The advertised price is real. It is just not your budget.
IFZA licences start at around AED 12,900, and that number is honest. It buys a Dubai trade licence with no visa attached. Add a residence visa, an Emirates ID and a bank account, and the realistic year-one figure for a solo consultant lands between AED 21,000 and AED 28,000. Nobody is misleading you. The advertised figure is a licence price. A licence price is not a business budget.
The IFZA free zone is run by the International Free Zone Authority, in Dubai Silicon Oasis. It is the cheapest serious route to a Dubai licence. For a consultant, an agency or an online seller it is often the right answer. This guide covers what an IFZA free zone licence really costs. It covers what the authority does and does not handle, what the activity rules allow, and how corporate banking works. It also covers when we tell people another zone fits them better.
Key takeaways
| Indicative year-one cost | AED 21,000 to AED 28,000 for one visa on a flexi desk, against a AED 12,900 zero-visa headline. Always request a full written quotation |
|---|---|
| What the authority does | IFZA licenses your company. Visas, medicals, Emirates ID, insurance, tax registration and accounting sit outside the licence |
| Location and regulator | Dubai Silicon Oasis, under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. A Dubai government free zone |
| Activities | Two included as standard, three under a current promotion, up to seven on one licence. Confirm the live offer on the day you file |
| Banking | Approval sits with each bank's compliance policy and no consultant can guarantee it. File quality is the part you control |
| Renewals | IFZA now requires a financial statement at renewal. Budget for it from year one |
| Weaker fit | Physical stock and duty suspension. Dubai Silicon Oasis is not on the VAT designated zone list |
What the IFZA free zone is, and who regulates it
IFZA stands for the International Free Zone Authority. The IFZA free zone sits in Dubai Silicon Oasis, under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021 created that authority. The same law puts Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Airport Free Zone under one body, owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Companies here are registered under the DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023. The federal commercial companies law does not apply to them.
So it is a Dubai government free zone, and an IFZA licence is a Dubai licence. Three details are worth getting right, because this is where most guides are vague.
- DIEZ is an umbrella, not one merged registry. Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis with IFZA, and Dubai CommerCity each sit under their own part of the rules. One authority, separate registries.
- IFZA is not a common-law jurisdiction. Unlike DIFC or ADGM, it has no courts of its own and no financial regulator. Disputes go to the Dubai courts under UAE law. That is not a fault. It is a different framework, so comparing IFZA to DIFC on prestige compares the wrong feature.
- IFZA is not a VAT designated zone. Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 sets out the designated zone list. Jebel Ali and Dubai Airport Free Zone appear on it. Dubai Silicon Oasis does not. This matters only if you plan to hold and move physical stock under duty suspension.
IFZA moved to Dubai from Fujairah in 2021, so older guides calling it a Fujairah zone are out of date. Rules and thresholds do change. Confirm the current position with the authority, or with an authorised service provider, before you commit. The legitimacy question on its own, What Is IFZA? Its Authority Framework Explained, is a separate piece.
What the authority handles, and what it leaves to you
This is the most useful thing to grasp before you compare prices. Almost nobody explains it.
Every UAE free zone, IFZA included, is a licensing authority. You can approach IFZA directly and it will register and license your company. That is its job. It sets the company up, issues the trade licence, and changes that licence when you need it. It does that part well, and at a good price.
What it does not do is the rest. And the rest is what turns a licence into a working business. That list is longer than most first-time founders expect.
- Opening the immigration file, and issuing the establishment card.
- The entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID and visa stamping. That applies to you and to every employee.
- Health insurance and ILOE unemployment insurance, both mandatory.
- Introducing you to a bank, and preparing the file the bank will assess.
- Corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority. Then bookkeeping, and the financial statement your renewal now depends on.
- Renewal itself, licence amendments as the business changes, and visa renewals every two to three years.
That is why price comparisons confuse people. The authority quotes you a licence. A consultancy quotes you the journey. Both numbers are honest and they are not measuring the same thing.
