Precision-built corporate structures for entrepreneurs, families, and funds entering or operating from the UAE.
Start Your Setup →From entity selection to licence issuance, visa processing to bank account activation, we manage every phase of establishing your UAE presence.
We design multi-layered legal structures, trusts, foundations, and holding entities, that shield your wealth from litigation risk and political instability.
Launch your investment vehicle with regulatory precision. We guide fund managers through the licensing maze, from jurisdiction selection to post-licence compliance.
Second citizenship programmes, private banking introductions, family office structuring, and strategic advisory, all under one roof, all under strict confidence.
We analyse your objectives and long-term plans to recommend the optimal entity structure.
Complete residency process, medical, Emirates ID, visa stamping, and family sponsorship.
Bank-ready documentation and introductions to pre-vetted banking partners, UAE and international.
Licence renewals, visa management, regulatory filings, and strategic adjustments as you evolve.
One point of contact. Full project ownership. From first call to first transaction.
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Entity formation, licensing, visa processing, and banking, managed as one coordinated project, not four separate transactions.
Most firms handle one piece, the licence, the visa, or the bank account. We manage the entire setup as a single coordinated project: entity formation, licensing, visa processing, bank account activation, and ongoing compliance. One point of contact. One timeline. Nothing falls between providers.
We handle entity selection, jurisdiction assessment, and the full incorporation process, from initial application through licence issuance.
We manage the full UAE residency process, from entry permit through Emirates ID, coordinated around your travel schedule.
We prepare bank-ready documentation and introduce you to pre-vetted banking partners, handling all follow-ups until accounts are live.
Ongoing compliance management, licence renewals, regulatory filings, corporate governance, and audit coordination.
| Feature | Freezone | Mainland | Offshore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | 100% foreign | 100% foreign (most activities) | 100% foreign |
| Trade in UAE | Within zone / international | Unrestricted | No UAE trading |
| Physical office | Flexi-desk or office | Required (Ejari lease) | Not required |
| Visa allocation | Based on office size | Based on office size | No visa allocation |
| Corporate tax | 0% (qualifying) / 9% | 9% above AED 375K | 0% (qualifying) |
| Best for | International trade, specific activities | Local UAE market, government contracts | Holding, IP, asset protection |
| Setup time | 2-5 days | 5-15 days | 3-10 days |
We review your business activities, goals, and personal situation to determine the right structure.
Entity formation, licence application, and all government registrations managed end to end.
Entry permit, medical testing, Emirates ID, and visa stamping for you and your dependants.
Bank-ready documentation, introductions to banking partners, account opening support until live.
Ongoing licence renewals, regulatory filings, and compliance management.

Free initial consultation. We'll assess your situation and give you a clear picture of structure, timeline, and costs.
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Legal structures that protect what you've built, from litigation risk, political instability, forced heirship, and cross-border tax exposure.
Wealth preservation isn't a product, it's an architecture. We design multi-layered legal structures across multiple jurisdictions that protect your assets and give you control over how wealth is managed, transferred, and distributed across generations. Every structure is built around your specific family situation, asset profile, and long-term intentions.
Irrevocable and revocable trust structures in recognised jurisdictions, designed for asset protection, succession planning, and confidential wealth management.
When you need governance control over your trust without being the trustee, a PTC lets your family or advisors sit on the board while maintaining legal separation.
Foundations registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre, combining the flexibility of a trust with the legal personality of a company.
Multi-jurisdictional banking arrangements that support your wealth structure, private banking, custody, and investment accounts across established financial centres.
Business owners holding assets across multiple jurisdictions who need a coordinated holding and protection structure.
Families who want clear succession structures that avoid forced heirship and minimise transfer friction.
People moving to the UAE who want their existing wealth structures reviewed and adapted for their new tax residence.
Investors holding real estate, business interests, and financial assets across multiple countries and legal systems.
Detailed review of your current asset profile, family situation, jurisdictional exposures, and protection objectives.
We design a multi-layered structure using the appropriate combination of trusts, foundations, and holding entities.
Entity incorporation, document drafting, trustee and board appointments, and asset transfers.
Annual compliance, trustee coordination, regulatory reporting, and periodic structure reviews.

