PRO Services in Dubai and the UAE
The government errands that eat a working week every year, handled by people who already know the counter.
PRO work is the ongoing part of running a UAE company: renewing the licence before it lapses, renewing visas before employees become illegal residents, amending the activity list when the business changes, and processing the Emirates IDs, labour cards and attestations that sit behind all of it.
It is unglamorous and entirely deadline-driven. Miss a licence renewal and you are paying fines and blocked from immigration transactions. That is the actual reason companies outsource it.
What we handle
Trade licence renewals and amendments, activity additions and removals, shareholder and manager changes, and MoA amendments with notarisation.
Immigration and labour: entry permits, status changes, medical fitness, Emirates ID applications and renewals, visa stamping, cancellations, labour contracts and establishment card renewals.
Documents: MOFA attestation, embassy attestation, notarisation, certified legal translation into Arabic, and company stamps.
Compliance registrations: VAT and corporate tax registration, and the periodic filings that follow.
In-house PRO versus outsourced
A full-time PRO costs a salary, a visa, transport and downtime between tasks. Most SMEs simply do not have enough monthly volume to justify one, and end up with an employee doing an administrator's job three days a week.
Outsourcing turns it into a per-transaction or retainer cost with no headcount. It also means the person walking into the immigration centre does that every day, which is the difference between a file being accepted and a file being returned.
Renewal deadlines that catch people out
Trade licence renewal falls annually and late renewal carries escalating fines, plus a block on immigration transactions until it is cleared.
Residence visas run two or three years depending on type, and an employee whose visa has expired cannot legally work. Emirates ID renewal is separate from visa renewal and often forgotten.
Establishment card and e-channel renewals gate every other immigration transaction, so an expired card stops new visas dead. We track all of these and act before the deadline rather than after the fine.
How we work
On retainer, we hold your renewal calendar and simply get on with it, invoicing government fees at cost with our fee agreed up front. Per transaction, you call when something comes up and we quote before starting.
Either way you get the government receipt for every fee paid, so you can see what went to the authority and what came to us.
PRO Services: common questions
What does PRO stand for in the UAE?
Public Relations Officer. In practice it means the person or firm that handles a company's government transactions: licensing, immigration, labour and document attestation.
How much do PRO services cost in Dubai?
Either a monthly retainer covering an agreed scope, or per transaction. Government fees are always separate and charged at cost with the receipt provided. We quote the service fee before starting work.
What happens if my trade licence expires?
Fines accrue and immigration transactions are blocked, so you cannot issue or renew visas until it is cleared. Prolonged non-renewal can lead to the licence being cancelled and the company blacklisted.
Do you handle document attestation and legal translation?
Yes. MOFA and embassy attestation, notarisation, and certified Arabic legal translation accepted by UAE courts, ministries and government authorities.
Ready to start your UAE business?
Book a free consultation and get a clear, costed plan for your licence, visas and bank account, with no obligation.