Company Formation in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC)
Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) stands as a focused free zone for health, wellness, and education. The authority builds a complete ecosystem around care delivery and life sciences. The zone starts in 2002 and grows with hospitals, clinics, labs, universities, wellness brands, tech firms, and support providers. The location sits near Oud Metha and Dubai Creek. The master plan covers two phases with medical, academic, and lifestyle clusters. A company that sets up here connects with a global patient base and a regional referral network.
A founder looks at DHCC for three reasons. The zone offers specialized regulation for healthcare quality. The zone grants fast access to approvals under a single roof. The zone surrounds a business with partners, suppliers, and talent. When you build in DHCC, you place your brand inside a recognized destination for trusted care. You anchor your growth inside a clear rulebook, strong infrastructure, and reliable government systems.
Mubarak Al Ketbi (MAK) Auditing helps investors plan the right legal form, license, and activity. Our team prepares every file with accuracy. Our team works with the authority with steady follow-through. Our team sets the finance and tax foundation that supports long operations.
Why Set Up in DHCC?
The free zone designs policy for clinical safety, commercial clarity, and patient trust. The benefits fit startups, medium clinics, and complex facilities.
- Focused regulator: The DHCC Authority (DHCA) aligns clinical rules, premises fit-out, and commercial licensing inside one framework.
- Specialized ecosystem: Hospitals, multi-specialty clinics, diagnostics, pharmacies, rehab centers, wellness brands, and academic partners sit side by side.
- Reputation halo: A DHCC address builds credibility with patients, insurers, and global referrals.
- Operational certainty: Clear checklists guide approvals, inspections, and renewals.
- Location advantage: The site links to Dubai Airport, key highways, hotels, and residential areas.
- Ownership and capital movement: Foreign owners keep 100% equity and repatriate capital and profit freely.
- Tax position: UAE corporate tax applies in line with federal rules; free-zone incentives can apply to eligible income if the entity meets qualifying criteria. There is no personal income tax.
- Talent access: The zone attracts licensed clinicians, administrators, and health technologists from many countries.
- Scalable real estate: You choose from clinics, day surgery centers, labs, offices, and teaching spaces.
What Activities Fit DHCC?
DHCC approves clinical and non-clinical activities. Your selection must match your service model and your premises type.
Clinical-related activities
- Hospitals and day surgery centers
- Outpatient clinics and polyclinics
- Dental clinics and oral surgery centers
- Diagnostic imaging and medical laboratories
- Pharmacies and pharmaceutical storage tied to care delivery
- Rehabilitation, physiotherapy, and allied health
- Complementary and alternative medicine within scope
Non-clinical activities
- Medical education, simulation, and training services
- Health technology, telehealth platforms, and digital records providers
- Healthcare consultancy and management advisory
- Medical equipment trading (retail/wholesale) within free-zone rules
- Healthcare event management, conferences, and exhibitions
- Wellness centers and preventive health programs
- Hospitality, F&B, and retail that support patient and visitor needs
A correct mapping between activity and license speeds approval. Mubarak Al Ketbi (MAK) Auditing prepares that mapping with care.
Legal Forms You Can Choose
The legal form defines governance and liability. DHCC recognizes:
- Free Zone Limited Liability Company (FZ-LLC): One or more shareholders; liability limited to paid-up capital.
- Branch of a UAE company: The branch mirrors the parent’s scope and brand.
- Branch of a foreign company: The branch operates under parent responsibility.
Each form needs a manager, a registered office, and compliance with the clinical or commercial rule set. We help you compare the options against your risk appetite and growth plan.
Legal Forms You Can Choose
The legal form defines governance and liability. DHCC recognizes:
- Free Zone Limited Liability Company (FZ-LLC): One or more shareholders; liability limited to paid-up capital.
- Branch of a UAE company: The branch mirrors the parent’s scope and brand.
- Branch of a foreign company: The branch operates under parent responsibility.
