How can I start a business in the UAE as a foreigner?

Foreigners can and routinely do start businesses in the UAE, either on the mainland or within a free zone. The first decisions are your jurisdiction (mainland vs a specific free zone), your business activity, and your legal structure such as an LLC. On the mainland, companies are licensed by the emirate's economic department under the UAE Commercial Companies Law, and recent reforms have opened many activities to full foreign ownership, removing the previous requirement for an Emirati partner in those cases. Free zones have long allowed full foreign ownership and run their own licensing through each free zone authority. The general path is: pick the activity and jurisdiction, choose the structure, reserve a trade name, obtain approvals, secure premises, and collect the licence, after which you can apply for residence visas. Because eligibility, ownership rules, and required approvals depend on the activity, confirm specifics with the licensing authority. You can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI to help choose a structure and review documents.