Free zones

Dubai Internet City company setup

Dubai Internet City is the region’s original technology cluster and remains its densest. The neighbours are the Middle East offices of the world’s largest software and hardware companies, and the surrounding TECOM community includes accelerators, venture funds and a genuine hiring pool. You are buying proximity as much as a licence.

From AED 20,000 (typical)

Indicative first-year licence

By office package

Residence visa allocation

Al Sufouh, TECOM

Location in Dubai

DIC at a glance

The technology cluster, with the ecosystem to match

Who DIC suits:

What DIC does well

What to watch

Activities

Commonly licensed in DIC

Not seeing your activity? The catalogue is far longer than this. Describe what you do in one sentence and we will find the code — or tell you honestly that another zone licenses it better.

Process

How a DIC setup runs

Activity and package selection

We match your activities to the DIC catalogue and pick the package tier that carries the visa quota you will need in eighteen months, not today.

Name reservation and application

Three ranked name options are screened and submitted with your incorporation application and shareholder documents.

Licence issuance

The authority issues the licence, share certificate and incorporation documents. Standard activities typically clear within three to ten working days.

Establishment card and visas

We open the immigration file, apply for entry permits, and run medicals, Emirates ID and stamping for each applicant.

Banking and tax registration

Corporate bank introduction with a prepared KYC pack, then Federal Tax Authority corporate tax registration and VAT where thresholds apply.

Questions

DIC questions

Is Dubai Internet City worth the premium over IFZA?

If you are hiring technical staff, raising capital, or selling enterprise software to regional corporates, the ecosystem and the address earn their keep. If you are a two-person development shop invoicing overseas clients, a generalist zone does the same job for less.

Can a non-technology business license in DIC?

The activity catalogue is deliberately technology-centric. Support services connected to the technology sector are usually accommodated, but general trading and unrelated activities belong elsewhere.

How long does setup in DIC take?

For standard, non-regulated activities with complete documents, expect the licence within three to ten working days. Residence visas add a further two to four weeks after issuance, and corporate bank account opening runs three to eight weeks in parallel. Regulated activities requiring external approval take longer, and we tell you how much longer before you commit.

Can Emirates Business Lounge handle a DIC setup end to end?

Yes. We handle the activity selection, name reservation, application, licence issuance, establishment and immigration cards, residence visas, corporate bank introduction, and the corporate tax and VAT registrations that follow. You get one point of contact and one itemised quote covering all of it.

Free consultation

Thinking about DIC?

We will price it properly — licence, visas, office format and the renewal figure for year two — and tell you if another zone would serve you better for less.

+971 52 222 2594

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B1 Mall, Shop 3, Opposite Mall of the Emirates