IFZA free zone company setup: license AED 12,900, our packages from AED 2,150
IFZA free zone company setup takes about 5 working days, with a license for 3 activities at AED 12,900 a year. Our packages from AED 2,150 on top of the zone's fees.
IFZA Dubai
- AED 12,900 License a year with no visa
- 5 Working days to the license
- 3 Activities included in one license
IFZA free zone: what the name means and where it is in Dubai
7.2 millionSquare metres of Dubai Silicon Oasis
IFZA stands for International Free Zone Authority. Its zone, IFZA Dubai, is an area inside Dubai Silicon Oasis, the technology district of 7.2 million square metres run by the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. IFZA companies fall under the free-zone rules of Dubai Silicon Oasis.
2020IFZA Business Park, at Dubai Silicon Oasis
IFZA has worked from the district since 21 October 2020, under an agreement with the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority. Its offices are in IFZA Business Park and Dubai Digital Park.
FZCOThe company form and the fee
An IFZA company is an FZCO, a free-zone limited liability company, or a branch of a foreign company. IFZA works through its network of professional partners and publishes no price list, so its fees reach you in our quote, at cost. A license with 3 activities for a year and no visa costs AED 12,900.
The owner holds 100% of an IFZA company and pays in no share capital.
IFZA license cost: AED 12,900 a year, and the first year with a visa
IFZA publishes no tariff: its lines are the zone's fees at cost, from our October 2026 fee proposal. Our fee is one of three packages, before VAT: Smart AED 5,400, Business AED 13,100 or VIP AED 25,800 for the company, a visa and a bank account. A first year with one visa allocation, one visa and a bank account is the zone's AED 22,050 for the license, the card and the visa, plus our package: AED 27,450 with Smart, 35,150 with Business and 51,350 with VIP, whose fast-track visa adds AED 3,500 at the zone.
Our packages for the company: Smart AED 2,150, Business AED 5,450, VIP AED 9,350
from AED 2,150Get a quote- IFZA license: 3 activities, no visa, a year
- AED 12,900
- IFZA license with one visa allocation, a year
- AED 14,900
- Establishment card, a year
- AED 2,200
- Residence visa at the zone, each
- AED 4,950
- Mainland operating permit (DET), six months
- AED 5,000
- Accounting, a month
- from AED 1,300
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
We had long been looking for someone to register a company in the UAE and help with the account. With Legarithm it went as it should: a clear process, help with the documents, no red tape.
Everything is well coordinated and clear. Half an hour of the first meeting was more useful than two weeks of trying to work it out myself.
What an IFZA license includes
One license takes 3 activities, and professional and commercial ones can be mixed. Each further activity, up to 7, costs AED 1,000. An extra individual shareholder (up to 3) costs AED 350, a corporate one AED 750.
IFZA prices the license by its visas: for a year AED 12,900 with none, 14,900 with one and 16,900 with two; for two years 21,900, 25,300 and 28,700. Moving up later costs the difference.
Base licenses come with a flexi-desk in Dubai Silicon Oasis and no office to lease, so there is no Ejari registration. Higher visa numbers bring office space in IFZA's business park.
The card is the company's identity with the Dubai authorities and costs AED 2,200. IFZA requires it before the first visa and renews it every year. We obtain it and file each renewal: license renewal and PRO services in Dubai.
Professional for consulting, IT and design, commercial for trade and e-commerce, general trading for unrelated product lines, and a branch license for a foreign company.
An IFZA license covers blockchain development, Web3 tooling and NFT infrastructure. An exchange or a custodian comes under VARA, the Dubai regulator of virtual assets.
What a free zone visa is, and how an IFZA company gets one
2 yearsThe term of a free zone investor visa
A free zone visa is a UAE residence visa sponsored by a free-zone company. Owners hold investor visas, employees employment visas. The holder lives in the UAE and can sponsor a spouse, children and parents. With IFZA the number of visas is written into the license. The investor visa runs for 2 years and is renewed while the license is kept valid.
4 stepsFrom the establishment card to the Emirates ID
- Establishment card: we register the company with the immigration service.
- Entry permit, or a change of status for a person already in the UAE.
- Medical fitness test and fingerprints for the Emirates ID, taken in Dubai.
- The visa and the Emirates ID card.
AED 4,950The zone's visa fee, and ours
You travel to Dubai once, for the medical test and the fingerprints. A family needs a sponsor salary of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with accommodation. The zone's visa fee is AED 4,950 and our fee is from AED 1,450; a change of status costs AED 1,600, fast-track AED 3,500, and the investor title or partner visa AED 1,000 more. The residence visa in the UAE page has the family rules.
Who IFZA suits, and who should look at another zone
A professional license joins consulting, design and marketing in one company at a Dubai address that clients and banks recognise.
A company with no visas holds shares, intellectual property or other assets, and its yearly cost is the license.
A commercial license covers import, export, distribution and e-commerce, with the goods kept at a logistics company.
Meydan Free Zone charges AED 12,500 and publishes every fee, with each visa allocation at AED 1,850.
IFZA licenses companies and leases offices. Warehouses and industrial plots are in RAKEZ.
DMCC suits commodity traders and teams that want an office in Jumeirah Lakes Towers from the first day, at nearly three times the entry fee.