Every structure starts with understanding your situation. Initial consultation is free and confidential.
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Regulatory applications, fund structure design, compliance architecture, and post-licence operations, from first filing to first close.
We guide fund managers through the full licensing process across DIFC, ADGM, and VARA, from jurisdiction selection and structure design through regulatory submission, approval, and post-licence compliance. Every application is prepared to regulator standards, not general standards.
Full preparation of regulatory applications, business plans, compliance manuals, and all supporting documentation, aligned to the specific requirements of your chosen regulator.
We design fund structures optimised for your strategy, investor base, and regulatory environment, from open-ended vehicles to closed-end PE structures.
We build the compliance framework your fund needs to operate, AML policies, risk frameworks, reporting templates, and board governance structures.
For managers who need to move fast, we offer accelerated preparation and submission, leveraging established relationships and pre-built compliance frameworks.
Understand your investment strategy, target investor base, and regulatory preferences.
Select optimal jurisdiction and design fund vehicle aligned to strategy and regulation.
Prepare regulatory application, compliance framework, and all supporting documentation.
Submit application, manage regulator queries, clear conditions, and obtain licence.
Banking setup, service provider appointments, investor onboarding, and first close.

Start with a strategy conversation. We'll tell you which jurisdiction, structure, and timeline fits your situation.
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Citizenship programmes, private banking introductions, family office structuring, and strategic partnerships, handled under strict confidence.
Some things don't fit into a standard formation package. Second citizenship for families with geopolitical exposure. Private banking relationships that actually work. Family offices that need governance, not just an address. Strategic partnerships that require introductions at the right level. This is where we spend most of our senior advisory time.
We advise on citizenship and residency programmes across the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, helping you select, apply, and manage the process from documentation through approval.
High-level introductions to private banks, wealth managers, and financial institutions across established financial centres.
Establishment, governance, and operational advisory for single-family and multi-family offices, from entity setup through investment policy and staffing.
Introductions and facilitation for clients who need access to specific networks, service providers, or business relationships in the UAE and wider region.
Families from politically unstable regions who need mobility options and asset diversification.
Business owners who need banking, structuring, and introductions across multiple markets.
Families transitioning from informal wealth management to a structured family office.
International investors who need local partnerships and market access.
Senior professionals who need integrated formation, visa, banking, and wealth structuring.

Private client enquiries are handled directly by senior advisors. Tell us what you need.
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100% foreign ownership, zero personal income tax, fast incorporation, and access to world-class infrastructure, across 40+ UAE freezones.
Not all freezones are equal. Each has different activity lists, fee structures, visa allocations, and banking relationships. We assess your specific business activity, budget, visa requirements, and growth plans to recommend the zone that actually fits, not the one with the biggest marketing budget.
Full equity control and decision-making authority. No local partner or service agent required.
No personal income tax on salary, dividends, or capital gains in the UAE.
Some freezones offer incorporation in as little as 48 hours from document submission.
100% repatriation of profits and capital. No foreign exchange restrictions.
Purpose-built business parks, co-working spaces, warehouses, and logistics facilities.
Import/export capabilities, customs advantages, and double tax treaty access through UAE agreements.
Determine your business activities and match to the optimal freezone.
Entity name, shareholder structure, and activity selection.
Submit to the freezone authority, manage queries, obtain initial approval.
Payment, licence issuance, and establishment card.
Visa allocation, entry permits, medical, Emirates ID, and stamping.
Bank introduction, documentation, account opening, and activation.

We'll assess your activity, budget, and visa requirements and recommend the best-fit zone.
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Full access to the UAE domestic market, unrestricted trading, government contracts, and retail operations, with 100% foreign ownership for most activities.
Mainland companies can sell directly to anyone in the UAE, government, consumers, and other businesses, without the trading restrictions that apply to freezone entities. Since the 2021 ownership reforms, 100% foreign ownership is available for most activity types, making mainland formation the preferred choice for businesses targeting the local market.
Sell goods and services to any customer in the UAE, consumers, businesses, and government entities.
Only mainland companies can bid on UAE government contracts and tenders.
Most commercial and professional activities now allow 100% foreign ownership without a local partner.
A single mainland licence can cover multiple business activities across sectors.
Operate from anywhere in the emirate of registration. Open branches across all seven emirates.
Visa allocation based on office space, no artificial caps typical of some freezones.
Trading, general trading, import/export, retail, and e-commerce activities.
Consultancy, advisory, management, technical, and professional services.
Manufacturing, processing, assembly, and production activities.
Travel agencies, tour operators, hotel management, and tourism services.
Limited Liability Company, the standard mainland entity. 100% foreign ownership for most activities.
Single-owner entity for UAE/GCC nationals or where 100% ownership is needed under sole proprietor rules.
For professional services, legal, medical, engineering, and consulting practices.
Extension of an existing foreign or UAE company. No separate legal personality.
Determine business activities, licence category, and ownership structure.
DED initial approval, trade name reservation, and MOA preparation.
Office lease arrangement and Ejari registration.
Final approval, licence issuance, and establishment card.
Visa allocation, entry permits, medical, Emirates ID, and stamping.
Bank introduction, documentation, account opening, and activation.

