The shortlist
Our Values: The Things We Refuse to Do
Values written as adjectives cannot be checked and cannot be breached.
Our Values: The Things We Refuse to Do
Integrity, excellence and consistency. That was the values statement on the site that stood here before, and it is the values statement on most sites in this market. It has one useful property: it cannot be breached, because it does not say anything.
A value is only a value if declining to follow it would have been profitable. So this page is written as refusals — nine specific things that are available to us in UAE company formation, that would make us money or make us faster, and that we do not do. Each one names why it is tempting and what it costs the person who accepts it.
You can hold ConsultZone to these, and you should hold every other firm you talk to against the same list — the questions worth putting to a firm before you sign anything are set out on choosing a business setup consultant in Dubai. That is the point of writing them down this way.
the same questions, put to both statements
Nine refusalsThree adjectives
- What it actually claimsNine specific things available to us that we do not doIntegrity, excellence and consistency, which is what stood here before and what most sites in this market carry
- Whether it can be breachedEach refusal names what accepting it costs the person who doesIt cannot, because it does not say anything
- Whether you can check itCheckable claims, run against us as readily as against anyone elseNothing in it to check, and a page that cannot be audited is what this replaces
- What it costs the firmTwo of the checks produce answers that cost us moneyNothing, which is why most sites in this market carry it
- Whether it says when to walk awayEvery service page states where that service is the wrong purchaseIt does not
- What it is forA decision you can make without buying advice firstIt reads well and leaves the reason to phone where it was
1. We will not put an activity on a licence that does not match the business
Why it is tempting. Some activities attract a second authority's approval, a higher fee, or a longer wait. A near-neighbour activity often does not. Listing the easier one gets the licence issued faster and the client is pleased on the day.
What it costs. The mismatch surfaces at the bank, and banks look at it specifically — an activity that does not explain the money moving through the account is one of the most common reasons an application is refused. It surfaces again if a large customer runs diligence, and again at any amendment. Correcting it means amending the licence, sometimes changing zone, and explaining to the bank why the first version said something else.
It is the single most common shortcut in this market and the one that does the most damage, because the damage arrives months later and looks unrelated.
2. We will not promise you a bank account
Why it is tempting. It is the question every founder asks, and the provider who says yes wins the engagement over the provider who says it depends.
What it costs. Nobody can promise it. The bank decides, after the company exists, on the activity, the ownership chain, the substance behind the address and the traceability of funds. A provider promising an outcome they do not control is either going to fail visibly or going to arrange something you would not have chosen.
What we will do is tell you honestly, before you form anything, whether the structure you are proposing is one banks are currently comfortable with — and if it is not, what specifically to change. An introduction is an introduction. It is not an approval, and we will not describe it as one; the separate question of who picks the suppliers a setup firm introduces you to is worth asking of anybody who offers one.
3. We will not sell a nominee arrangement as ownership
Why it is tempting. There is a legacy market for it, the fees are recurring, and some clients still ask for it because that is what they were told years ago.
What it costs. The mandatory local shareholding requirement was removed for most activities in 2020–21. A client being sold a 51% nominee arrangement today is frequently buying a solution to a problem that no longer exists, and paying annually for it.
Where a local element is genuinely still required — the activities with strategic impact, and certain agency arrangements — we will say so and name the instrument. Where it is not, we will tell you that too, even though the honest answer removes a recurring fee from our own side of the ledger.
And separately: an arrangement designed so the owner on record is not the real owner is precisely what the anti-money-laundering framework is built to identify. The ultimate beneficial owner is recorded. Structures that exist to obscure that do not merely fail; they mark the file.
the one answer that decides whether you pay every year
- Name the activity the business will actually carry outEverything downstream reads from it, and a mismatch surfaces at the bank
- Test that activity against the list with strategic impactWhere a local element is genuinely still required, with certain agency arrangements
- Is your activity one with strategic impact, or an agency arrangementThe mandatory local shareholding requirement was removed for most activities in 2020–21
- A local element is genuinely still requiredWe say so, and we name the instrument
- It is not required for what you are doingA 51% nominee arrangement is a paid answer to a problem that no longer exists
- Whether the requirement is live or was removedAsk which instrument makes it necessary, and read it
4. We will not quote a headline that we know is not the number
Why it is tempting. Formation is shopped on price. A comparison table of five providers is won by the lowest figure, and the additions can be explained later when the client is committed.
