Government paperwork, handled. Without the flights.
"PRO" is UAE terminology, not the UK meaning of "PR": a Public Relations Officer handles government document processing, attestations, licence renewals and visa paperwork on a company's behalf, including the in-person office visits most of it still requires. For a UK director running the business remotely, that's the part worth outsourcing first.
On Your Behalf
Most of this still needs a desk,
a queue, and a working day in Dubai.
In-person by design
Attestations, certain renewals and some visa steps still require a physical visit to a specific government office, not a portal upload.
Renewal dates that slip
Trade licences and visas run on fixed annual cycles. Missed from the UK, a lapsed renewal can stop a company trading until it's fixed.
UAE working hours only
Government offices run on Gulf working hours and their own queue times, awkward to coordinate from a UK time zone alongside everything else.
The government-facing paperwork, taken off your plate
Document attestation
Legalising UK-issued documents (degrees, marriage certificates, powers of attorney) for UAE government acceptance.
Licence renewals
Annual trade licence renewal, tracked and filed ahead of the deadline rather than after a reminder email.
Visa paperwork
The government-side submission and follow-up for residency visa and Emirates ID applications.
Regulatory filings
Labour and immigration filings tied to your licence, kept current as the rules or your headcount change.
Government liaison
A single point of contact who deals directly with the relevant authority, rather than you tracking down the right department.
Status tracking
Clear visibility on where every submission stands, so nothing sits unresolved in a government queue unnoticed.
How PRO support runs
A straightforward hand-off, whether it's a one-off attestation or ongoing renewal management.
Scope Agreed
We confirm exactly which documents, filings or renewals need handling.
Document Collection
You send what you have; we tell you plainly if anything else is required.
Submission & Follow-Up
We attend the relevant government office and track the submission to completion.
Confirmation
You receive the completed, attested or renewed documents, with nothing left open.
"PRO" isn't a UK term, so here's what it means
In the UK, "PR" usually means press or media relations. In the UAE, a "PRO" (Public Relations Officer) is something different entirely: the person or service that handles a company's government paperwork and liaison, from document attestation to licence renewals to visa submissions.
Every UAE company, freezone or mainland, deals with multiple government authorities across its lifetime: immigration, labour, the licensing authority itself, and others depending on activity. A PRO service is the layer that deals with those authorities directly, so a director doesn't have to work out which department handles what, or fly out for a queue that could be handled on their behalf.
For a UK director who isn't based in the UAE full-time, this is usually the least visible but most time-consuming part of running a UAE company: not the strategic decisions, just the sheer volume of government-facing admin that has to happen somewhere.
What a PRO service actually handles, and what we need from you
What a PRO typically handles for you
- Legalising UK-issued documents (degree certificates, marriage certificates, powers of attorney) for UAE government acceptance.
- Filing and paying trade licence renewals ahead of the annual deadline.
- Submitting and tracking visa and Emirates ID government-side paperwork.
- Labour and immigration filings tied to your licence, kept current as headcount or rules change.
- Registered-agent correspondence with the licensing authority on your behalf.
- Establishment card and immigration file updates when company details change.
What we'll need from you to get started
- Original or certified copies of any document that needs attestation or legalising.
- Passport and Emirates ID copies for anyone the filing concerns.
- A copy of your trade licence and, where relevant, your MOA/AOA.
- Any renewal notices or government correspondence you've already received.
- A signed authorisation letting us act on your behalf with the relevant authority.
A closer look at how a typical request runs
Using a document attestation or renewal as the example, since it's the most common PRO request from UK directors.
Scope agreed
Same dayWe confirm which documents, filings or renewals are in scope, and which government authority each one actually needs to go through.
Common snag: Directors often assume one request means one office. In practice a single task can touch two or three separate authorities, which we map out up front so the timeline isn't a surprise.
Document collection
A few working daysYou send what you already have, and we tell you plainly if something (an original, a certified copy, a translation) is missing before anything is submitted.
Common snag: The most common delay here is a UK-issued document sent as a scan when the receiving authority requires a sealed original or certified copy.
Legalisation & attestation, where required
Varies by documentUK-issued documents generally need legalising in the UK before UAE authorities will accept them, then attested again once they arrive. We manage this chain rather than leaving you to work out the order.
Common snag: Skipping a step in the chain, or getting the order wrong, is the single most common reason an attestation gets rejected and has to restart.
Submission & follow-up
Tracked to completionWe attend the relevant government office, submit the file, and follow up until it's resolved rather than letting it sit unresolved in a queue.
Common snag: Renewals and filings left unchased from the UK are the most common cause of a lapsed licence or visa we see among directors who try to manage this alone.
Confirmation
On completionYou receive the completed, attested or renewed documents, and we note the next renewal date so it doesn't catch you out a year from now.
Common snag: Directors who handle this themselves often lose track of the next deadline the moment the current one is resolved. We flag it ahead of time instead.
What PRO service isn't
PRO service is deliberately just the government-liaison and paperwork layer, not the underlying decisions. It won't choose your licence category, tax structure or business activity for you; if any of those still need deciding, that's a company-structuring conversation first, and PRO support follows once the shape of your company is settled.
It's also not necessarily a permanent fixture. Some directors who relocate personally and grow a UAE-based team eventually build the function in-house rather than keeping it outsourced. We're upfront when a client's headcount has reached the point where that switch is worth considering, rather than keeping the retainer running past the point it earns its cost.
Sufyan Ali, Finance Director · Muhammad Usman Rafiq, Senior Accountant
Every engagement is personally overseen by a senior member of our Dubai-based team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related to your Dubai setup
Part of the wider company setup process most UK directors need help with.
Let someone else queue for it.
Tell us what needs attesting, renewing or filing, and we'll tell you honestly what it takes.
Get PRO Support