Last updated
The cheapest freelance visa UAE free zones publish is Expo City Dubai's Expo Freelance: AED 9,000 for one year, with the freelance permit, the company card and a residence visa in one price. If your work does not fit a freelance permit, the next cheapest route is a one-person company with a visa, from AED 10,800 at Ajman NuVentures. Health insurance and some medical and status-change fees still come on top.
We rank official prices only, and never set a no-visa permit against a package with a visa.
Two ways to get a visa as a freelancer
- Freelance permit. You are licensed as an individual and the permit sponsors your residence visa. Cheaper, but the activity list is short and you usually cannot hire or use a brand.
- One-person company. You own an FZE or FZ-LLC and it sponsors you as investor. People call this a self employed visa in the UAE. It costs a little more and has fewer limits.
Freelance permits with a visa, ranked
| Rank | Route | First-year price | What the price covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expo Freelance, Expo City Dubai | AED 9,000 | Permit, company card, visa |
| 2 | GoFreelance, TECOM zones in Dubai | AED 14,120 | AED 7,520 package with hot desk, AED 2,000 establishment card, AED 4,600 one-year visa |
| Not ranked | twofour54 freelance licence, Abu Dhabi | AED 4,500 licence, waived for 2 years | Licence only; desk cost not published; visa about AED 3,500 to AED 7,000 on 2 agencies' prices |
| Not ranked | Ajman Free Zone Sole Professional Licence | Not published | Licence with eligibility for one residence visa |
| Not ranked | RAKEZ, Ajman Media City, UAQ FTZ permits | Not published | Permit named on the zone's site, no clear yearly price |
Source: Expo City Dubai fee list, TECOM GoFreelance page, Creative Media Authority licence page and the Ajman, RAKEZ and UAQ licence pages, checked .
With a two-year visa, GoFreelance is AED 14,562 in year one. Our freelance visa Dubai page covers that route line by line, and freelance license UAE explains each permit.
Self employed visa through a one-person company, ranked
| Rank | Zone and package | First-year price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajman NuVentures, visa All Inclusive | From AED 10,800 | Licence, up to 10 activities, establishment card, entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID, residency |
| 2 | RAKEZ Instant Licence Lite | AED 12,000 | Licence, up to 5 activities, coworking, one residence visa |
| 3 | SPC E-Publishing, built from SPC's fee list | AED 12,414 | AED 4,999 licence, AED 1,600 visa allocation, AED 640 card, AED 2,280 e-channel, AED 2,530 investor visa with Emirates ID, AED 365 medical |
| 4 | UAQ FTZ START | AED 12,500 | Licence, co-working, investor visa, Emirates ID, medical test, basic medical insurance (one UAQ blog shows a higher price) |
| 5 | Ajman Media City Visionary | AED 12,999 | Licence, co-working, establishment card, e-channel, medical, Emirates ID, status change, one visa |
| 6 | SPC Publishing with 1 investor visa | AED 13,165 | Licence with up to 5 activities and one visa |
| 7 | RAKEZ All Inclusive | AED 14,000 | Licence, shared workstation, visa, Emirates ID, medical, e-channel |
Source: ANCFZ packages page, RAKEZ promotion pages, SPC pay as you go and licence pages, UAQ FTZ, Ajman Media City package pages, checked .
Two Abu Dhabi and Sharjah offers need a closer look before you compare them:
- KEZAD sells a start-up package with 1 visa at AED 9,450 including VAT. Its tariff also lists an AED 1,000 establishment card, AED 1,500 employment residence, AED 300 ID card and AED 200 access card. If all of those are charged on top, year one is AED 12,450. Ask which lines the package covers.
- Shams sells the Media Package at AED 5,760, and a visa allocation costs AED 1,600, so AED 7,360 before the card, e-channel and visa processing, which Shams does not publish. Agencies put Shams with one visa at about AED 14,285 to AED 15,055 (published prices of 3 setup agencies, checked ).
Freelance visa Ajman options
Ajman Free Zone's Sole Professional Licence covers 40 freelancer categories, gives one residence visa and family sponsorship, and its FAQ says you may hire one employee and use the licence on the mainland. It prices by quote only. Ajman Media City's Visionary package names every visa step it includes, which makes it easy to compare. Ajman NuVentures is the lowest on paper, but its own page says "1 to 10 visas" in one place and "up to 7" in another, so get the visa count in writing. More on the Ajman free zones page.
RAKEZ freelance visa
RAKEZ lists a Freelancer Permit among its licence types but publishes no permit price. Most solo founders there use the Instant Licence Lite at AED 12,000 or the All Inclusive package at AED 14,000, which RAKEZ says renews at the same price. If you buy visas separately, RAKEZ lists AED 4,520 for an investor visa and AED 3,800 for an employee visa, with AED 985 extra if you are already in the UAE.
Freelancer visa cost in the UAE: what the ranking leaves out
- Health insurance. Only UAQ START lists basic medical insurance. SPC says cover starts from AED 450 a month, extra.
- Status change. ICP charges AED 500 to switch a visa inside the country. Zones add their own: AED 700 at SPC, AED 985 at RAKEZ.
- Year two. Ajman Media City's Visionary renews at AED 8,999. The twofour54 waiver ends after 2 years. GoFreelance renews at the package price each year.
- Family. To sponsor a spouse or children you need a salary of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with housing, under the federal rule. Ask the zone how it treats freelance income.
Cheap freelance visa in Dubai or elsewhere: which fits
- Choose Expo Freelance if your work fits its permit and you want the visa in one price.
- Choose a one-person company in Ajman, RAKEZ, UAQ or SPC if you want a brand name, more activities or a hire later.
- Choose GoFreelance if you need a Dubai tech, media, education or design permit and can pay more.
- Look at the Abu Dhabi freelance visa page if you live in Abu Dhabi or work in media.
Get the full price before you pay
Use the form on this page to tell us your work, nationality and where you live. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent directory; we do not issue permits or visas and no zone runs this site. We pass your request to the zones above or to a licensed setup partner, who replies with one first-year total.
Where to get a written quote
Agencies quote their own totals, and they differ. The top 15 setup consultants by weighted Google score are a fair place to start when you want quotes to compare with the figures on this page.
Sources
- Expo City Dubai fee list (PDF): Expo Freelance price
- TECOM GoFreelance: package, card and visa fees
- Creative Media Authority licences: twofour54 freelance licence
- Prodesk twofour54 visa page and Riz & Mona twofour54 page: twofour54 visa estimates
- ANCFZ packages: visa package and visa count wording
- RAKEZ Instant Licence, RAKEZ SME package and RAKEZ visa e-service: packages and visa fees; getting started for the permit
- SPC pay as you go, SPC licence page and SPC E-Publishing: SPC fees
- UAQ FTZ: UAQ packages and permits
- Ajman Media City Visionary: one-visa package
- Ajman Free Zone licence types and FAQ: Sole Professional Licence
- KEZAD setup solutions and tariffs: package and visa lines
- Shams packages and terms: Media Package and visa allocation
- ICP residence permit: status change fee
- u.ae family visa: salary rule