We'll assess your activities, confirm ownership options, and manage the entire formation process.
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Holding structures, asset protection vehicles, and international structuring entities, formed in recognised UAE jurisdictions with full confidentiality.
UAE offshore companies are not tax-evasion tools, they're recognised legal vehicles for holding assets, IP, investments, and international trading. They provide legal separation between operating entities and asset ownership, succession planning for multi-jurisdictional families, and clean structuring for international business arrangements.
Full ownership and control without any local partner requirement.
0% corporate tax on qualifying income. No personal income tax for beneficial owners.
Legal separation between personal assets and business/investment holdings.
Shareholder and director details are not on public record in most offshore jurisdictions.
No physical office, no audit requirement (in most cases), minimal annual filing obligations.
UAE offshore companies are well-recognised by international banks and counterparties.
The most popular UAE offshore jurisdiction. Cost-effective, fast formation, and well-understood by banks.
Offshore entities within the Jebel Ali Free Zone. Useful for holding JAFZA operating companies.
Special Purpose Vehicles in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Best for fund structuring and sophisticated arrangements.
Offshore entity holds shares in one or more operating companies (freezone or mainland). Provides clean separation between ownership and operations.
Offshore company owns UAE property, used for succession planning, multi-owner arrangements, and separating property assets from operating risk.
Offshore entity owns intellectual property and licences it to operating entities. Provides asset protection and potentially favourable tax treatment on royalties.
Offshore company conducts international trade, buying from one jurisdiction and selling to another without physical presence in the UAE.
Cannot conduct business within the UAE mainland or freezones.
Cannot sponsor employee or investor residence visas.
Cannot lease office space or have a physical UAE presence.
Cannot enter into contracts for services performed within the UAE.
Activity scope is restricted to holding, international trading, and consultancy.

We'll assess your objectives, recommend the right jurisdiction, and manage the entire formation and banking process.
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Firswood Consultancy is a Dubai-based advisory practice serving international entrepreneurs, business owners, and families who need UAE corporate structures, wealth protection, and regulatory navigation, handled properly, under one roof.
Firswood started with a problem we kept seeing firsthand: clients on the ground in Dubai, dealing with three or four separate firms for their formation, visa, banking, and structuring needs, with nobody coordinating the pieces. The formation agent doesn't talk to the bank. The bank doesn't know about the holding structure the wealth advisor is building. The visa PRO doesn't know the timeline the formation agent promised. The client ends up as the project manager of their own setup, and things fall through the cracks.
We built Firswood to be the single point of coordination. Not a one-stop shop that does everything in-house, but a single advisory relationship that manages the entire process, bringing in specialist partners where needed and keeping every piece aligned to the same timeline and strategy.
Our team has direct experience across UAE freezone and mainland formations, wealth structuring, fund licensing, and private client advisory. We know which freezones have the best banking relationships, which mainland activities still require a local partner, how to structure a holding company that actually works with DIFC regulations, and how to prepare a banking application that doesn't get rejected on the first round.
We're selective about the engagements we take on. We'd rather do fewer things well than stretch across work we can't properly service. If something is outside our expertise, we say so and make an introduction to someone who can help.
You speak to the person doing the work, not a sales team. Questions get answered the same day, in plain language.
Every service we deliver is part of a single plan. Formation, visa, banking, and structuring are coordinated, not sold as separate line items.
If something won't work, we tell you before you spend money on it. If a different structure is better, we recommend it even if it means less work for us.
Private client work requires absolute discretion. We don't reference client names, publish case studies with identifying details, or discuss one client's affairs with another.
Formation is the beginning, not the end. Licence renewals, visa processing, bank account maintenance, compliance updates, we stay with the engagement as long as you need us.
Our office is in Dubai. We serve clients across all seven UAE emirates and work with international clients relocating from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Most initial consultations are conducted over video call. In-person meetings are arranged for clients in the UAE or visiting Dubai.

An initial consultation is free, confidential, and has no obligation attached. We'll listen to your situation and tell you honestly whether we can help.
Book a Consultation →An initial call is free, confidential, and has no obligation. We'll listen to your situation, give you an honest assessment, and tell you whether we're the right fit.
Fill in the form below and we'll get back to you within one business day.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
In-person meetings by appointment.
Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM GST