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International Humanitarian City, now called Dubai Humanitarian, is a free zone near Al Maktoum Airport and Jebel Ali Port that licenses only humanitarian organisations and companies whose business serves the humanitarian sector. It has around 80 members, from UN bodies and NGOs to commercial suppliers. Its packages cost AED 11,250 to AED 32,064 a year, depending on whether you are a non-profit or a company and whether you take a desk or an office. Each one carries a 2 visa quota, and the visas themselves cost extra.
Who can join, and who cannot
This zone is not for general business. Its legal mandate, set by Law No. 1 of , is to license humanitarian service establishments.
Members fall into two groups:
- Humanitarian organisations. UN agencies, international NGOs and non-profits, which open a branch under a Humanitarian Organization License.
- Commercial companies with a humanitarian link. Suppliers, logistics firms and service providers to the aid sector, licensed as a branch of an existing company or as a new FZ-LLC under a Commercial License.
A commercial applicant must show that its business relates to humanitarian work. A consultancy, an online shop or a general trader without that link will not fit, and should compare Dubai free zones built for open activity lists.
How the licence is approved
Applications go to a Registration and Licensing Committee, and approval comes in two stages. This is slower and more selective than a zone that issues a licence once forms and fees are in. The zone does not publish a setup time, so plan for review rather than a fixed date.
A two-year licensing option is offered, which the zone says cuts how often you legalise overseas documents. Renewal fees are not listed separately, so ask whether renewal follows the annual package price.
How much does an IHC license cost?
Dubai Humanitarian prints its prices on its own membership page. There are four packages, split by who you are and how much space you take:
| Package | Annual price | Space |
|---|---|---|
| NPO Business Center Desk | AED 11,250 | Dedicated hot desk, at least 10 hours a week |
| NPO Standard Office | AED 18,274 | 20 sq m office |
| Commercial Business Center Desk | AED 20,800 | Dedicated hot desk, at least 10 hours a week |
| Commercial Standard Office | AED 32,064 | 20 sq m office |
Source: Dubai Humanitarian "Become a member" page, checked .
All four prices cover registration and licence fees, maintenance, general services and utilities. The zone also lists the establishment card and a quota of 2 visas in both the office and the business centre package. The visas are not free: the page says visa cost is charged on top when you use the zone's services, and it does not say how much.
Commercial members pay more than non-profits for the same space. A commercial hot desk even costs more than a full NPO office.
Warehouses and other fees
| Item | Official price |
|---|---|
| Warehouse, NPO | AED 269 per sq m |
| Warehouse, Commercial | AED 376 per sq m |
| Each activity segment after the first | AED 1,000 |
| Minimum share capital, FZ-LLC | AED 50,000 |
Source: Dubai Humanitarian membership page and membership FAQs, checked .
The warehouse table gives a price per square metre but does not state the period, so ask whether it is yearly. One activity segment comes with the licence. Other service charges point to a tariff list the zone does not publish.
What still moves your total
- Visas. The quota is 2 on every package, and each visa you use adds a charge the zone does not list.
- Warehouse space. Storage for relief goods is priced by the square metre on top of the package.
- Activity segments. Each segment beyond the first adds AED 1,000.
- Capital. A new FZ-LLC needs AED 50,000 of share capital. That is money in the company, not a fee.
The zone in brief
- Founded: , through the merger of Dubai Aid City and Dubai Humanitarian City.
- Moved: to its current site near the airport and port in .
- Size: the zone's pages give two figures, 135,000 and 150,000 square metres. Sources disagree.
- Members: around 80, a mix of UN bodies, NGOs, non-profits and commercial companies.
- Status: an independent non-profit humanitarian free zone authority, part of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
Steps to become a member
- Check that your organisation, or your company's business, is humanitarian or serves the sector.
- Choose the licence: Humanitarian Organization License or Commercial License.
- Submit the application for the first stage of committee review.
- After first approval, complete the second stage with your full documents.
- Pick the Standard Office or Business Centre package and sign.
- Receive the establishment card, which every package includes, then apply for up to 2 staff visas.
The zone's public pages do not list the full document set. Expect passport copies and photos of the people named on the licence, and for a branch, papers from the parent organisation. The committee tells you what else it needs.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Built around aid work, with UN agencies and NGOs as neighbours.
- Close to Jebel Ali Port and Al Maktoum Airport for shipping relief goods.
- A licence track for non-profits, which most free zones do not offer.
Cons:
- Closed to businesses without a humanitarian link.
- Commercial packages cost well above the NPO ones, and visa fees are not published.
- Committee approval adds time compared with a standard free zone.
If you do not qualify
A logistics company with no aid sector clients may fit Jafza or Dubai South, which sit in the same part of the city. Read free zone vs mainland if you also want to sell inside the UAE, and our licence cost guide for typical fee lines.
Talk to the zone through us
Use the form on this page to tell us who you are, what humanitarian work you do and what space you need. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is independent and has no role in Dubai Humanitarian's membership decisions. We forward your details to the zone's team or a licensed setup partner, and the decision stays with the zone's committee.
Setup consultants and IHC
Few of the setup consultants we list name IHC on their own websites, so ask the zone which agents it works with. The directory of Dubai setup consultants lists firms by area and service, and the top 15 by weighted Google score shows how they compare.
Sources
- Dubai Humanitarian about page: founding, authority, location, member count, size
- Dubai Humanitarian free zone page: founding law and mandate, size
- Membership FAQs: licence types, humanitarian link rule, committee approval, activity segment fee, FZ-LLC share capital
- Become a member: the four annual package prices, warehouse prices per square metre, inclusions, 2 visa quota, visa costs, two-year option
