The Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) sector in Dubai Economy reported that 4,692 Instant Licenses were issued since the launch of the service in July 2017 to date. Among the Instant Licenses issued, 3,448 were Commercial (73.5%), and 1,244 in the Professional (26.5%) category.

The Instant License service provides a convenient model for businessmen who can now obtain a commercial license within five minutes, enabling them to establish and conduct business in Dubai easily. The initiative is a path-breaking service whereby businesses can secure their commercial license in one-step for the first year without having a company’s lease or location.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, handed over the ‘Flag’ of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Programme for Smart Government 2019 to Dubai Economy recently for winning the Best Government Initiative award for the Instant Licence initiative during a ceremony organised by Dubai The Model Centre (DTMC), a subsidiary of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai.

Through the Instant License, Dubai Economy, as the government body entrusted to set and drive the economic agenda of the emirate. seeks to highlight the sustainable economic development and competitiveness of Dubai.

All business activities can benefit from the service, except public and private shareholding companies, through eServices (ded.ae/instant), the various outsourced service centers in Dubai, or the Happiness and Smart Lounges. Holders of general trade licenses can only use electronic services. All business partners or one of them must be present while applying through the outsourced service centres or the Happiness Lounge and must provide a valid passport copy of all parties (partner and manager), residence visa copy and no-objection letter from the sponsor to the foreign parties.

The Instant License offers the option of an electronic Memorandum of Association (eMOA), in addition to obtaining the license and entry in the Dubai Economy commercial registry. Furthermore, the licensee is given membership in the Dubai Chamber instantly, an establishment card of the General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs as well as three work permits for employees from the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation once the trade license is issued.

Registration of ‘Native’ workers:

The registration of ‘Native’ workers in the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation is done while issuing the Instant License. This comes in line with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan’s approval to the Emiratisation plans, which aim to find a job for each Emirati job seeker in Dubai. If the partners wish to appoint the employees before the issuance of the Instant License, they need to follow a few simple steps or else skip the screen and complete the procedures.

The number of Instant License owners has reached 16,935 and 87.6% (14,842) of them are men while women account for 12.4% (2,093). The businessmen who secured the Instant Licenses so far include those from Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and Sudan.

An Instant License can be obtained for four legal forms of businesses – Limited Liability Company (LLC), Single Member LLC, Sole Proprietorship and Civil Company.

Dubai Economy focuses on continuously developing the business environment to remain competitive in line with the world-class infrastructure in the emirate, guided by the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for Dubai to be the preferred place to live, work and visit as well as a smart and sustainable city and a pivotal hub of the global economy.

The Instant License initiative has contributed to the sub-indicator ‘Starting a business’ in the Ease of Doing Business Index 2020 issued by the World Bank, which ranked the UAE ranked 17th globally.