What it costs. The client budgets for the headline and meets the real figure in stages, usually at the worst moments — when the premises turn out not to carry the visa count, when the establishment file is an extra, when the attestation chain for a foreign document is longer than expected.
Where a cost is genuinely variable, we will say what drives it rather than omitting it. Where we do not have a current published figure, we will say we do not have it. A number that reads as authoritative and is actually a guess is worse than an admitted gap, because you cannot plan around a gap you do not know is there.
5. We will not recommend a zone because of what it pays us
Why it is tempting. Being an authorized channel partner of a free zone authority means a commercial relationship with that authority. Different zones are worth different amounts.
What it costs. The zone that pays best is not reliably the zone whose activity list covers your business, whose premises carry your visa count, or whose entities your bank is comfortable with. A recommendation driven by our margin is a recommendation you will be living inside for years.
You are entitled to ask us why a particular zone was proposed and to get an answer in terms of your business rather than ours. If the answer is not in those terms, push.
The bank
- Whether the account is opened at allDecided after the company exists; an introduction is an introduction, not an approval
- Whether the activity explains the money moving through the accountOne of the most common reasons an application is refused
- The ownership chain, the substance behind the address, the traceability of fundsAn outcome no provider controls, whatever is promised
The Federal Tax Authority
- Who may represent you before itIt publishes its accredited tax agents, so a claimed standing can be looked up
The Dubai Land Department
- Whether a named individual holds broker permissionsVerified against a named individual
ConsultZone
- Whether banks are currently comfortable with the structure you proposeTold to you before you form anything, and what specifically to change
- Which instrument makes a local element necessary, where one isNamed; and where it is not required, we say that too
- What drives a cost that is genuinely variableSaid rather than omitted; where there is no published figure, we say so
6. We will not take a file we cannot finish
Why it is tempting. Revenue now. The problem is discovered later, by somebody else, possibly by the client.
What it costs. A half-completed formation is worse than none. The fees are spent, the entity may exist in a state that has to be unwound, and the client has lost the weeks as well as the money.
If an activity cannot be licensed as described, if the structure cannot support the visa count, if the documents cannot be attested in time, we would rather decline at the start and say why.
7. We will not be vague to protect a sales call
Why it is tempting. It works. A page that answers the question fully removes the reason to phone. Vagueness is a lead-generation technique and the entire market uses it.
What it costs. You. Specifically, it costs you the ability to make a decision without buying advice first, which is the thing you actually needed.
Every service page on this site states where that service is the wrong purchase. Every free zone profile states what that zone is bad at, in its own column, given more visual weight than the strengths. That is not humility — it is the only way you can tell whether you are reading advice or a funnel.
8. We will not treat a filing deadline as flexible
Why it is tempting. Deadlines are inconvenient for a service business and the penalty lands on the client rather than the provider.
What it costs. Penalties, and the compounding kind of problem where a missed filing blocks a renewal, which blocks an establishment card, which blocks every residence permit attached to it.
Dates are set by the authority. We will tell you what yours are and we will not be relaxed about them — and because the penalty lands on the client rather than the provider, handing the work to a consultant does not hand over the liability.
| What stops, in order | What stops it | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| A penalty | The missed filing itself | The only one of these that is only money |
| The renewal | The same missed filing | Nothing above it clears until the filing is answered |
| The establishment card | The renewal | Not anything separate you did |
| Every residence permit attached to it | The establishment card | Every one of them, and the penalty lands on the client rather than the provider |
9. We will not keep your file hostage
Why it is tempting. A client who cannot easily move is a client who renews.
What it costs. Trust, correctly.
