Corporate Mobility / United Arab Emirates / Route
United Arab Emirates · Investment route
Set up a Dubai free zone company and sponsor yourself, your staff and your family for UAE residence, with government fees, free zone charges and the corporate tax rules set out separately.
Last updated: 2026-10-01
Programme overviewنظرة عامة
Advising UAE-based founders and companies on business immigration from our Dubai office.
Overview
A Dubai free zone company is licensed by a free zone authority rather than by Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism. It can be wholly foreign-owned, and once it holds an establishment card it can sponsor residence permits for its owners, its employees and their families.
Three questions decide whether a free zone suits you: what the set-up will actually cost, which residence route you qualify for, and whether your income can benefit from the free zone corporate tax regime. This page answers each one.
What it costs: three separate layers
Set-up costs in the UAE fall into three layers, and it pays to keep them apart:
- Government immigration fees, charged by GDRFA Dubai and the federal ICP. These are small and published.
- Free zone charges, set by each free zone authority for licensing, registration and its own services.
- Professional and service fees: company formation support, PRO services and advice. These are not government fees.
At a glanceلمحة
Key highlights
- ✦Free zone company formation
- ✦2-year employee residence
- ✦5-year Green Residence from AED 1,000,000
- ✦Corporate tax: 0% to AED 375,000, then 9%
What you getالمزايا
Full foreign ownership of the free zone company.
Sponsor yourself, your employees and your family for UAE residence through the company.
2-year renewable residence for employees; 5-year Green Residence for investors contributing at least AED 1,000,000.
No personal income tax in the UAE; corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000.
0% corporate tax on Qualifying Income for companies that meet the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions.
Investment & costsالتكاليف
Qualifying investment
DMCC free zone charge: application
At set-up
DMCC free zone charge: new company registration
At set-up
DMCC free zone charge: articles of association
At set-up
DMCC free zone charge: standard trading or service licence
Per year
DMCC free zone charge: general trading licence
Per year
DMCC free zone charge: establishment card
Per year
DMCC free zone charge: employment residence permit package (2 years, new, applicant outside the UAE)
Per employee
DMCC free zone charge: Emirates ID typing (1 year)
Per resident
DMCC free zone charge: Emirates ID typing (2 years)
Per resident
DMCC free zone charge: visa quota increase, per visa
Plus AED 250 per request
Government & due-diligence fees
Figures are indicative and exclusive of professional fees. Your advisor confirms an exact, written cost breakdown for your family size.
Eligibilityالأهلية
Requirements
A business activity licensed by the free zone authority.
Shareholder and director KYC: passport, proof of address and any documents the free zone requires.
An office or flexi-desk arrangement the free zone accepts.
An active establishment card to sponsor residence permits.
Medical fitness test and Emirates ID biometrics for each resident.
Who cannot apply
An activity the free zone does not license, or one needing approvals that have not been obtained.
Incomplete or unattested KYC documents.
An expired trade licence or establishment card.
The processكيف نعمل
Choose activity and free zone
Match your activity, customers and budget to a free zone, comparing published charges where they exist.
Licence and incorporation
Submit KYC and constitutional documents; the free zone issues the trade licence.
Establishment card
Register the company for immigration so it can sponsor residence permits.
Entry permit or status change
GDRFA entry permit (AED 200 plus VAT), or status change inside the UAE (AED 500 plus AED 20).
Medical test and Emirates ID
Complete the medical fitness test and Emirates ID biometrics.
Residence permit
GDRFA issues a 2-year residence permit; processing takes 48 hours.
Family and tax set-up
Sponsor family once the salary test is met, and put corporate tax compliance in place.
Document checklistالوثائق
Shareholders and directors
- ✦Passport copies
- ✦Proof of residential address
- ✦Any KYC or source-of-funds documents the free zone requests
The company
- ✦Business activity description or business plan, where the free zone requires it
- ✦Constitutional documents for any corporate shareholder
Residence and family
- ✦Passport photographs
- ✦Medical fitness test
- ✦Emirates ID biometrics
- ✦Tenancy contract, if you rely on accommodation for the family salary test
Your XIPHIAS advisor prepares a personalised document list at onboarding. The checklist above is indicative and may vary by family size.
Sponsorship & salary rulesالرواتب
Salary to sponsor family
Per month. One test covering a spouse and children.
Salary to sponsor family, with accommodation
Per month, where accommodation is provided.
Investor contribution for 5-year Green Residence
In cash or its equivalent in foreign currency (ICP).
- ✦Sponsored employees receive 2-year residence, renewable.
- ✦All residence permits for the company are issued under its establishment card.
- ✦Each free zone sets its own visa quota and prices increases; DMCC charges AED 500 per additional visa plus AED 250 per request.
- ✦Family members over 18 must pass a medical fitness test.
Free zone comparisonالمناطق الحرة
GDRFA Dubai
- ✦Issues entry permits, residence permits and status changes in Dubai.
- ✦Private-sector residence permits are valid for 2 years; processing takes 48 hours.
ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security)
- ✦Federal establishment card: AED 300, plus the AED 2,000 e-system subscription.
- ✦Green Residence (5 years) for investors contributing at least AED 1,000,000.
DMCC
- ✦Publishes its full schedule of charges.
- ✦Issues its own establishment card at AED 1,825 a year.
Meydan Free Zone
- ✦Publishes "from" pricing, with licences from AED 12,500.
Federal Tax Authority
- ✦Administers corporate tax, including the Qualifying Free Zone Person regime.
Risk notes
0% corporate tax in a free zone is not automatic. It applies only to the Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; everything else is taxed at 9%.
Transactions with natural persons are an excluded activity, so a consultancy selling to individuals or to mainland UAE customers will generally not have Qualifying Income.
Breaching the conditions loses the regime for the current tax period and the following four.
Small Business Relief applies only to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, and is not available to Qualifying Free Zone Persons.
UAE residence does not by itself end Indian tax residence. Take Indian tax advice before relocating.
Compliance
Government immigration fees (GDRFA and ICP) are small and published. Free zone charges are set by each authority: DMCC publishes a full schedule; Meydan publishes "from" pricing; IFZA, DAFZA, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai South do not publish public schedules.
Medical fitness and Emirates ID fees are charged separately; XIPHIAS confirms them for your file.
Qualifying Free Zone Person de minimis test: non-qualifying revenue must not exceed 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower.
If a residence permit is cancelled, ICP allows a grace period of 30 days as standard, 60 days where there is a guarantor or host, 90 days for skilled workers at levels 1 to 3 and for property owners, and 180 days for Golden and Green residence holders and their families. Overstaying costs AED 50 per day.
Questionsأسئلة شائعة
This route, answered.
There is no single government price. Government immigration fees are small: a GDRFA residence permit is AED 200 and a status change AED 500, plus small add-ons. Free zone charges are set by each authority. DMCC publishes AED 1,015 for the application, AED 9,000 for registration and AED 2,020 for the articles of association, then AED 20,265 a year for a standard licence. Meydan Free Zone publishes licences from AED 12,500.
Start the United Arab Emirates route.
A senior advisor will confirm the exact costs, timeline and documents for your case — privately, and entirely off the record.