In short
- Dubai GoFreelance: permit AED 7,500 a year, establishment card AED 2,000, two-year visa AED 5,042.
- A permit holder works in their own name, hires no staff and answers for debts personally.
- A freelancer pays corporate tax only once turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year.
- A free-zone company pays the zone's license fee plus our package from AED 2,150, and takes 1 to 5 working days.
In this guide
What a freelance permit and a freelance visa are
Three documents get mixed up. A freelance permit is a license issued to a person, in the name on the passport, for a listed profession. A freelance visa is the residence visa that the same authority sponsors for the permit holder through an establishment card. A trade license in the UAE belongs to a company, which is a separate legal person with its own name, bank account and debts.
Free zones issue the permits, among them the Dubai business parks behind GoFreelance, RAKEZ in Ras Al Khaimah and the Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone. The company route is described on free zone company in the UAE.
What an own visa gives a freelancer
The freelance visa is your own residence visa. The free zone that issued the permit sponsors it, so you need no employer, no job offer and no employment contract to live in the UAE. With it you receive an Emirates ID, open a personal bank account and sponsor your family. GoFreelance ties the visa to the validity of the freelance license and the establishment card, so a permit that is not renewed ends the visa.
The visa gives one or two years of residence and nothing beyond that: no corporate account, no visas for staff and no five-year term. Under the general rule a resident who stays outside the UAE beyond 180 days in a row loses the visa automatically.
What a freelance visa costs in Dubai and the other emirates
Three authorities publish a price. The figures are from their own sites on 9 October 2026.
| Authority | Permit | Visa and other costs | Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoFreelance, Dubai: Media City, Internet City, Knowledge Park, Design District | AED 7,500 a year, plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees | Establishment card AED 2,000; visa AED 4,600 for one year or AED 5,042 for two | Technology, media, education, design |
| RAKEZ, Ras Al Khaimah | From AED 6,100, in one-year and two-year packages | A visa through RAKEZ is optional; the page gives no price for it | Media and education professions, one activity for each permit |
| Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone | AED 9,999 for a package with the visa | The package holds the residence visa, the medical test, the Emirates ID, medical insurance and a co-working desk | Two related activities, from photography to tutoring |
How much is a two-year freelance visa?
In Dubai the first year comes to AED 14,562: AED 7,520 for the permit, AED 2,000 for the establishment card and AED 5,042 for the two-year visa. Medical insurance, which the visa requires, is extra. The permit is renewed every year, so the second year adds AED 7,520. In Umm Al Quwain the permit also runs for one year and the visa for two.
An offer of a freelance visa in Dubai for AED 7,500 quotes the permit alone. GoFreelance says so itself: the fee does not include a visa.
Ajman Media City sells a freelance license from AED 6,150, with a lease and one profession.
Hidden and recurring costs of a freelance visa
The permit, the card and the visa are the visible costs. Six more come with the first visa or return every year.
| Cost | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment card | AED 2,000 at GoFreelance | Before the first visa; GoFreelance publishes no renewal fee |
| Emirates ID | AED 100 for each year of residence plus AED 100 smart service fee, so AED 300 for a two-year visa | With each visa; the card expires with the visa |
| Medical fitness test | The fee of the approved centre; Dubai requires the certificate for a new visa and for a renewal | At each new visa and each renewal |
| Medical insurance | The premium of the insurer you choose; GoFreelance asks for a valid policy | Every year |
| Permit renewal | The Authority's tariff plus AED 20; the first year costs AED 7,520 | Every year, online |
| Bank account | Many banks keep a minimum monthly balance and charge a fee below it | Every month |
What a freelance permit allows and what it does not
The terms of the three authorities agree on the main points.
- Name: you trade under the name in your passport. No company name appears on the permit or on an invoice.
- Bank: you use a personal account. RAKEZ states that a freelancer cannot open a corporate one.
- Staff: you cannot hire or sponsor employees. The permit carries one visa, your own.
- Liability: you answer personally for the debts and other obligations of the work.
- Activities: one profession for each RAKEZ permit, two related ones in Umm Al Quwain. The lists hold professions, and the Umm Al Quwain zone says its permit does not suit trading.
- Clients: GoFreelance lets you work for a company at its free-zone premises as an independent contractor.
- A job on the side: you may hold a permit while employed. GoFreelance asks for a declaration, RAKEZ for your sponsor's no-objection certificate.
- Family: with the visa you can sponsor dependants on the general income rule of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with accommodation.
- Audit: GoFreelance asks for no audited accounts at renewal.
Who a freelancer can sponsor
The UAE government portal sets the family rule. You may bring a spouse, unmarried daughters, sons under 25 and children with special needs. Parents are open to Green visa holders, who may sponsor first-degree relatives. Your monthly income must reach AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 with accommodation. Each family member from 18 passes the medical test at an approved centre.
