Register a company in IFZA Dubai

Yes. IFZA requires no physical presence for incorporation: the e-legal forms and the Memorandum and Articles are e-signed, and the licence comes by email. Travel starts with visas, which need a visit for medical tests and Emirates ID. The DIEZA Regulations also require the company's manager to be a UAE resident, and IFZA does not say how it applies this to founders abroad, so it is the first point we check for your case.

Our registration work starts from $2,900; with a UAE bank account set up, from $5,400. Zone fees come on top: IFZA publishes no price list, so we quote its fees for your case. The zone charges a set-up fee and, depending on the licence type, usually a licence fee; standard licences generally carry a fixed fee for issuance and renewal plus applicable taxes, and the establishment card, visas and any activity beyond the third are billed on top.

In our quote. IFZA publishes no price list. It works on a business-to-business model through its network of Professional Partners, and its pages describe the fee structure without amounts. Partner price lists are not official, so we do not present them as IFZA's. You see IFZA's current figures, line by line, before you commit.

No. An IFZA article says '0% business and personal tax', but federal corporate tax applies to free zone companies: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. A Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on qualifying income (income from free zone customers, or from qualifying activities such as manufacturing, trading qualifying commodities, holding shares or logistics services) and 9% on the rest. Consulting or IT fees from clients outside free zones count as non-qualifying revenue, and if that revenue passes 5% of the total or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower, the company loses the status and pays the standard rates. There is no personal income tax, and VAT is 5%.

Not on the free zone licence alone. The DIEZA Regulations make a licence valid for operations in the free zone, and federal rules send mainland business through a licensed distributor or a mainland branch or company. In Dubai, Executive Council Resolution No. (11) of 2025 adds branch licences (AED 10,000 a year for a branch operating out of the free zone) and a temporary permit (AED 5,000, up to six months), each with the free zone's approval. IFZA's commercial licence page speaks of 'local market trade within the UAE', so we check the route for your activity first. Mainland branch income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person is taxed at 9%, as is revenue under the Dubai permit.

IFZA says the incorporation process takes just a few business days, ending with the licence by email. Custom Memorandum and Articles instead of IFZA's standard set can lengthen it, and an activity that needs another regulator's approval may be licensed only provisionally until that approval arrives. After the licence come the establishment card and visas, with a visit for medical tests, and the bank works to its own timetable. Corporate tax registration is due within three months of incorporation.

You can apply, and the bank decides. IFZA lists its own banking services, but each bank or EMI sets its own criteria and timeline. Expect questions on the business plan, contracts and source of funds, and possibly a meeting with the signatories, in person or by video where the bank allows. Our Company + Bank Account package covers the shortlist, the KYC file and meeting support, and we tell you where the application stands.

IFZA sells packages by visa allocation. With 0-3 allocations you can start without office space and rent a desk as you go; with four or more, the fees include registered office space. Each visa needs the establishment card first, a visit for medical tests and Emirates ID, and a valid licence behind it. A residence visa lapses if the holder stays outside the UAE for more than 180 days in a row, with some exceptions.

The sources do not agree. IFZA's pages say no paid-up capital is required; its 2021 application forms showed a minimum of AED 10,000, with a share value of AED 10 or a multiple; the DIEZA Regulations that cover Dubai Silicon Oasis set AED 1, with shares at least 25% paid up. No current IFZA document reconciles them, so we confirm the figure IFZA applies to your application before you sign.

The licence is renewed on or before its date; late renewal can lead to suspension or cancellation, with fines paid alongside the licence fee. The establishment card is renewed every year, and the UBO declaration is filed yearly and at each licence renewal. Plan for audited accounts: the DIEZA Regulations require an FZCO's accounts to be audited, with the auditor appointed within six months of year-end. The corporate tax return and payment are due within nine months after the end of the tax period.