Register a company in Dubai Healthcare City

Not entirely, and the split depends on your activity, so we confirm it before you pay. Foreign corporate documents are legalised rather than apostilled, because the UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. A residence visa needs a medical test and an Emirates ID in the UAE, and a clinic, pharmacy or lab cannot open until its DHA approvals and Operating Permit are in place.

Our registration work starts from $2,900; with a UAE bank account set up, from $5,400. Zone fees come on top: the commercial licence is AED 15,000 a year for most healthcare and wellness activities and AED 25,000 to 45,000 for hospitals, and we quote DHCA's other fees for your case. The licence fee recurs every year, and a clinical facility renews only with its Operating Permit.

Rule No. 1 of 2025 names them activity by activity. Hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, labs and diagnostic centres list the DHA; addiction treatment, psychological therapy and autism rehabilitation list CDA; ambulance services list DCAS. In wellness, weight-control services list the DHA and yoga studios GAS, while Pilates centres and medical tourism facilitators list none. Law No. (16) of 2024 itself bars any healthcare activity in DHCC without DHA licences and permits.

Corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. The 0% QFZP rate covers qualifying income only: fees from individual patients are transactions with natural persons, which MD 229 of 2025 lists as Excluded Activities, and if non-qualifying revenue passes 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower, QFZP status is lost for that tax period and the next four. A smaller clinic outside the QFZP regime can elect small business relief while its revenue has stayed at AED 3,000,000 or less, for tax periods ending by 31 December 2029. VAT is 5%, withholding tax is 0%, and there is no personal income tax.

We have no official DHCA timeline to quote, so the dates go into your quote once the activity is settled. The order is fixed: approvals where the activity needs them, then the commercial licence, then staff and visas. After incorporation the UBO register is due within 60 days, and corporate tax registration within three months under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024; the FTA processes a complete application in 20 business days, and we check its newer 2026 decision on registration timelines before filing.

Through a UAE bank or an EMI. Each bank sets its own criteria, so we shortlist the realistic ones for a healthcare business, build the KYC file (source of funds, contracts, business plan) and support the meeting in person or by video where the bank allows. The bank sets the timeline; we tell you where you stand. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725.

Not on its DHCC licence. Rule No. 1 of 2025 says a DHCA licence does not authorise business outside DHCC, and Rule No. 3 fines practising a permitted activity outside the registered establishment AED 2,500. The federal route to the mainland is a licensed distributor or a mainland branch or company. Dubai's 2025 mainland permit is aimed at non-regulated activities, and we found no DHCA statement opening it to DHCC licensees, so we check it for your case.

As a rule, yes: DHCA expects the commercial licence and the lease to be valid at all times, and it checks licence changes against its minimum premises requirements. The Zawel licence is the exception. DHCA issues it without a lease for specific activities for one year and renews it only with a valid lease registered in Ejari. Which activities qualify and what it costs we confirm with DHCA for your case.

Yes, each clinician does. Rule No. 3 fines a physician or dentist practising without a DHCA/DHA licence AED 15,000, then AED 30,000 for a second offence; a nurse or allied professional AED 5,000, then AED 10,000; work on an expired or inactive licence AED 2,000, then AED 4,000. Late renewal of a professional licence costs AED 500 a month, for up to six months. Staff must also be sponsored or approved by DHCA, and employing someone who is not carries an AED 50,000 fine.

A renewal every year (a missed one can lead to cancellation), with a valid lease and, for a clinical facility, the Operating Permit. The company prepares audited accounts, keeps them and shows them to DHCA on request. It creates the UBO register within 60 days of incorporation and updates it within 15 days of a change; DHCA's penalty schedule goes up to AED 100,000 for a missing register. Incidents that need medical attention go to DHCA within 24 hours, and DHCA may enter any property in the zone without notice.