WHAT WE DO
Business Setup and Corporate Services
Black Swan Business Setup Services provides company formation, trade licensing and amendments, visas and PRO services, corporate tax, VAT, accounting and audit, government and product approvals, and business consulting — across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and the United Kingdom. One team, one point of contact, from your first call to your first filing.
5
Countries where we register onshore companies
9
UAE free zones we work with regularly
6
Offshore jurisdictions, from the UAE to Singapore
One team
From licence and visas to tax, audit and renewals
SERVICES AT A GLANCE
Everything We Provide, in One Place
It comes down to two jobs: getting the company registered, and keeping it compliant afterwards. Most consultancies are set up to do the first. The second is where the real work sits — and where the penalties are.
Getting the Company Set Up
Company formation — UAE mainland and free zone, offshore structures, and onshore incorporation in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
Structure and activity advice — choosing the entity form and activity list before anything is filed, and checking your activity is open to full foreign ownership.
Documentation — memorandum and articles, shareholder resolutions, powers of attorney, legalisation, attestation and legal translation.
Premises — flexi-desk, office, shop, workshop, warehouse or land, with the lease registered so it can be filed.
Bank account — the compliance pack banks actually ask for, and introductions to institutions that onboard non-resident directors.
Visas — establishment card, investor and employee residence visas, medicals and Emirates ID.
Keeping It Running Afterwards
Licensing and compliance — trade licence and trade name amendments, share transfers, company liquidation, trademark registration.
Tax, accounting and audit — corporate tax and VAT registration and filing, bookkeeping, statutory and internal audit, payroll, CFO and company secretarial support.
Visas and PRO — family, golden and domestic worker visas, renewals, and retained government liaison so nobody from your team queues at a counter.
Approvals — SIRA, Municipality, Civil Defence, RERA, RTA and media permits, product registration for food, cosmetics, chemicals and medicines, customs codes and ADNOC.
Advisory — market research, pricing, franchise and sales strategy, operation plans, HR consultancy and business centre solutions.
COMPANY FORMATION
Company Formation, Wherever You Need It
Mainland, free zone or offshore — and beyond the UAE, in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Kingdom. Each option below has its own page with the current rules, real costs and the honest trade-offs.
UAE Mainland
Trade anywhere in the UAE, bid for government contracts and open branches freely. 100% foreign ownership on most activities since 2021. Licensed by each emirate’s economic department.
UAE Free Zones
Nine zones we work with regularly, from IFZA and DAFZA to SHAMS, KIZAD and RAK. Customs advantages, flexi-desk packages and the 0% QFZP regime where you qualify for it.
Offshore Companies
Non-resident holding and asset-protection vehicles — UAE, UK, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Singapore and Seychelles. Genuine structures, not the secrecy the internet still promises.
Oman
100% foreign ownership since 2020, 15% corporate tax with a 3% small-company rate, and ports outside the Strait of Hormuz. Mainland and free zone routes both covered.
Saudi Arabia
The region’s largest market. MISA registration replaced the old foreign investment licence in 2025, and the regional headquarters programme carries a 30-year 0% tax regime.
Bahrain
The GCC’s cheapest serious jurisdiction: no corporate income tax for most businesses, online registration through Sijilat, and a causeway to the Saudi Eastern Province.
LICENSING AND COMPLIANCE
Licensing, Amendments and Compliance
A licence is a living document. Activities change, shareholders come and go, names get updated — and every one of those needs filing correctly or your renewal stalls.
Trade Licence Amendment
Adding or removing activities, changing your licence category, updating the manager or the registered address. Filed with the licensing authority so your records stay consistent.
Trade Name Amendment
Changing your registered trade name, including the availability check, reservation and the downstream updates to your licence, bank and visa records.
Share Transfer
Moving shares between existing or new shareholders — amended memorandum, notarisation, authority approval and the updated licence.
Company Liquidation
Closing a company properly: liquidator appointment, clearances from immigration, labour and tax, newspaper notice, and formal deregistration. Walking away instead leaves fines that follow the shareholders.
Trademark Registration
Searching, filing and prosecuting your mark, plus the classes you actually need. Registering the company name does not protect the brand.
Attestation and Legal Translation
Certificates, powers of attorney and corporate documents legalised, attested and translated to the standard authorities accept — the step that most often delays a file.