Your documents, your licence, your corporate records and your government account access are yours. At the end of an engagement you should be able to take them and go to anybody else, without a conversation about it. If any provider makes that difficult, that is the information you needed about them.
How to check any of this
These are checkable claims, and a values page that cannot be audited is the thing this page exists to replace.
Run those against us as readily as against anyone else. Two of them produce answers that cost us money, and that is the test of whether this page means anything.
Where these values make us the wrong firm
- You want to be agreed with. If the structure is decided and what you need is execution without commentary, our first conversation will be friction you are not buying anything from.
- You want the fastest possible licence and accept the consequences. That is a legitimate commercial choice. It is not the one this page describes, and providers who make it well exist.
- You need an arrangement whose purpose is that the real owner is not visible. We are not the firm, and under the current framework no properly supervised firm is.
- Price is the only variable you are optimising. Several of the refusals above cost money to honour. If none of them is worth paying for, you are paying us for something you do not value.
What to do next
Read a free zone profile on this site and find the limitations column — it is the dark one, and it is deliberately heavier than the strengths beside it. Then read a service page and find the section that says when not to buy it.
Nine refusals only make sense against what the firm is trying to do instead, which is set out in our mission: finishing a setup rather than selling a licence.
The other half of the argument is on our vision, which is about the rule changes a structure chosen today has to survive.
If that is the kind of advice you want, the rest follows. If it reads as insufficiently enthusiastic, that is useful information too, and no hard feelings.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hold you to the nine refusals on this page?
That is what they are written for, and each one is checkable against something other than our own description of ourselves. Read your licence and compare the activity on it with your last five invoices. The Federal Tax Authority publishes its accredited tax agents, so a claimed standing can be looked up. The Dubai Land Department verifies broker permissions against a named individual. Ask which quoted line items are variable and what drives them, in writing. Then ask what happens to your documents if you leave.
Why will you not promise me a bank account?
Because the decision is not ours to make. The bank decides after the company exists, on the activity, the ownership chain, the substance behind the address and the traceability of funds. A provider promising an outcome they do not control is either going to fail visibly or going to arrange something you would not have chosen. What we will do is tell you, before you form anything, whether the structure you are proposing is one banks are currently comfortable with — and if it is not, what specifically to change.
Do I still need a local partner holding 51% of my company?
For most activities, no. The mandatory local shareholding requirement was removed for most activities in 2020–21, so a 51% nominee arrangement sold today is frequently a paid answer to a problem that no longer exists. A local element is genuinely still required for the activities with strategic impact and for certain agency arrangements, and where that applies we will say so and name the instrument. Where it does not apply we will say that too, even though the honest answer removes a recurring fee from our own side of the ledger.
Why does the activity written on my licence matter so much?
Because it is the line everybody else reads later. An activity that does not explain the money moving through the account is one of the most common reasons a bank refuses an application, and the mismatch surfaces again if a large customer runs diligence, and again at any amendment. Putting it right means amending the licence, sometimes changing zone, and explaining to the bank why the first version said something else. It is the shortcut that does the most damage in this market, because the damage arrives months later and looks unrelated.
If a free zone pays you a commission, will you tell me?
Yes, and you are entitled to ask. Being an authorized channel partner of a free zone authority means a commercial relationship with that authority, and different zones are worth different amounts to us. The zone that pays best is not reliably the zone whose activity list covers your business, whose premises carry your visa count, or whose entities your bank is comfortable with. Ask why a particular zone was proposed and expect an answer in terms of your business rather than ours. If the answer is not in those terms, push.
Can I take my file and go somewhere else?
Yes. Your documents, your licence, your corporate records and your government account access are yours. At the end of an engagement you should be able to take them to anybody else, without a conversation about it, and a provider who makes that difficult has told you what you needed to know about them. For the same reason we would rather decline a file at the start, and say why, than take one we cannot finish and leave you holding a half-completed formation.
Begin with a clear conversation
Tell us what you intend to build.
A consultant will map the structure, jurisdiction, approvals and likely cost against what you actually described — not against a package.