IFZA runs a network of authorised professional partners for exactly this reason. What those partners offer varies, so compare it. Our own position is that the licence is the easy part. We handle the immigration file, the medicals and Emirates ID, and the insurance. We also handle the bank introduction, corporate tax registration, and the accounting behind your next renewal. A licence with no visa, no account and no tax registration is not a business yet. What we will not do is quote a licence line and let you find the rest after paying a deposit.
The full mechanics of the partner network, IFZA Channel Partner Model Explained, are covered separately.
What to ask before you choose a consultant
Whoever you work with, six questions will show you the gap between a licence quote and a real budget. A well-run firm answers all six without pausing.
- Are you an authorised IFZA partner? Ask to see the agreement or certificate, in the firm's own name.
- Can I see your UAE trade licence, with a corporate services or business setup activity on it? A firm needs the right activity to do this work.
- Please send a written quotation that separates authority fees, government charges and your professional fee. The authority sets its own fees. Professional fees are set by the firm. You are entitled to see which is which.
- What exactly is excluded? Name each item as you ask: establishment card, status change, medical, Emirates ID, health insurance, ILOE, corporate tax registration, first-year accounting.
- Which company will invoice me, and is it the same entity named on the quotation?
- Who handles my file after the licence is issued? And what happens if the authority queries my activity choice partway through?
Get the answers in writing before you pay anything. That one habit prevents most of the disputes people arrive with.
What an IFZA licence really costs in year one
For a solo consultant or freelancer taking one visa on a flexi desk, the realistic all-in range is AED 21,000 to AED 28,000. That sits at the low end of the real cost of starting a business in Dubai across all routes, which is exactly why the zone is popular. Here is how it builds.
| Line item | Indicative 2026 cost |
|---|---|
| IFZA licence package, one visa slot, flexi desk included | AED 14,900 |
| Establishment card, opens the immigration file | AED 2,000 |
| In-country status change, if you are already in the UAE | AED 1,600 |
| Medical examination and Emirates ID | AED 780 |
| Health insurance, basic plan | AED 1,500 to 1,800 |
| ILOE unemployment insurance | AED 120 to 150 |
These figures are indicative. They reflect what we are quoting in 2026. Authority fees, government charges and insurance prices can change without notice. Your own total will depend on your package, activities, shareholder structure and visa count. Treat this table as a planning guide, then get a written quotation for your own case.
The flexi desk sits inside the package. That is one thing IFZA genuinely does not bill separately, and a fair part of its appeal. Three things push the range past AED 28,000. Swapping the flexi desk for a private office, which starts around AED 24,000 on its own. Adding activities beyond the free allocation. Or a second shareholder who also wants a visa.
The five costs an advertised price usually leaves out
- The establishment card, roughly AED 2,000 to 2,500. You cannot process a single visa without opening the immigration file, and starting prices rarely include it. The rules and renewal cycle behind the establishment card in Dubai are the same for IFZA as anywhere else.
- The financial statement at renewal. The newest item, and the one most existing licensees have not budgeted for. More on it below.
- Activities beyond the free allocation, at roughly AED 1,000 each, plus an amendment fee if you add them after the licence is issued.
- The in-country status change, roughly AED 1,600. It applies when the applicant is already in the UAE on a visit or another visa, so it cannot appear in a generic package price.
- Corporate tax registration. Every company must register, whether or not it earns anything. Register late and there is a fixed AED 10,000 penalty under the UAE corporate tax rules. Filing and bookkeeping then recur every year.
Late renewal belongs on the list too. Charges apply once the grace period passes and increase the longer a licence stays lapsed. It is entirely avoidable, and people still hit it. The package-by-package pricing, IFZA Licence Cost: Packages and Multi-Year Savings, gets its own breakdown.
Should you prepay a multi-year IFZA package?
Multi-year terms carry a genuine discount, and the largest saving attaches to the longest term. Using a one-visa package as the base, the tiering works out roughly like this.
| Term | Approximate saving against annual renewal |
|---|---|
| 2 years | in the region of 15% |
| 3 years | in the region of 20% |
| 5 years | up to around 30% |
Discounts are set by the authority, change with promotions, and should be confirmed at the point of quotation.
