Search for the cost of setting up in Dubai and you will find price tables. They are accurate as far as they go, and they describe the one number that is easiest to compare and least useful to plan around.
We do not publish prices, because every case is quoted individually and a headline figure invites a comparison on the wrong variable. What we can do is set out the full shape of the exercise, so that whoever you engage — us or anyone else — you know what to ask about.
The licence is the beginning of the list
Registration and approvals. Trade name reservation, initial approval, notarisation of constitutional documents, and any activity-specific approval from an external authority. Regulated activities take longer and cost more, and the approval body is rarely the licensing body.
Premises. Every licence attaches to a physical arrangement — a flexi-desk, a serviced office, a warehouse, a lease. On the mainland that usually means Ejari registration. This is also the item most tied to visa quota, so it is rarely a place to economise without a consequence you have accepted deliberately.
Establishment card and immigration file. Before a single visa can be issued, the company needs its own immigration establishment, which is a separate registration with its own fee and renewal.
Residency per person. Each residence visa carries an entry permit, medical testing, Emirates ID issuance and visa stamping — and each step is a fee and an appointment. For a founder plus a small team this is frequently the largest line in year one, and it is the one most often left out of an opening quote entirely.
The recurring costs that begin in year one
Licence renewal. Annual, and priced independently of the setup. Zones also charge for amendments — adding an activity, changing a shareholder, increasing visa quota — and an entity set up slightly wrong will amend more than once.
Accounting. UAE corporate tax and VAT both assume books that reconcile. Bookkeeping is not optional in practice, whether done internally or outsourced.
Audit. Several free zones require audited financial statements for licence renewal — DMCC among them — and since 30 September 2025 all IFZA licensees must file financial statements at renewal, audited unless turnover is AED 3 million or less with nine employees or fewer. Separately, audited IFRS accounts are a condition of Qualifying Free Zone Person status: a free zone company relying on the 0% qualifying-income rate needs an audit regardless of what its zone requires.
Corporate tax and VAT compliance. Registration, then returns, then the records behind them. Small Business Relief — now available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 — reduces the tax, not the obligation to register and file.
Banking. Corporate accounts carry minimum balance requirements, and falling below them carries charges. The requirement varies by bank and by profile, and it is a balance you must hold rather than a fee you pay once — which makes it a working capital question, not a setup question.
The costs that only appear if a decision was rushed
These are the ones we are most often asked to unwind, and all of them are free to avoid at the outset.
Re-licensing because the activity description was almost right. An activity list that nearly covers what you do produces amendments, bank friction, and — under corporate tax — questions about whether income is qualifying income.
Adding a mainland entity in year two. A free zone company reaches UAE mainland customers through a distributor, a branch or a mainland entity. Discovering this after signing a local contract means building that route under time pressure.
Restructuring before a funding round. Nominee arrangements, evenly split holdings and undocumented early promises are quick to create and slow to resolve. Investor diligence is the wrong moment to meet them for the first time.
A second and third bank application. Each one costs weeks rather than fees, and weeks are the expensive currency when a business is trying to start trading.
What this means when you compare quotes
Ask three questions of any proposal, including ours.
What is in the number, and what is billed separately? Government fees, immigration costs and per-visa charges are frequently outside a headline setup figure.
What does year two look like? Renewal, accounting, audit where applicable, tax filings. A setup that is cheap in year one and awkward every year afterwards is not cheap.
What would have to change for this structure to stop working? If the answer involves a new licence, new banking or contract novation, it is worth paying more now to avoid it.
The firms competing hardest on the licence price are competing on the number you will care least about in eighteen months. The variable that actually decides the total is whether the structure was right the first time.
Talk to us about what your setup would actually involve, or start with the structure finder.
FAQ
What are the hidden costs of setting up a business in Dubai?
The ones most often left out of a headline quote are the immigration establishment card, per-person residency costs, premises and Ejari, licence amendments, annual audit where the zone or corporate tax position requires it, and the minimum balance a corporate bank account must hold.
Why do you not publish prices?
Because the figure depends on activity, jurisdiction, visa count and banking route, and a headline number would invite a comparison that leaves out most of the cost. Every case is quoted individually, in writing.
Is the cheapest free zone the cheapest option?
Rarely. The licence fee is the smallest number in the exercise, and a zone chosen on price alone frequently produces banking friction or an amendment that costs more than the saving.
Do I need an audit for my free zone company?
It depends on the zone, and separately on your tax position: audited IFRS financial statements are a condition of Qualifying Free Zone Person status, so any company relying on the 0% qualifying-income rate needs one.