Each form needs a manager, a registered office, and compliance with the clinical or commercial rule set. We help you compare the options against your risk appetite and growth plan.
Documents You Will Prepare
A clean file avoids back-and-forth. The common items include:
- Passports and visa pages for shareholders, directors, and the manager
- Passport photos and specimen signatures
- Business plan with services, staffing, and financials
- Application forms (registration, licensing, and RIC forms)
- Lease reservation or term sheet for suitable premises
- For corporate shareholders: Certificate of Incorporation, MoA/AoA, Board Resolution, and Certificate of Good Standing
- For branches: Parent license, constitutional documents, board approval, and local legalization where needed
- NOC from a current UAE sponsor if the proposed manager holds a valid residence visa
We coordinate notarization and legalization where required and check every detail for consistency.
Step-by-Step: How Company Formation Works in DHCC
Follow a staged path. Keep every step documented.
- Define activity and legal form
You map services to clinical or non-clinical buckets and pick FZ-LLC or a branch. We confirm feasibility with the authority. - Name reservation and initial approval
You reserve a compliant name. You submit core documents for initial commercial clearance. Clinical applicants outline their care scope. - Premises selection and lease reservation
You select a unit that matches your activity (e.g., clinic, day surgery, lab). You secure a lease reservation to anchor further reviews. - Clinical concept review (if applicable)
Clinical entities submit staffing, equipment lists, infection control plans, and patient flows. Designs align with DHCC/DHA standards. - Commercial license issuance (provisional)
After document checks, the authority issues the commercial license (or a provisional stage) so you can proceed to fit-out and inspections. - Fit-out approval and construction
You appoint a design and fit-out firm. Drawings go for approval. Work proceeds under safety and facility guidelines. - Pre-inspection self-assessment
You complete checklists for clinical safety, equipment calibration, emergency routes, medication storage, and infection control. - Regulatory inspection
Inspectors verify rooms, utilities, signage, sterilization, waste segregation, and emergency supplies. Corrective notes get closed quickly. - Clinical operating permit
Once standards are met, the clinical permit is granted. You can now onboard staff and accept patients within the permitted scope. - Staff credentialing and visas
Clinicians obtain professional licenses through the regulator. Investors and staff obtain residence visas tied to the entity. - Banking, tax, and finance setup
You open a corporate bank account. You register for VAT where mandatory. You prepare corporate tax positions under UAE rules. Mubarak Al Ketbi (MAK) Auditing sets your chart of accounts, monthly close, and compliance calendar.
Premises in DHCC: Phase 1 and Phase 2
- Phase 1 (Oud Metha focus): A dense medical core with hospitals, clinics, diagnostics, education centers, and support offices. Patients find one district with many services.
- Phase 2 (Creek-side expansion): A health and wellness urban oasis with green corridors, academic links, and lifestyle integration. It favors preventive health, research, and new care models.
Real estate choices include fitted clinics, shell-and-core units, day surgery centers, office floors, and ground-floor retail. Long-term land leases may apply for custom medical complexes.
Costs and Budget Lines You Should Expect
Budgets vary by scope, specialty, and premises. A practical plan includes:
- Registration and license fees: Commercial and (if applicable) clinical permit fees, paid at stages.
- Fit-out and medical equipment: Largest line items for clinics, labs, and day surgery centers.
- Rent and service charges: Based on unit size, utilities, and concierge services.
- Insurance: Medical malpractice, general liability, property, and cyber where relevant.
- People costs: Clinicians, nurses, technicians, administrators, and PRO support.
- Technology: HIS/EMR, PACS, LIS, cyber security, and backup systems.
- Compliance operations: Calibration, biomedical maintenance, sterilization, waste management, staff training, and infection control audits.
- Finance and tax: Bookkeeping, VAT filing, corporate tax compliance, and annual audit.
We prepare a cash-flow model with assumptions for patient volumes and payer mix, so you avoid optimism bias.
