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A free zone visa cost is made of three layers: the zone's own visa fee, the federal ICP fees for the permit and Emirates ID, and one-off company items such as the establishment card. Published zone fees run from AED 1,500 at KEZAD to AED 4,947.63 at Dubai Healthcare City. Some of those figures already include the medical and Emirates ID. Others do not. That is why two quotes for "one visa" can sit thousands of dirhams apart.
Looking ahead: see Free zone visa cost 2027.
How much is a free zone visa in each zone?
| Zone | Published visa fee | What the fee covers |
|---|---|---|
| Meydan Free Zone | AED 4,000 investor, AED 3,500 employee | Visa only. Medical and Emirates ID AED 2,250 extra |
| RAKEZ | AED 3,800 employee, AED 4,520 investor | Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and residence |
| Innovation City (RAK) | AED 4,400 per extra visa | E-channel, entry permit, stamping, medical, Emirates ID, insurance, status change |
| Jafza | AED 2,378 (1 year) or AED 2,678 (2 years) | Employment entry permit, normal service |
| Expo City Dubai | AED 2,700 to AED 4,500 | Employment visa package with ECD ID; lowest is 1 year from outside the UAE |
| Dubai Healthcare City | AED 3,226.73 to AED 4,947.63 | 2 year employment visa package; outside or inside the UAE |
| ADGM | AED 3,237.39 | New 2 year employment visa from outside the UAE; medical and Emirates ID not listed |
| KEZAD | AED 1,500 | Employment residence fee; ID card and access card extra |
| SPC Free Zone | AED 2,530 investor visa | With Emirates ID; medical AED 365 and allocation AED 1,600 extra |
| DMCC | AED 2,972.50 from outside, AED 3,407.50 inside | New 2 year employment visa; medical and Emirates ID extra |
| DIFC | AED 3,950 plus a refundable AED 2,500 deposit | New employment visa, normal 7 working day service; handbook dated |
| DWTC Free Zone | AED 2,000 from outside, AED 3,200 inside | Normal medical included, Emirates ID not; visa form dated |
| Masdar City | AED 3,050 | 2 year employment visa package; medical and Emirates ID extra |
| GoFreelance (TECOM) | AED 4,600 (1 year) or AED 5,042 (2 years) | Freelancer visa, separate from the permit |
Source: each zone's fee page, price list, calculator, schedule of charges or visa form, checked . The DIFC and DWTC documents are older than the rest, so confirm those two.
Read the third column before you compare. The RAKEZ visa cost of AED 3,800 already includes the medical test and Emirates ID. Meydan's AED 3,500 does not. Add the AED 2,250 and a Meydan employee visa comes to AED 5,750 in zone fees. Several Expo City and DHCC figures change with where the applicant is and how long the visa runs.
IFZA publishes no visa fee. Setup agencies put IFZA visa processing at AED 3,550 to AED 4,800 per person (published prices of 5 agencies, checked ), and AED 3,750 is the most common figure. Medical and Emirates ID are often extra. The establishment card comes first, at AED 1,500 to AED 2,200 on the prices of 6 agencies.
The TECOM business parks run by the Dubai Development Authority (Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park and the others) keep company visa fees behind the axs portal login, so only the GoFreelance freelancer fee above is public. Setup agencies put a TECOM company employment visa at about AED 2,500 to AED 7,500 per person (published prices of 6 agencies, checked ), and two of them add a refundable AED 2,500 deposit per visa. The spread is wide because some include the medical and Emirates ID and some leave them out.
A few other zones with no visa fee of their own have agency ranges from at least two agents: Ajman Free Zone at AED 3,400 to AED 5,000 per employee visa, twofour54 at AED 3,500 to AED 7,000, and Dubai Silicon Oasis at AED 3,000 to AED 5,100. None of these is a zone tariff.
Which government fees are inside a free zone visa?
Every residence visa passes through federal fees, whichever zone sponsors it. These are the ICP service page figures:
- Entry permit for employment: AED 100 application, AED 100 issuance, AED 100 smart service.
- Residence permit: AED 100 per year, plus AED 100 application and AED 100 smart service.
- Change of status if you are already in the UAE: AED 500.
- Emirates ID: AED 100 per year of residence plus the smart service fee. Urgent service is AED 150 extra.
Dubai residence files go through GDRFA, and each zone adds its own service charge. We could not find an official fee for the medical fitness test, so treat any medical figure you see as the zone's or agent's own line.
Why do you need an establishment card first?
