Typical free zone licence issuance
Available in free zones and most mainland activities
Licence, visas, bank account and tax
| Mainland | Free zone | Offshore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign ownership | 100% on most activities | 100% always | 100% always |
| Sell inside the UAE | Direct, no restriction | Via distributor, customs or dual licence | Not permitted |
| Residence visas | Quota scales with office space | Fixed by package, typically 0–6 | None |
| Office requirement | Ejari tenancy required | Flexi-desk usually included | Registered agent address only |
| Typical first-year cost | AED 30,000–55,000 | AED 12,500–30,000 | AED 12,000–20,000 |
| Corporate tax | 9% above AED 375,000 | 9%, or 0% on qualifying income if conditions met | Generally outside scope; depends on activity |
| Audited accounts | Required for many activities | Required by some zones | Usually not required |
| Best suited to | Retail, F&B, contracting, government supply | Consulting, e-commerce, trading, holding | Asset and share holding |
Cost ranges are first-year indicative totals including government fees, a basic office option and one visa where applicable. Your figure depends on activity count, authority and office format.
Free zone is cheaper to start and usually cheaper to run, because the licence fee bundles a flexi-desk and you avoid a commercial tenancy. Mainland becomes competitive once you need more than four or five visas, because mainland visa quotas scale with office square metres rather than being capped by a package. The break-even point is usually somewhere between three and six employees.
Directly, no — a free zone licence authorises you to trade within your zone and internationally. To sell goods into the UAE mainland you either appoint a mainland distributor, pay customs duty on import, or obtain a dual licence where the free zone offers one. Services are more nuanced: many free zone consultancies invoice mainland clients without issue, but this is a practical tolerance rather than a blanket permission, and it varies by activity. Ask us about your specific case.
For most Dubai mainland LLCs there is no mandated minimum paid-up capital; you declare a share capital in the memorandum, commonly AED 100,000 to AED 300,000, without depositing it. Free zones differ: some require no capital, some ask for AED 50,000 declared, and a few — notably DIFC and regulated activities — require genuinely deposited and verified capital. The declared figure can affect how banks read your file, so choose it deliberately.
Not necessarily. Many free zones complete incorporation remotely with notarised and attested documents or a digital signature. Mainland incorporation and almost all bank account openings do require at least one visit, and the residence visa process requires you to be physically present for the medical test and Emirates ID biometrics. We sequence the file so you make one trip, not three.
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