The more important point is what prepaying does not cover. It locks the licence rate and nothing else. The establishment card, the visa charges, the insurance and the financial statement all still fall due. Clients often assume five years paid means five years without invoices. It does not work that way.
A longer term suits some businesses and not others. Think carefully in five situations. First, a new founder with an unproven model, because unused years are not usually refundable if the company closes. Second, a business that may need a mainland licence within the year, because prepaid free zone years do not transfer. Third, an activity likely to change, because amendments cost the same whatever the term. Fourth, a case where the banking outcome is still open. There, one year and a proven account first is the calmer route. Fifth, an unsettled shareholder structure.
There is a clear case on the other side. Picture a settled agency with steady repeat revenue, a fixed activity, and a bank account already open. That is exactly the profile that should take the longer term and the discount.
How many activities fit on one IFZA licence?
Two activities come with the standard package, and a current IFZA promotion lifts that to three. Promotions move, so check which offer is live on the day you file. Beyond that you can hold up to seven activities on one licence, at roughly AED 1,000 each. Adding them later also brings an amendment fee. Getting the choice right up front is much cheaper.
Two points matter more than the fee. Professional and commercial activities can sit together on one IFZA licence. That is a real advantage, and part of why the zone suits mixed businesses. One of our clients runs event organisation and management next to a consultancy line, all on one licence. In a more specialised zone that would likely have meant two.
General trading is the second point, and it is not a simple add-on. It moves the licence into a higher band with its own annual surcharge. IFZA has been offering the activity free to new licences under a promotion, while adding it to an existing licence still carries a charge. Either way, selecting general trading because it sounds like it covers everything is an expensive answer to a question most businesses never had.
The rule we apply to every file is simple. Your activities should reflect what you will actually invoice for. Banks check the licence activity against your documents when you open an account, and again at each annual review. A list that is broader than the business creates questions rather than flexibility. The general logic of choosing your business activity in Dubai applies here. IFZA just adds a charge for each activity beyond the free allocation. The full catalogue, The IFZA Activity List Explained, is a separate piece.
Activities that need approval from another authority
Some sectors are regulated separately, and a free zone licence does not replace that approval.
- Financial services: banking, insurance, brokerage, payments and lending. These sit with the Central Bank or the Securities and Commodities Authority.
- Virtual assets. That covers exchange, custody, brokerage and token issuance. Anything run from Dubai outside DIFC falls under VARA.
- Healthcare, clinics and telemedicine, which sit with the Dubai Health Authority.
- Education and training delivery, which sits with KHDA.
- Legal practice and advocacy, which sits with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department.
- Recruitment and manpower supply, which sits with MOHRE.
- Dubai real estate brokerage, which involves RERA and a Dubai mainland presence.
- Selling directly to walk-in customers from a shop, which is a mainland activity.
Three anonymised patterns from our own files are worth knowing. None involved a licence problem. In each case the requirement surfaced after the licence was issued. A precious metals trading client was licensed without difficulty. Then came the designated non-financial business registration, a goAML account and an AML programme, all needed before a bank would proceed. A refined fuels trading client found the counterparty and document checks harder work than the whole setup. And a learning technology client was correctly licensed for research and consultancy. The moment the model moved toward teaching learners in the UAE, it needed KHDA approval. Scoping this before incorporation is the whole point of taking advice first.
Opening a corporate bank account for an IFZA company
Corporate account approval sits with each bank's own compliance policy. It depends on your activity, your shareholder profile, your source of funds and your documents. No consultant can guarantee an account will be approved. Anyone offering a guarantee is promising something they do not control. The documents and steps for opening a business bank account in Dubai are broadly the same whatever your zone. What differs is how well the file is put together.
What we can speak to is our own record. We have supported more than 4,500 corporate bank account applications. Our first-application success rate is strong. It is also better than what clients report after going it alone, or after using a provider who treats licence issuance as the end of the job. We treat the account, not the licence, as the finish line. We say so before taking on a file, not after.