Before the first visa, the company needs an establishment card, also called an immigration card. It holds the trade name, licence number and partners, and it is what lets the company sponsor people.
- SPC Free Zone: AED 640
- KEZAD: AED 1,000
- ADGM: AED 1,127.27
- Masdar City: AED 1,600 (one time)
- DMCC: AED 1,825 a year
- Meydan and GoFreelance: AED 2,000
- Expo City: AED 2,100
Many zones also charge for the e-channel account that links the company to immigration: AED 2,280 at SPC, AED 2,600 at Masdar. More in establishment card.
How many visas can I get with a free zone licence?
There is no single UAE number. Each free zone ties your visa quota to the office you lease, and a package states how many visas it includes. A DMCC flexi desk allows up to 3 visas, while Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City count visas by square feet of leased space. Allocation fees and deposits come on top:
- Allocation fees. Shams and SPC charge AED 1,600 per visa allocation. At Shams this is renewed with the licence at the same price.
- Quotas. Visa numbers follow your office. A DMCC flexi desk allows up to 3 visas. In Dubai Internet City it is 1 visa per 60 sq ft of leased space, and in Dubai Media City 1 per 80 sq ft.
- Deposits. Masdar City and DIFC each take a refundable AED 2,500 per employee. Meydan takes AED 3,000 when an investor sponsors dependants. Shams holds AED 2,100 when the last shareholder visa is cancelled.
- Rejection. Shams keeps AED 1,050 as an admin fee if a visa application is rejected.
Is a package visa cheaper than paying per visa?
Some zones fold one visa into the package. KEZAD's AED 9,450 starter includes 1 visa, and UAQ START is AED 12,500 with an investor visa, Emirates ID, medical test and basic insurance. RAKEZ's All Inclusive package is AED 14,000 with one visa, and each extra visa inside it is AED 4,000. When the package has no visa, add the zone's per-visa fee, the card and the e-channel to the licence price. Our licence cost page has the licence side.
How much does it cost to renew a free zone visa?
Few zones publish a renewal price. RAKEZ is one that does, and the others quote it on request. Visa terms vary. Creative City issues 2 year residence visas, SAIF Zone gives investors 3 years and employees 2, and Jafza and Expo City sell 1 or 2 year visas. RAKEZ lists renewal at AED 3,500 for an employee and AED 3,535 for an investor. Most other zones do not publish a renewal figure, so ask before you sign. Sponsoring family adds its own fees and a salary rule of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 plus accommodation. See family visa for business owners.
Getting a visa quote
Send us the number of visas, whether each person is inside or outside the UAE, and your activity, using the form on this page. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent directory that passes requests on. It is not a zone or a visa office. A zone or licensed partner then quotes the visas as one figure. For the visa service itself, see investor visa and employee visa.
Where to get a written quote
Once you know which zone you want, you can search the setup consultants we list by area, service or Google score and ask for a written quote to check against the prices here. For the filings after the visa is issued, see PRO services in Dubai.
Sources
- https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e60 (ICP entry permit fees)
- https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e64 (ICP residence permit and change of status)
- https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e5a (Emirates ID fees)
- https://www.meydanfz.ae/ (Meydan visa, medical and establishment card fees)
- https://eservices.rakez.com/apex/RAK_Employment_Visa (RAKEZ visa and renewal fees)
- https://innovationcity.com/faq (Innovation City extra visa fee)
- https://www.jafza.ae/resources/guides/apply-for-employment-visa-entry-permit (Jafza entry permit fee)
- https://www.spcfz.ae/pay-as-you-go/ (SPC visa, allocation, card and e-channel fees)
- https://shamsfz.ae/terms-and-conditions/ (Shams allocation fee)
- https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/business-facilities/tariffs (KEZAD visa and card fees)
- https://dmcc.ae/members/support/schedule-charges (DMCC employment visa fees)
- DIFC GSO handbook, employee services (PDF) (DIFC visa fee and deposit)
- https://media.dwtc.com/visa-application.pdf (DWTC visa fees)
- https://masdarcityfreezone.com/explore/license-and-registration (Masdar visa package and deposit)
- https://emirabiz.com/business-setup-tecom-free-zone-dubai/, https://prodesk.ae/services/tecom-freezone-visa-services/ and https://dubaibusinesszone.com/tecom-free-zone-visa/ (three of the six TECOM visa price pages)
- https://www.businessdubai.ae/blogs/ifza-free-zone-setup and https://emirabiz.com/ifza-license-cost/ (IFZA visa processing and card, with other agency pages)
