CASE 59 · SETUP INVESTIGATION

HR Consultancy vs Recruitment Brokerage

An anonymized founder wanted to operate in the HR sector and needed to understand whether advisory work and labour recruitment could be placed under one activity.

HR & Recruitment

Activities & licensing scope

Advisory and recruitment are alternatives with different permissions. The HR consultancy description does not authorise recruitment brokerage.

Activity 7020008 · Dubai mainland · DET reference

Human Resource Consultants.

Activity description

Includes studying the functional technical, psychological or behavioral problems facing the employee, diagnosing problems and providing solutions, including preparing reports, advice, designing professional and administrative programs and proposing the training that helps overcoming problems and enhancing performance, the manager must have a Bachelor degree in human resources management or business administration, along with three years hands-on experience

Find this activity in the directory

Activity 7810001 · Dubai mainland · DET reference

Labor Recruitment Brokerage Office Services

Activity description

Includes recruitment offices specialized in bringing in manpower for companies, establishments and individuals and assuming necessary procedures for having their visas issued.

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The decision in one sentence

HR advice and employment brokerage are different functions even when the brand sounds similar.

Read the requirement, the constraint and the proposed route together. The value of this case is the reasoning behind the setup, rather than an activity name in isolation.

YOUR SETUP ROADMAP / DUBAI MAINLAND

A clear route.
From first call to first sale.

Four phases, 9 checkpoints. See the route at a glance, then open a checkpoint for the work, owner and timing. Daily updates continue during active work.

ROUTE OVERVIEW

01
Plan
Confirm the route and open your file.
1. CHECKPOINT 01Choose the routeDay 1
  Activity, legal form and Dubai mainland
  Owner / You and Vantablack
2. CHECKPOINT 02Your file opensWithin 1 working day of payment
  Named team, checklist and your project timeline
  Owner / Vantablack
02
Prepare
Documents and activity checks.
1. CHECKPOINT 03Documents and checksBefore submission
  Passports, KYC and anything the activity needs
  Owner / You, checked by Vantablack
2. CHECKPOINT 04Name and initial approvalWithin 2 working days of complete documents
  Submitted to the Department of Economy and Tourism
  Owner / Vantablack, then the authority
03
Launch
Premises and the licence decision.
1. CHECKPOINT 05PremisesBefore the licence
  Ejari for a dedicated office or an eligible virtual office
  Owner / You and Vantablack
2. CHECKPOINT 06Licence issuedThe authority sets the date
  Your company exists; documents in your workspace
  Owner / The authority
04
Operate
Follow-on work in your agreed scope.
1. CHECKPOINT 07Establishment card, visas, Emirates IDAfter the licence
  Immigration file for you and your team
  Owner / Vantablack PRO team
2. CHECKPOINT 08Bank account and taxAfter the licence
  Bank application, VAT and Corporate Tax registration
  Owner / Vantablack and the bank
3. CHECKPOINT 09Start sellingFrom the first week after the licence
  List your services on the Ecosystem and receive requests
  Owner / You, on Vantablack

Time markers are our service standards; authority steps follow the authority’s own timeline, and approvals are the authority’s decision. Your accepted quote confirms which post-licence services are included. Sales depend on licensing, approvals and demand.

THE STRUCTURE BEHIND THE SOLUTION

Follow the connected route.

Select a point to read the reasoning.

Business objective

01 Business objective An anonymized founder wanted to operate in the HR sector and needed to understand whether advisory work and labour recruitment could be placed under one activity.

An anonymized founder wanted to operate in the HR sector and needed to understand whether advisory work and labour recruitment could be placed under one activity.

The source material draws a sharp boundary. Human Resources Consultancies 7020008 covers diagnosing employee/workforce problems, reports, advice, professional programs and training recommendations, but expressly does not allow labour recruitment or employment brokerage.

The investigation treated the business model as a choice of regulated function rather than a branding decision: advisory-only work follows the HR consultancy route; manpower sourcing requires the recruitment-brokerage route and its own compliance obligations.

Two activities can sound commercially related while being legally different businesses. We use the operating workflow — not the company’s marketing title — to determine what must be licensed.

INDICATIVE SETUP COSTS

Your setup breakdown

Priced items subtotalAED 21,700

Dubai mainland · eligible virtual-office example

Trade name and initial approvalAED 1,200 approx.

Virtual-office providerAED 3,500 approx.

Licence planning allowanceAED 12,000 approx.

Vantablack service feeAED 5,000

Indicative amounts only. Costs not priced here are excluded and confirmed in your quotation.

Basic Setup · One year of support

Included services & scope

Included in the service fee

Company-formation coordination, a dedicated Account Manager and PRO, bank-account setup assistance, Corporate Tax registration and eligible virtual-office sourcing. Delivery follows your accepted quotation.

Authority charges

Quoted separately at actual cost. Licence, visa and applicable approval charges are itemised before you commit.

Premises and providers

Rent, office-provider charges, deposits, fit-out and other third-party services are separate where required.

Price basis

Founder-provided Dubai mainland planning allowances: approximately AED 1,200 initial application and AED 12,000 licence. Provider fees, market fees and approvals are separate where shown. Virtual-office eligibility must be confirmed; required operating premises cannot be replaced by a virtual address.

Scope of this breakdown

HR advisory setup only; recruitment and employment brokerage require a separate scope.

Indicative planning breakdown, not a historical client invoice. The subtotal excludes items awaiting quotation. Approval decisions remain with the relevant authority.

Your full cost is itemised in the written quotation.

Request an itemised quote View package inclusions

Premises & indicative budget

Virtual office: only if eligible

First check the exact activity, licensing route, operating model and authority conditions. Virtual-office eligibility must be confirmed for your setup; it is not established by this case study. For an eligible Dubai mainland setup, our indicative planning example is AED 1,200 for trade-name reservation and initial approval, AED 3,500 for a virtual-office provider, and AED 12,000 for the licence: approximately AED 16,700 before Vantablack service fees. These are Vantablack planning estimates dated 20 October 2026, not official tariffs or costs recorded for this case. Provider tax, visas, immigration and labour files, external approvals and other scope-specific costs are separate where applicable.

Dedicated office, shop or warehouse

Where dedicated premises are required, replace the virtual-office allowance with the actual office, shop, warehouse or other suitable lease cost. Our planning allowance for the licence is AED 12,000 plus a market fee estimated at 5% of the annual lease value, subject to the authority assessment; the initial application allowance remains AED 1,200. Fit-out, deposits, inspections and activity-specific approvals may add costs. Your written quotation and actual authority voucher determine the payable amounts.

Planning guidance for a new enquiry, not a statement of this client’s costs or completed approvals. Basic and Advanced Setup include virtual-office sourcing and coordination where eligible; office-provider charges are separate.

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Apply this to your business

Is the company advising on HR, recruiting or supplying workers?

Why this matters

Related commercial labels can describe different regulated functions. Identify who employs the worker and what the client is paying the company to do.

What could change the answer?

Moving from HR advice to recruitment or worker supply requires a new review; a consultancy label does not authorise the additional function.

Check these details first

Advice versus recruitment, mediation or worker supply
Employment and customer contract responsibilities
Regulator eligibility and financial conditions
Premises, accommodation and operating obligations where applicable

Choose your next step

Understand the decision ↗Understand what to check before choosing a setup option.Compare cases with this decision ↗See how different business facts change the approach to a similar question.Check relevant activities ↗Read the activity description. A listing does not mean your business is approved.Plan my business setup ↗Answer questions about your own business to prepare for a consultation.