigating you and ensuring that there are no previous cases or violations related to residency and entry visas to the country, and nationality may sometimes be a factor of acceptance and is considered an initial approval that the government of the State of Dubai has no objection to establishing the facility in the country, and it indicates that it is possible to move to the next step to obtain a commercial license, but in all cases it does not grant the authority to start operating or practicing work directly.

Some activities before applying for initial approval

Foreign investors must obtain the approval of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs before obtaining the initial approval, as some activities require obtaining the approvals of the government agencies associated with the activity before applying for the initial approval, such as:

– Activities related to legal matters;

– Activities related to security agencies and the Securities and Commodities Authority.

If you apply for security approval to work in Dubai from within the country, it may take about 14 days to obtain the visa. The security approval and work permit are valid for two months from the date of issuance by the Ministry of Labor.

Specific steps to obtain security clearance service

There are specific steps to obtain the security approval service for companies, such as:

– Choosing the main and secondary business activity.

– Adding the license parties and their nationalities.

– Choosing the legal form of the company. 

– Select the type of commercial license (commercial license, instant license, merchant license).

– Enter license details. 

In this regard, we must specifically mention the definition of the types of licenses, each of them separately. 

Instant license:

This type of license is among the facilities provided by the Emirates to encourage foreign investments in it when starting the steps of investment in Dubai, which is the Dubai instant license, as the Dubai instant license shortens the steps of establishing a company in Dubai into one step.

It is issued in just one step and within five minutes for a group of activities that do not require external approvals, with the option of providing the incorporation contract optionally and providing a virtual location for the first year. This service enables obtaining membership in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through the same procedure immediately and obtaining the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs establishment card immediately, in addition to the establishment card of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, where the customer receives a text message approving the opening of the establishment card and opening an automatic file to employ 3 employees. The instant license is also issued with only one disbursement permit, but there is a condition when issuing the instant license in Dubai, which is that it is valid only once when starting the steps to establish a company in Dubai, which is in the first year of the company, and upon renewal, all the papers required to extract a commercial license in Dubai are submitted, and this license is available for the following legal forms:

– Limited Liability Company.

– One-person company L.N.M.

– Sole proprietorship.

– Civil works company.

Traders License:

It is a sole proprietorship license that enables the emirate’s residents to practice commercial activity from home for a fee of AED 1,070, in addition to AED 300 membership fees for Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Commercial license: 

It is a license that requires the existence of an incorporation contract and a site lease contract for the customer to be able to issue it. An incorporation contract can be obtained electronically through the license issuance steps.

Security clearance procedures for work in the Emirates

There are some important steps that must be followed, which in turn will help you succeed in your investments in the United Arab Emirates. The following are the steps for investing in Dubai:

• Obtaining a license to practice the company’s business in Dubai. 
• Apply for an investment visa in Dubai.
• Know the procedures for establishing a company in Dubai.
• Pay the visa application fee.

Costs of investor entering the UAE market

• If the investor is a permanent resident in the UAE, there is a residence fee estimated at approximately 5% of the value of the lease contract.
• There are waste disposal fees estimated by the company’s waste department.
• Investment fees in the UAE are estimated according to whether the company operates under the local law system or the free zone law system. If the company is under the local law system, 5% of the value of the lease contract is paid to the government as fees. If it is under the Dubai free zone law system, 7.5% of its value is paid to the government as fees.
• If the company’s headquarters is owned and not rented, whether the company is subject to local law or free zone law, the fees are based on the committee’s report.

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, investment in Dubai has many advantages that the country offers to entrepreneurs, such as:

• Availability of all services necessary for a decent life, such as health, education and housing.
• The school should teach respect for other cultures in the UAE, and promote the values ​​of tolerance and brotherhood. By doing so, different nationalities can coexist in the UAE.
• The UAE enjoys a strategic location, as it is located in the middle of the continents and connects global markets to each other.
• Free zones in the UAE benefit from investments in infrastructure and provide all the necessary facilities for the entry of investments.
• There are many shopping malls for shopping or investment, and there are international hotel services in Dubai. This is part of the reason why people from all over the world choose to live or reside in Dubai.
• Dubai provides facilities for obtaining permanent residency for the foreign investor as well as for some members of the company, wife and children.
• One of the most important features is that the United Arab Emirates is safe and stable. Its laws are fair and its people are civilized, and this is achieved by ensuring investment in the United Arab Emirates, as it is considered one of the most stable countries, whether politically, security-wise, socially or economically.
• The UAE protects foreign investors and provides protection through its laws.

Steps to obtain security approval to work in the UAE:

1. First, you must provide all the required documents to obtain security approval.
2. Apply for security approval in the relevant departments.
3. The investor applies for an investment visa in the UAE.
4. Pay the fees and get the visa.
5. Obtaining a work permit in the UAE before applying for security approval.
6. The role of obtaining security approval comes after fulfilling the previous conditions.
7. The last step is to start working in the Dubai market.