Last updated
The Dubai South free zone license cost starts at AED 12,500 a year for the Starter licence of the Dubai South Business Hub Free Zone, with 1 activity and no visa. The home page shows it at AED 11,375 as a limited time offer. These prices belong to the Business Hub product only. The DWC LLC and Freelancer routes still have no public price. The zone surrounds Al Maktoum International Airport and suits logistics, aviation and trading firms.
How much does a Dubai South license cost?
The business setup page on dubaisouth.ae lists three ways in:
- DWC LLC, as a company or a branch
- Freelancer licence
- Dubai South Business Hub Free Zone
The Register button for the Business Hub takes you to dubaisouthbh.com, the Business Hub's own site. That site publishes tiers and prices, and we treat them as official for that product. The DWC LLC and Freelancer applications go to a Dubai South portal instead, and neither shows a fee. So if you want a DWC LLC with an office or a warehouse, you still need a quote.
Dubai South Business Hub packages and prices
| Tier | Price a year | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | AED 12,500 | 1 activity, 0 visas, no desk |
| Essential | AED 16,500 | 2 activities, 1 visa, flexi desk |
| Growth | AED 20,500 | Sits between Essential and Premium; ask for its visa count |
| Premium | AED 25,000 and up | 6 visas, dedicated desk |
Label: official, Dubai South Business Hub Free Zone. Source: dubaisouthbh.com home page and its business setup cost article (updated ), checked .
Each tier bundles registration, name reservation and the e-licence. Visa processing is billed on top. Two details on the Business Hub's own pages do not agree, so check them before you pay:
- The home page says the AED 12,500 package comes with flexi desk access. The cost article says the Starter tier has no desk.
- One of its articles puts a single founder with one visa at AED 18,350 all in. Another Business Hub page gives a higher total for the same setup.
The AED 11,375 offer is marked "Limited Time Only" with no end date. Each activity beyond the first five costs AED 2,000, according to the Business Hub.
What setup agents quote
The agents we checked (SafeLedger, BusinessDubai and BCL) mostly quote figures close to the Business Hub tiers for a licence alone. Their totals with visas differ, because some include medical tests and the Emirates ID and some do not. Since the Business Hub now publishes its own tiers, start from those and ask an agent to show what it adds. Our free zone cost calculator sets the Starter licence against zones elsewhere in Dubai.
What does a Dubai South visa cost?
The Essential tier is the cheapest Business Hub option with a visa included. For the visa itself, the Business Hub gives its own estimate of about AED 4,000 to AED 6,000 per person all in. Inside that, it puts the entry permit around AED 1,200 and the Emirates ID around AED 370, with health insurance from about AED 700 a year on top. It calls all of these approximations, not a tariff.
For an office in the Business Park, Dubai South allows 1 visa per 8 sq m. Agents say a flexi desk on the DWC LLC route gives one to three visas. Dubai South does not confirm that on any page we read.
Every company needs an establishment card before it can sponsor visas. The federal ICP renewal is AED 100 per year, on top of the zone's own charge. If the visa holder is already inside the UAE, ICP adds AED 500 for the change of status. Read establishment card for what the card does.
What office options does Dubai South offer?
Dubai South publishes office rents for its Business Park, excluding service charges:
| Office size | Rent from |
|---|---|
| 30 to 70 sq m | AED 1,200 per sq m a year |
| 120 sq m and up | AED 900 per sq m a year |
| Shell space, 300 sq m and up | AED 550 per sq m a year |
Label: official, Dubai South Business Park and Business Centre FAQ, checked .
A 30 sq m office at the lowest rate is a much bigger yearly line than any Business Hub tier, so price the space before you pick a route. A flexi desk in Dubai is enough to hold a licence. A logistics firm that stores stock needs a warehouse lease in the Logistics District instead.
The districts
- Business Park. Offices and business centre space, with the rents above.
- Logistics District. Warehouses and land next to the airport, for storage, freight and distribution.
- MBR Aerospace Hub. The aviation cluster around the airport.
If your business moves goods by sea as well as air, compare with JAFZA next door at Jebel Ali. For air cargo through Dubai International, Dubai Airport Freezone is the other airport zone.
Which licence types and company forms does Dubai South offer?
DWC comes from Dubai World Central, the earlier name of the area, which is why searches for the DWC free zone in Dubai lead here. The official setup page names the DWC LLC for companies and branches.
Agencies do not agree on the rest:
- One lists the DWC LLC with 1 to 50 shareholders.
- Another lists FZE, FZCO and Branch.
- A third lists FZ-LLC, branches and a Freelancer permit.
Licence types named by agencies are commercial, service, industrial and logistics, and some add aviation. Confirm the company type, licence and capital with the zone before you sign. For a solo service business, our freelance license UAE page compares the permits across zones.
How does Dubai South license renewal work?
The Business Hub says renewal costs about 80 to 90% of the original licence fee, with visas renewed on their own cycle. It gives that as an estimate, not a fixed fee. For a DWC LLC there is no published renewal figure. Each year you renew the licence, the lease and the establishment card together, so ask for the year two price in the same quote as year one.
How do you set up a company in Dubai South?
- Pick the route: Business Hub tier, DWC LLC or Freelancer.
- For the Business Hub, register through the button on dubaisouth.ae, which opens dubaisouthbh.com. For the other two, apply on the Dubai South portal.
- Choose your activities and, for a DWC LLC, a workspace: office, warehouse or land.
- Send passport copies, a photo and the application.
- Get initial approval, sign the lease where needed and pay the fees.
- Apply for the establishment card, then the visas.
- Open a company bank account.
Company shareholders need extra papers such as a board resolution and the parent licence, so ask for the full document list.
Pros and cons of Dubai South Free Zone
Pros:
- A published Business Hub tier list, from AED 12,500 a year
- Published office rents and a clear visa rule for the Business Park
- Warehouses and land beside Al Maktoum International Airport
- An aviation cluster in the MBR Aerospace Hub
Cons:
- No public price for the DWC LLC or Freelancer routes
- The Business Hub's own pages disagree on the desk and the one visa total
- Visa costs are estimates, not a fee schedule
- Far from central Dubai, if you serve city clients
See every zone in the emirate on Dubai free zones. If you sell online and need fulfilment, Dubai CommerCity is built for that.
Ask Dubai South for prices through us
Tell us which route you want, your activity, how many visas you need and whether you want a desk or a warehouse. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent site. We are not Dubai South, not the Business Hub and not their agent. We pass your request to Dubai South or a licensed setup partner, and they send you the figures.
Setup consultants that work with Dubai South
Several setup consultants name Dubai South on their own websites. The highest ranked of them by weighted Google score are Zenesis Corporation, Creative Zone and Dubiz | Business Setup Consultancy in Dubai. Zenesis Corporation is based in JLT. Check any quote against Dubai South's own price on this page, and browse every firm in the directory of Dubai setup consultants.
Sources
- https://www.dubaisouth.ae/en/business-setup : the three setup routes and the Register link to the Business Hub
- https://dubaisouthbh.com/ : Starter price and the limited time offer
- https://dubaisouthbh.com/blogs/dubai-south-business-setup-cost : tier prices, what they include, visa estimates, renewal estimate
- https://dubaisouthbh.com/blogs/freelance-visa-in-the-uae-price-and-eligibility : one founder, one visa total and the extra activity fee
- https://www.dubaisouth.ae/en/work/commercial-property/business-centre : Business Park office rents and visa per sq m
- https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e6e : establishment card renewal fee
- https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e64 : change of status fee
- Company types and agent figures: published pages of SafeLedger, BusinessDubai, BCL and other setup agencies, checked