Timelines vary by bank rather than by zone. Digital-first business banks tend to move in days for a straightforward consultancy or online seller. Traditional tier-one banks take longer and ask for more. They are also more comfortable with a trading history. Which bank you approach first, and in what order, is a judgement call worth making on purpose.
What makes a strong application
Five things are in your hands. Together they explain most of the gap between a smooth account opening and a long one.
- Activity wording that matches your invoices. If you bill for corporate strategy advisory, that is what belongs on the licence. Not a long generic description that happens to include it.
- A clear picture of how money moves through the business. Who pays you, for what, from where, and who you pay in turn.
- Space that fits your team size. A flexi desk suits a founder and a small team. A bigger sponsored team with no physical space invites questions.
- An ownership structure that is easy to follow, with full documents for every shareholder and signatory.
- A public profile that matches the licence. Your website and professional pages should describe the same business the licence does.
We raise banking before incorporation rather than after, so activity, structure and premises are chosen with the account in mind. We prepare the business summary and source-of-funds documents ahead of submission, rather than against a bank deadline. Where a profile is likely to face closer scrutiny, we say so at the start and talk through the alternatives. The full banking walkthrough, IFZA Corporate Bank Account: What Strengthens Your Application, is covered on its own page.
Not sure whether IFZA fits your business?
Tell us what you will invoice for and where your customers are. We will give you an honest view on whether IFZA is the right zone for you. You will also get a written quotation before any work begins, covering the licence, visas, medicals, Emirates ID, insurance, tax registration and banking support.
How many visas does an IFZA package include?
IFZA prices by visa slot, with tiers running from zero up through one, two, three and six slots, and each additional slot adding to the licence price. A slot is the right to apply. Processing is separate and costs more.
The indicative all-in cost per visa is AED 4,700 to AED 6,600. That covers the slot itself. It covers the government chain of entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID and stamping. And it covers health insurance for the year. Most of it comes round again every two to three years. Government charges change, so confirm current figures at quotation.
Is a flexi desk enough? For quota, comfortably. A standard IFZA flexi-desk package supports a meaningful number of residence visas, which is generous at this price point, and for a founder taking one to three visas it is simply the right answer. If you have not used a flexi desk in Dubai before, it is a shared registered workspace rather than a private room, and it satisfies the zone requirement without an office lease.
Two things are worth planning for as headcount grows. Premises is the first. A growing sponsored team with no physical space draws questions at the bank, so budget for an office as you scale rather than waiting to be asked. Tax substance is the second. The 0 percent Qualifying Free Zone Person rate requires real substance in the zone: core income-generating activity, people, assets and spending. A flexi desk is a modest base from which to argue that. For most consultancies and online sellers, this is a conversation for the point where staff and income genuinely scale. Have it with a tax adviser rather than assume the answer.
The number of shareholders does not change the quota, but every shareholder who wants residency uses a slot from the same allocation. A three-shareholder company on a one-visa package has a gap it may not have spotted. Packages cover up to three shareholders at no extra charge, and no share capital is deposited either way.
What does change with each extra shareholder is the paperwork. Every signatory needs full identity checks, source of funds and, in most cases, a visit to the bank in person. A company shareholder needs more again. You will need attested company documents, the memorandum, a board resolution and a certificate of incumbency. All of them must be legalised. The bank also traces the real owners through the parent company. Build extra time into your plan for either. Two related pieces go deeper than a hub can: IFZA FZCO Structure: Solo and Multi-Shareholder Setup, and IFZA Visa Quota: How Packages Set the Visa Count.
What to expect at IFZA renewal
The change most existing licensees have not budgeted for is the financial statement. IFZA now asks for a financial statement covering the completed year before it will renew a licence. Smaller companies, below the turnover and headcount thresholds, can use a simplified statement on the authority's own template. Above those thresholds you need an audit by an approved auditor, which is a real annual cost. Companies still in their first financial year are treated differently. The authority sets the thresholds and templates, and they have changed recently. Confirm the current position well before your renewal date, not on the day.