Quality, Safety, and Data Governance
Health entities protect patients through strong systems. You set up:
- Clinical governance: Credentialing, privileging, M&M reviews, and pathways for escalation.
- Policies and SOPs: Triage, medication safety, infection prevention, radiation safety, consent, and privacy.
- Data handling: Access control, encryption at rest and in transit, audit logs, and retention under UAE rules.
- Emergency readiness: Code blue carts, drills, and maintenance of critical equipment.
- Continuous improvement: KPIs, incident reporting, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.
We align documents with inspection checklists to shorten the final mile.
Market Access and Mainland Interface
A DHCC company may serve medical tourists, insured residents, and corporate clients. For product trading into the wider UAE, you coordinate with a mainland distributor or create a mainland arm where needed. Customs duties apply when goods move to the mainland. For clinical referrals, you sign MOUs with hospitals and insurers to streamline authorizations and payments.
Banking, Billing, and Revenue Cycle
Your bank onboarding needs clear KYC packs: license, MoA/AoA, board resolutions, passport copies, and lease. Your billing cycle sets charge masters, payer tariffs, coding standards, and denial management rules. You train staff to verify eligibility, obtain pre-authorizations, and collect deductibles. A clean revenue cycle keeps cash predictable and audits smooth.
Post-Incorporation Compliance Checklist
- Renew commercial license and, if applicable, clinical operating permit on time
- Maintain professional licenses and CPD hours for clinicians
- File VAT returns where registered and retain tax invoices and reconciliations
- Prepare corporate tax computations and maintain substance evidence
- Close monthly books; prepare annual IFRS financial statements
- Undergo annual audit; close management letters with corrective steps
- Update UBO registers and any ESR notifications if relevant
- Test emergency procedures and refresh staff training calendars
Mubarak Al Ketbi (MAK) Auditing manages calendars, filings, and audit readiness so your team focuses on patient care.
How We Compare Legal Forms and Risk
| Topic | FZ-LLC | UAE Branch | Foreign Branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liability | Limited to capital | Parent assumes | Parent assumes |
| Branding | New or group brand | Parent brand | Parent brand |
| Speed | Fast | Fast | Depends on legalization |
| Banking | Full | Full | Full with enhanced KYC |
| Use case | New platform or JV | Existing UAE group | Global brand entry |
We score each option against cost, control, speed, and scale. We then propose a path that fits your specialty, payer targets, and future expansion.
Common Pitfalls and How We Avoid Them
- Activity mismatch: We align activity codes and premises use.
- Under-sized premises: We check room sizes, flows, and technical clearances early.
- Late equipment orders: We create a procurement timeline tied to fit-out milestones.
- Incomplete clinical policies: We provide SOP templates tailored to your scope.
- Weak revenue cycle: We design eligibility checks, coding standards, and denial follow-up.
- Loose financial controls: We set approval matrices, petty cash rules, and bank reconciliations.
A careful plan prevents rework and launch delays.
What We Can Help With (Mubarak Al Ketbi (MAK) Auditing)
We guide founders from idea to inspection pass. We write clean applications. We coordinate with architects and engineers. We align finance with regulation. We keep your files on time.
Our support includes:
- Strategy for activity, entity, and license
- Document drafting, legalization, and submission
- Premises suitability review and fit-out coordination
- Clinical policy packs and inspection preparation
- Banking, VAT, and corporate tax registrations
- Bookkeeping, management reports, and annual audit
- Renewal reminders and regulatory updates
We like to say one idiom in closing: a stitch in time saves nine. We fix small gaps early, so you avoid big problems later.
For more information (visit or contact)
- Visit our office: Saraya Avenue Building – Office M-06, Block/A, Al Garhoud – Dubai – United Arab Emirates
- Contact / WhatsApp: +971 50 276 2132
- Geo-coordinates: 25.2807189480206, 55.41846458517048
