About UAE Roadmap

UAE Roadmap is an independent resource for founders, freelancers, and expats who want clear, practical information about living and working in the United Arab Emirates.

Why we built this

Setting up a business or moving to the UAE involves a lot of moving parts: choosing the right freezone, opening a corporate bank account, navigating visa requirements, registering for VAT, hiring staff under WPS. Most of the information online is either outdated, incomplete, or written by people trying to sell you something.

UAE Roadmap exists to fill that gap. Every guide is written to answer the questions we actually needed answers to: real costs, realistic timelines, honest trade-offs.

What we cover

• Business setup — mainland vs freezone, how to register, choosing a freezone, DMCC, DIFC, ADGM and more
• Banking — how to open a personal or corporate account, the best banks for expats, international transfers
• Residency visas — investor visa, golden visa, remote work visa, family sponsorship, Emirates ID
• Growing your business — VAT registration, corporate tax, hiring employees, WPS, accounting basics

Accuracy and updates

UAE regulations change. We update our guides when costs, rules, or processes change. Every article includes the date it was last reviewed.

Nothing on this site is legal or financial advice. For specific situations, speak to a licensed UAE consultant or legal professional.

Transparency

Some articles on UAE Roadmap include affiliate links — for example, links to Wise for international transfers. If you use one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only mention products we think are genuinely useful.

We also display Google AdSense ads to help cover the cost of running the site.

Get in touch

Found an error, or have a question we haven't answered? Contact us.