Anyone who set up on the understanding that IFZA carried no financial reporting obligation should plan for this at their next renewal.
On cost, around AED 17,100 is a fair guide for the licence and establishment card on a one-visa company. It is only part of the bill. It leaves out four things. The residence visa renewal, which falls due every two to three years. Annual health insurance per person. The financial statement. And corporate tax filing and bookkeeping. A renewal year in which the visa also renews sits in the AED 22,000 to AED 28,000 range. In years where it does not, expect closer to AED 18,000 to AED 20,000, plus the financial statement. Ask for an updated written quotation each year rather than assuming last year's figure.
Changing service provider at renewal is allowed and routine. Your old provider holds the portal record, and usually your original papers too. You will need a written transfer request, plus confirmation that no fees are owed. Start 45 to 60 days before expiry rather than in the last fortnight. A stalled transfer and a lapsing licence is an expensive pairing. Prepaid multi-year credit sits with the authority against the licence, so it follows the company. A service fee you already paid your old provider usually does not. Sort the financial statement before the transfer, not during it. The full renewal walkthrough, IFZA Licence Renewal: Costs and Timing, is a separate piece.
Who IFZA suits, and who should look elsewhere
A recent client makes the positive case well. An online seller, trading through marketplaces and their own storefront. Customers across Europe and the Gulf. No UAE stock, with fulfilment handled abroad. One visa was needed, for the founder. Nothing in that business called for premises, a designated zone or a sector regulator. The priority was residency plus the lowest running cost they could sustain. IFZA gave them a Dubai licence, a flexi desk that covered the visa, and three activities inside the package. The licence came through quickly. The account opened without difficulty, because the flow of money was easy to document. Two years on, it remains the right structure.
Two clients we advised differently show the other side. One was planning a physical shop aimed at walk-in Dubai customers. The other was a small legal advisory practice, built on face-to-face meetings and, in time, court work. Neither case reflects badly on IFZA. Selling directly to walk-in customers is a mainland activity, and that is the heart of the free zone versus mainland in Dubai decision. Legal practice needs approval from the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. Both were licensing questions with one right answer, and it was not this zone.
The short version. IFZA suits consultants, agencies and online sellers who hold no local stock. It suits digital and professional services, and it suits holding structures. All of them want a Dubai base at a running cost they can keep paying. It is a weaker fit if you hold physical stock under duty suspension, sell to walk-in customers, or work in a sector with its own regulator. A zone comparison, IFZA vs DMCC and Meydan: Budget vs Prestige Zones, sits alongside our published comparison of DAFZA against DMCC, IFZA and Meydan.
Getting your IFZA licence decision right
The IFZA free zone is the most affordable credible route into a Dubai licence. For the right business it is good value. The zone is well established. The flexi desk visa count is generous, the activity rules are flexible, and licensing is fast. What it is not is a AED 12,900 business. Plan for AED 21,000 to AED 28,000 in year one with a visa. Treat corporate banking as a process to prepare for, not a formality. And budget for the financial statement that now arrives with every renewal.
The decision comes down to two questions. Does your business need physical premises, a designated zone, or approval from a sector regulator? If it does, another route fits better, and we will say so. If it does not, the only question left is how much of the work beyond the licence you want to carry yourself.
Best Solution has been forming companies in the UAE since 2014, across more than 50 free zone and jurisdiction partnerships. We have formed over 5,000 companies and supported more than 4,500 corporate bank account applications. We are an authorised IFZA partner, and we handle a free zone licence in Dubai end to end. That covers activity choice and setting the company up. It covers the immigration file, visas and medicals, Emirates ID and insurance. And it covers banking support, corporate tax registration, and the accounting behind your next renewal. We quote the total in writing before any work begins. Your renewals are handled by the same in-house team that did your setup. Once you have decided, How to Set Up an IFZA Company: Step by Step walks the filing, and IFZA Business Setup Services: Licence, Visa, Banking covers what we handle. Book a free consultation, call or WhatsApp +971 52 233 0011, or email connect@best-solution.ae.
