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An investor visa in the UAE is the residence visa a shareholder takes on their own company. In a free zone it sits on top of the licence: first the establishment card, then the entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and residence stamp. Meydan Free Zone lists AED 4,000 for a new investor visa and RAKEZ lists AED 4,520, so you know the government side before any agency fee. Starting from scratch? Creating a company in Dubai shows how the visa fits into a first-year budget.
Free zone investor visa fees
These are the figures the zones publish themselves. They cover different things, so read the last column.
| Free zone | Investor visa | What else to know |
|---|---|---|
| Meydan Free Zone | AED 4,000 | Medical and Emirates ID add AED 2,250; establishment card AED 2,000 one time |
| RAKEZ | AED 4,520 new, AED 3,535 renewal | About 9 business days on the standard route |
| SPC Free Zone | AED 2,530 with Emirates ID | Medical AED 365 on top |
| Innovation City | AED 4,400 per visa | Includes e-channel, entry permit, stamping, medical, Emirates ID, insurance and status change |
| DWTC Free Zone | AED 2,000 from outside the UAE plus AED 250 investor designation | AED 3,200 from inside; AED 50,000 share capital per investor; form dated |
| DMCC | No investor-only fee; new 2 year visa AED 2,972.50 from outside | Needs at least 50 shares worth AED 50,000; visa valid 3 years |
Source: the visa and cost pages of Meydan, RAKEZ, SPC and Innovation City, the DWTC visa form and FAQ, and the DMCC visa guide and schedule of charges, checked .
IFZA is the zone people ask about most for investor visas, and it publishes no price list. Its packages are sold through partners, so any IFZA figure you see comes from an agency.
What agencies quote per investor visa
For IFZA, five setup agencies put visa processing at AED 3,550 to AED 4,800 per person (published prices of 5 agencies, checked ). Three of them give AED 3,750 as the basic fee. Most leave the medical and Emirates ID out, and none splits an investor visa from an employee one. Six agencies put the IFZA establishment card at AED 1,500 to AED 2,200. These are the agencies' figures, not IFZA's and not ours.
Where the ICP fees sit
Every zone price above already contains federal charges. ICP lists AED 100 to apply, AED 100 to issue and AED 100 for smart service on an entry permit. The residence permit has the same three lines, with issuance charged per year. If you are already inside the UAE on another visa, a change of status costs AED 500. The Emirates ID is AED 100 per year of residence. You rarely pay these one by one in a free zone, but knowing them helps you read a quote line by line.
Investor visa or golden visa
The free zone investor visa depends on your company and its quota. The golden visa does not. ICP opens it to investors who hold at least AED 2,000,000 in a deposit, an investment fund, company capital or a partner share, or who own property of that value. A company paying at least AED 250,000 a year in tax also qualifies its owner, and the money must not be a loan. Entrepreneurs have their own route: an SME with revenue of at least AED 1,000,000, approval from an accredited incubator or the Ministry of Economy, or a past venture sold for at least AED 7,000,000.
ICP and u.ae describe the length of some golden visa categories differently, so confirm the term for your route with ICP before you plan around it.
How we help
You send the zone, the number of shareholders and whether each one is inside or outside the UAE. We pass that to a licensed partner who files visas in that zone. They quote one total, with government fees and their own fee shown, before any work starts. We are a directory, not ICP, GDRFA or a free zone, and we cannot change an immigration decision.
Documents you will be asked for
- Passport copy with at least the validity the zone asks for
- Passport photo on a white background
- Current UAE visa and Emirates ID, if you live here already
- Your company licence and establishment card
- Share certificate or register showing your shareholding
- Entry stamp or visit visa page for a change of status
Steps from licence to residence
- Get the licence and the establishment card. No visa can be filed without the card.
- Apply for the entry permit through the zone portal.
- Enter the UAE on the permit, or change status if you are already here.
- Do the medical test.
- Give fingerprints for the Emirates ID.
- Receive the residence visa and then the Emirates ID card.
RAKEZ gives about 9 business days for its standard route. Other zones publish their own times, or none, so plan on asking.
Mistakes to avoid
- Comparing a visa price that includes medical and Emirates ID with one that does not. Meydan's AED 4,000 does not; Innovation City's AED 4,400 does.
- Forgetting the share rule. A DMCC shareholder with fewer than 50 shares will not get the investor visa.
- Booking travel before the entry permit is issued.
- Letting the establishment card lapse, which blocks renewals and new visas.
- Treating an agency range as a fixed price.
Visa fees for employees and dependants sit on their own pages: see free zone visa cost, the employee visa guide and family visas for business owners.
Use the form on this page to describe your shareholders and zone. A licensed partner replies with a quote, and you decide whether to go ahead.
Sources
- https://www.meydanfz.ae/ : investor visa, medical and Emirates ID, establishment card fees
- https://eservices.rakez.com/apex/RAK_Employment_Visa : RAKEZ investor visa fee, renewal and processing time
- https://www.spcfz.ae/pay-as-you-go/ : SPC investor visa and medical fee
- https://innovationcity.com/faq : Innovation City visa fee and what it includes
- https://dmcc.ae/blog/the-4-types-of-dubai-free-zone-visas-at-dmcc?hsLang=en : DMCC share rule and visa validity
- https://dmcc.ae/members/support/schedule-charges : DMCC employment visa fee
- https://media.dwtc.com/visa-application.pdf : DWTC visa and investor designation fees
- https://www.dwtc.com/en/free-zone/support-centre/free-zone-faqs/ : DWTC share capital per investor
- https://www.businessdubai.ae/blogs/ifza-free-zone-setup, https://emirabiz.com/ifza-license-cost/ and https://binderr.com/marketplace/ae/ifza-company-formation : IFZA visa processing and card, with other agency pages
- 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/uae-golden-residency/ : golden visa investor and entrepreneur routes
