An IFZA licence starts at AED 12,940 with us, including a Dubai flexi-desk address. With one residence visa the package is AED 18,605; with two, AED 26,060. Licences are typically issued within three to five working days.
IFZA — the International Free Zone Authority — sits in Dubai Silicon Oasis and is the zone most people mean when they say they want “a Dubai licence” without paying Dubai Marina prices. Below is what it actually gives you, what it does not, and how it compares with the cheaper emirates.
| Package | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Licence only | AED 12,940 | Trade licence and flexi-desk address, no visa allocation |
| Licence + 1 visa | AED 18,605 | Adds establishment card and one residence visa allocation |
| Licence + 2 visas | AED 26,060 | Two residence visa allocations |
Prices current September 2026. Government fees change; we confirm the full itemised figure in writing before you pay anything. Visa allocation is not the same as an issued visa — medical fitness, Emirates ID and stamping are charged per person on top, and we quote those separately so you can see them.
It is not a mainland licence. An IFZA company can invoice clients across the UAE for services, but physically trading, running a shop, or holding stock for local sale needs a mainland licence, a branch, or a distributor. If your customers walk through a door, IFZA is the wrong answer — see mainland versus free zone.
It is not the cheapest route. At AED 12,940 it costs roughly two and a half times an ANC licence in Ajman (from AED 4,888) and more than double a Shams licence in Sharjah (from AED 5,760). Those are fully legitimate UAE licences. The difference you are paying for is the word “Dubai” on your trade licence.
It is not automatically tax-free. A free zone company pays 0% only on qualifying income, and revenue from mainland UAE customers is generally not qualifying. Above AED 375,000 of taxable profit, the rate is 9%.
Our honest answer: it depends entirely on who reads your trade licence.
It is worth it if you are pitching to Dubai corporates or government-adjacent buyers who check, if you need a Dubai address for a bank’s comfort, or if your clients are the kind who look up where you are registered. It is not worth it if you sell to overseas clients who will never see the licence, or if you are testing an idea and the AED 8,000 difference is a month of runway.
We will tell you which one fits before you commit — including the times the cheaper zone is the right answer.
From AED 12,940 for the licence and flexi-desk with no visa allocation, AED 18,605 with one residence visa, and AED 26,060 with two. Prices are current as of September 2026 and confirmed in writing before payment.
Typically three to five working days from complete documents to trade licence. Residence visa processing after that adds a further one to three weeks per person, depending on whether you are inside or outside the UAE.
It can provide services to mainland UAE clients, but physically trading, operating from mainland premises or holding stock for local sale requires a mainland licence, a mainland branch, or a local distributor.
Visa allocation is set by the package tier rather than by office size. Packages commonly run from zero up to six visas; going higher generally means upgrading the package or taking dedicated space.
Usually yes, mainly because mainland requires leased premises with a registered Ejari contract, which is often the largest single line in a mainland budget. IFZA includes a flexi-desk that satisfies the premises requirement.
Tell us what you sell, where your customers are and how many visas you need, and we will price IFZA against the cheaper emirates and against a mainland licence, so you can see all three.
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