IFZA compared with Meydan, RAKEZ and DMCC
| Compared | IFZA | Meydan | RAKEZ | DMCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Dubai Silicon Oasis | Nad Al Sheba, Dubai | Ras Al Khaimah | Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai |
| License a year, from | AED 12,900 | AED 12,500 | AED 6,000 | AED 35,484, Basic Biz package |
| How fees reach you | In our quote, at cost | Published tariff | Published packages | Published packages |
| Activities | 3 on a license | 3 groups on a license | 1 in Basic, 10 in All-Inclusive | By license type |
| Visas | By license, from none | AED 1,850 each, with the license | 1 in Lite, up to 4 in All-Inclusive | By the office |
| License issued in | about 5 working days | 1 to 3 working days | 5 minutes | 7 to 14 working days |
Meydan Free Zone company setup RAKEZ free zone company setup DMCC free zone company setup
Tax, bank account and mainland work for an IFZA company
0% and 9%Corporate tax and VAT
An IFZA company holds a tax registration number from the Federal Tax Authority and files one corporate tax return a year. Profit up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the part above it at 9%. From turnover of AED 375,000 the company needs a VAT registration in the UAE, and we file it.
QFZP0% on qualifying income
As a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP), with its core work carried out in the zone and audited accounts among the conditions, a company pays 0% on qualifying income of any amount. Our guide to corporate tax in the UAE has the rules.
2 to 4 weeksUsually from the file to an open bank account
We build the file for the business bank account in the UAE from the license, the articles, the establishment card, your business plan and first contracts. The bank usually opens the account in 2 to 4 weeks. Our fee is from AED 1,800 in Smart to AED 9,150 in VIP.
AED 5,000Work on the mainland
The company invoices mainland businesses for its services. Work done on the mainland itself needs Dubai's Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit, AED 5,000 for six months, and that revenue is taxed at 9%.
60 to 90 daysNotice IFZA gives before a renewal
IFZA sends its renewal notice 60 to 90 days ahead. The date is in our calendar, and we renew the license and the establishment card on time. The zone's renewal from year 2 is AED 14,000 with no visa and AED 20,900 with four, for a company incorporated in 2023 or later.
IFZA business setup, step by step
- 1–2 working days1
Activities, name, package
Tell us the services or goods on your invoices. We choose up to 3 activities, check the name and settle the license by the visas you want and your package, Smart, Business or VIP.
- then2
Application and security check
Your documents go into your account, and we file them. The UAE authorities run a security check on each shareholder, director and the manager.
- about 5 working days3
Signature and license
IFZA emails the incorporation documents for electronic signature. You sign, we pay the zone's fees at cost, and the license is issued.
- 1–3 weeks a person4
Establishment card and visas
We register the establishment card and file each visa. You visit Dubai for the medical test and the Emirates ID.
- usually 2–4 weeks5
Tax number and bank file
We apply to the Federal Tax Authority for the tax registration number and submit the bank file.
Documents for an IFZA application
Documents
Shareholders, directors, the manager
- Passport copy
- Digital passport photo
- Proof of home address
- Emirates ID and visa, for UAE residents
- A short business description
A corporate shareholder
- Certificate of incorporation
- Certificate of good standing
- Memorandum and articles
- Board resolution, notarised
- Passport and address of each beneficial owner (UBO)
You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.
See the platformQuestions about IFZA free zone company setup
Is IFZA a good free zone?
It suits a consultancy, an agency, a trading or a holding company that wants a Dubai license without an office. One license takes 3 activities and the owner pays in no capital. The page on free zones in the UAE lists the zones for other needs.
What does IFZA mean?
International Free Zone Authority. Its zone, IFZA Dubai, lies inside Dubai Silicon Oasis.
What is a free zone visa in the UAE?
A residence visa that a free-zone company sponsors for its owner or its staff. The owner's investor visa runs for 2 years, it is renewed while the license is kept, and the holder can bring a family.
How much does an IFZA license cost?
AED 12,900 for a year with 3 activities and no visa, and AED 14,900 with one visa allocation. IFZA publishes no tariff, so these are the zone's fees at cost, and our package comes on top, from AED 2,150. The fees of the other Dubai zones are in Dubai free zone license cost by zone.
How do I register a company with IFZA?
You choose up to 3 activities and the number of visas, upload the passports and sign online, and we file the application with IFZA. IFZA issues the license in about 5 working days, and no share capital is paid in.
How many visas can an IFZA company get?
The number its license states, from none upwards. The base licenses need no office, and larger ones come with space in IFZA's business park.
Can an IFZA company do business on the Dubai mainland?
It bills mainland companies for its services from the zone. When the work moves onto the mainland we apply for the operating permit, AED 5,000 for six months, or add a mainland company.
Can an IFZA company hold shares in other companies?
Yes. A company with no visas serves as a holding company for shares, intellectual property or other assets.
Get a quote for your UAE company
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- After the call we email you the checklist of documents for your country.
We reply by the end of the next working day with the cost and the dates for your case. The first call is free and confidential.
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A 2-year residence visa through your company, our fee from AED 1,450, 1 to 3 weeks after the license
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IFRS books, VAT and corporate tax returns from AED 1,300 a month
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All guides to a company in the UAE
Updated 9 November 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