VISAS AND PRO
Visas, Immigration and PRO Services
Your licence sets your visa quota; your premises and Emiratisation position set what you can do with it. We handle the applications and the government counters so you do not have to.
Investor and Partner Visas
Residence for shareholders and partners — establishment card, entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and stamping, with renewals tracked before they lapse.
Employment Visas
Labour contracts, quota approvals, work permits and residence visas for your staff, handled as one workstream alongside the licence rather than after it.
Family and Dependants
Sponsoring spouse, children and parents, including the salary and accommodation conditions that decide eligibility before you apply.
Golden Visa
Long-term residence for investors, entrepreneurs, specialised talent and property owners. We assess which category actually fits you before filing anything.
Domestic Worker and Property Visas
Maid and domestic staff sponsorship, property-linked residence, and the pet relocation paperwork that comes with moving a household.
PRO Services
Ongoing government liaison as a retained service — renewals, amendments, typing centre work, immigration and labour submissions, without you queueing for any of it.
TAX AND FINANCE
Tax, Accounting and Audit
The UAE stopped being a no-tax jurisdiction in June 2023. Corporate tax registration is mandatory even in a year when you owe nothing, and the penalties for missing it are real.
Corporate Tax Registration and Filing
Registration with the Federal Tax Authority, taxable-income computation, and the annual return. 9% applies above AED 375,000; free zone entities need the QFZP conditions tested properly, not assumed.
VAT Registration
Mandatory above AED 375,000 turnover and voluntary from AED 187,500. We assess whether registering early helps or hurts you before filing the application.
VAT Returns and Accounting
Quarterly or monthly returns, input tax recovery, and the record-keeping the FTA expects to see if it asks — which is increasingly often.
Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping to a standard your auditor and your bank will both accept. Most compliance problems start as a bookkeeping problem twelve months earlier.
Audit and Assurance
Statutory and internal audit, including the annual audited accounts many free zones now require at renewal and banks ask for at review.
Payroll, CFO and Company Secretarial
WPS-compliant payroll, outsourced CFO support for founders who are not ready to hire one, and the statutory records and filings a company has to keep.
APPROVALS
Government, Product and Customs Approvals
Plenty of activities need a second approval on top of the trade licence. Finding that out after you have signed a lease is expensive, so we identify them at the activity stage.
SIRA and Security Approvals
Security Industry Regulatory Authority clearance for security services, CCTV, alarm and guarding businesses, including the technical requirements that come with it.
Municipality Approvals
Premises, signage, food safety and health permits — the approvals that decide whether your unit can legally open, not just whether the licence is issued.
Civil Defence
Fire and life safety approval for fit-outs, warehouses, workshops and public-facing premises, including drawings and inspection sign-off.
RERA, RTA and Media
Real estate brokerage and management registration with RERA, transport and vehicle-related permits from RTA, and media content permits for publishing and advertising activity.
Product Approvals
Registration and clearance for beauty and cosmetic products, food products, chemicals and medicines — each with its own authority, dossier and timeline.
Customs Code and ADNOC Registration
A customs client code so you can actually import and export, and ADNOC supplier registration for businesses selling into the energy sector.
ADVISORY
Consulting and Business Support
Some clients arrive knowing exactly what they want to build. Others need the market tested, the numbers modelled and the plan written before they commit capital. We do both.
Business Consulting
Sector-specific advice for retail, healthcare, FMCG, construction, textiles and hospitality — the activities we set up most often and know the approval landscape for.
Market Research and Pricing
Demand, competition and pricing tested before launch, so your activity list and your cost base are built on something firmer than optimism.
Franchise and Sales Strategy
Franchise model design for brands entering the region, plus route-to-market and sales strategy for businesses that already have a product and need distribution.
Operation Plans and Company Studies
Business operation plans, detailed company studies and internal policy documents — the paperwork investors, landlords and banks ask to see.
HR Consultancy
Contracts, policies and structures that comply with UAE labour law, plus recruitment support for local and international hires.
Business Centre and Banking Support
Flexi-desk and serviced office solutions that satisfy licensing, plus corporate bank account introductions with the compliance pack prepared before you apply.
TALK TO US
Tell Us What You Are Trying to Build
One conversation is usually enough to tell you which jurisdiction fits, what it will actually cost in year one, and what you will owe after that. We will also tell you when the answer is a jurisdiction we do not sell — that is the point of asking.
