Free zone employment visa

Last updated 25 October 2026

A free zone employment visa is the residence visa your company files for a member of staff through its free zone. The zone sets the fee and the quota. Jafza starts its entry permit at AED 2,378 for one year on the normal route, while RAKEZ charges AED 3,800 for a new employee visa with the medical, Emirates ID and residence included. Before either, your company needs an active licence and an establishment card.

Employment visa fees published by free zones

Source: Jafza entry permit guide, RAKEZ visa page, Meydan home page, SPC calculator, KEZAD tariffs, the ADGM government services fee schedule, the DMCC schedule of charges and the Masdar City licence page, checked October 2026.

These are not like for like. Jafza's figure is the entry permit only, RAKEZ bundles the whole process, and ADGM's schedule includes VAT but leaves out medical and Emirates ID.

The TECOM parks are the big gap. Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park and the other Dubai Development Authority districts keep company visa fees behind the axs portal login. Six setup agencies put a TECOM employee visa at about AED 2,500 to AED 7,500 each, and two of them add a refundable AED 2,500 deposit per visa (published prices checked October 2026). The agents disagree because some count the medical and Emirates ID and others do not, so ask for each line apart.

Jafza's extras in detail

Jafza prints its full permit table, route by route. Urgent service costs AED 2,748 for one year and AED 3,048 for two. VIP costs AED 3,778 and AED 4,118. On top of any route, you add AED 780 if the person is inside the UAE, AED 920 for a transfer of sponsorship, and AED 5,000 if the employee is over 60. It is a useful checklist even if you are in another zone, because most of these situations carry a charge somewhere.

Your visa quota

You cannot hire more people than your office allows. Some published rules:

• DMCC: up to 3 visas on a flexi desk, 4 or 5 in a serviced office, 1 per 9 sq m of physical space.
• Dubai Internet City: 1 visa per 60 sq ft of leased space.
• Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Park: 1 visa per 80 sq ft.
• SPC: no fixed cap on a flexi desk, but each visa slot costs AED 1,600.
• Shams: up to 50 visas, with a business plan and financial proof needed above 10.

Deposits and guarantees

Plan for money that sits with the zone. Masdar City Free Zone takes AED 2,500 per employee as a visa deposit, and so does DIFC. Jafza asks for a bank or cash guarantee when the employee is not under insurance. Ajman Free Zone charges AED 265 for employee insurance at renewal.

How a licensed partner takes this on

You tell us the zone, the job titles, how many people and whether they are in the UAE now. We hand this to a licensed partner who files visas in that zone every week. They send one total for all the visas, deposits included, before they start. We are an independent directory and not the free zone, MOHRE or immigration, so we cannot approve or speed up a visa.

What to collect from each new hire

• Passport copy and photo
• Signed offer letter or employment contract
• Current visa and Emirates ID if they live in the UAE
• Cancellation paper from the previous sponsor, if they are moving jobs
• Any qualification the zone asks for the job title

Hiring steps

1. Check you have a free slot in the quota.
2. Agree the job title and salary, since they appear on the visa file.
3. File the entry permit through the zone portal.
4. The employee enters the UAE, or changes status if already here.
5. Medical test and Emirates ID fingerprints.
6. Residence visa stamped and the Emirates ID card issued.

The Jafza permit is valid for 60 days, so step 4 must happen inside that window. RAKEZ quotes about 9 business days for the standard route from permit to residence.

Mistakes that cost time

• Signing an employee before checking the quota.
• Choosing an urgent route by default when normal service would do.
• Forgetting the inside the UAE surcharge when hiring locally.
• Not budgeting for the deposit, which is paid per person.
• Letting the establishment card expire, which stops every new visa.

For a side by side of visa costs across zones, read free zone visa cost. For your own visa as owner, see investor visa UAE. The form on this page goes to us, and we send it to one licensed partner who replies with a price.

Sources

• https://www.jafza.ae/resources/guides/apply-for-employment-visa-entry-permit : Jafza permit fees, surcharges and validity
• https://eservices.rakez.com/apex/RAK_Employment_Visa : RAKEZ employee visa fee, renewal, inside the UAE fee, timing
• https://www.meydanfz.ae/ : Meydan employee visa, medical and Emirates ID
• https://www.spcfz.ae/cost-calculator/ : SPC employment visa processing
• https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/business-facilities/tariffs : KEZAD visa, ID card and access card
• ADGM government services fee schedule: ADGM employment visa fees
• https://dmcc.ae/blog/the-4-types-of-dubai-free-zone-visas-at-dmcc?hsLang=en : DMCC visa quota
• https://masdarcityfreezone.com/explore/license-and-registration : Masdar visa package and deposit
• https://dmcc.ae/members/support/schedule-charges : DMCC employment visa fees
• DIFC GSO handbook, employee services (PDF) : DIFC visa deposit
• Noble Core Ventures TECOM cost page, https://emirabiz.com/business-setup-tecom-free-zone-dubai/ and https://dubaibusinesszone.com/tecom-free-zone-visa/ : three of the six agency pages behind the TECOM visa range and deposit
• https://afz.gov.ae/en/help-and-support/faqs.html : Ajman Free Zone employee insurance fee