A freelancer has no employer to certify the income, so you ask GoFreelance for a salary certificate on the axs portal. A family visa ends no later than yours, and a sponsor who neither renews nor cancels a dependent's visa can be fined.
Renewing the freelance permit and the visa, and what happens if they lapse
The permit renews every year and the visa after one or two years. At GoFreelance the permit renews online on the axs portal with no documents and no audit report, and you download the license once you pay. The fee follows the tariff of the Dubai Development Authority, plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees.
- Renew the permit online before it expires. The Authority asks every free-zone license holder to renew each year.
- Check the passport. ICP asks for six months of validity left when the residence is renewed.
- Renew the residence permit with ICP and take the medical test at an approved centre. ICP links the renewal to an Emirates ID application and completes the service in 2 days; the card can be renewed from six months before it expires.
What happens if the permit or the visa lapses
A permit that is not renewed ends the visa. After a residence permit expires or is cancelled, ICP gives a grace period. It is 30 days for most categories and 60 days for a residence with a guarantor or host. Skilled workers of levels 1 to 3 and property owners have 90 days, and holders of Golden, Green and Blue residence 180. A free-zone freelance visa falls under the 30 days unless the holder also fits a longer group. From the next day ICP fines AED 50 for each day in the country. The Emirates ID expires with the visa and carries its own late fee of AED 20 a day, to a ceiling of AED 1,000, once the renewal is a month late.
The five-year Green visa for freelancers
A free-zone freelance visa lasts one or two years. The Green visa is a federal residence visa for five years with no sponsor, and freelancers are one of its three categories. It asks for a freelance work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and for a bachelor's degree or a specialised diploma. It also asks for annual income from self-employment of AED 360,000 or more for the two previous years, or proof of financial solvency.
A newcomer has no two years of self-employment income to show. The Green visa comes after a first freelance visa, once the invoices and bank statements exist.
We do this for you Dubai free zone company setup and the other UAE zones our packages from AED 2,150
Freelance permit vs LLC: the comparison
| Point | Freelance permit | Free-zone company | Mainland LLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal form | You, a natural person | A company; one shareholder is enough | A company; one shareholder is enough |
| Liability | Personal, with no limit | Limited to the company's capital | Limited to the capital in the memorandum |
| Cost to start | AED 14,562 in Dubai with a two-year visa; AED 9,999 in Umm Al Quwain | The zone's license fee at cost, plus our package from AED 2,150 before VAT; each visa adds the zone's fee and ours from AED 1,450 | The authority's license fee at cost, plus our package from AED 2,150 before VAT; each visa adds the authority's fee and ours from AED 1,450 |
| Time | Two working days for the Dubai permit | 1 to 5 working days for the license | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Visas | One, for you | For you, partners and staff, by the license package | For you, partners and staff, by the size of the office |
| Clients | Anyone who will contract with an individual | The zone and abroad; the mainland through a distributor, a branch or a permit | Any customer in the UAE, government bodies included |
| Corporate tax | Only above AED 1 million of turnover | Registers within three months; 0% on qualifying income is open to it | Registers within three months; 0% up to AED 375,000, 9% above |
| Books and audit | Records of income and costs | Books every year; an audit where the zone or the tax rule asks | Books and an audit every year |
The zone's own license fee is paid to the zone at cost, on top of our package. Among the zones we work with, the license fees start at AED 3,999, at Creative City in Fujairah. Ajman NuVentures charges AED 4,888, Ajman Media City AED 4,999, Umm Al Quwain AED 5,500 and Ajman Free Zone AED 5,555. A company also has running costs a freelancer does not: the yearly license renewal, bookkeeping and a tax return.
Tax on a freelancer and on a company
A freelancer is a natural person, and corporate tax applies to one only once business turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year. A company is a taxable person from its first day. It registers with the Federal Tax Authority within three months of incorporation, pays AED 10,000 for a late application and files a return every year, with tax to pay or without.
Take a consultant with fees of AED 900,000 and costs of AED 100,000. On a permit the turnover is under the line: no registration and no tax. In a company the taxable income of AED 800,000 bears 9% on AED 425,000, which is AED 38,250. The company avoids it by electing Small Business Relief, open to revenue of AED 3 million or less for tax periods that end by 31 December 2029.
The 0% rate on qualifying income belongs to a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP), which the law defines as a company. A permit holder cannot claim it. VAT treats both alike: registration once taxable sales pass AED 375,000 in 12 months. The personal side is in personal income tax in the UAE, the company's in corporate tax in the UAE.
Where a freelancer meets the limits, and when a company is the better choice
Banking, contracts and client invoices
Banking comes first. The UAE government portal lists the usual documents for a personal account: the Emirates ID, a valid residence visa, the passport, a salary certificate or employment letter and, in some cases, proof of address. A self-employed applicant may be asked for a trade license, which for a freelancer is the permit.
Invoices go out under your name. VAT registration is voluntary from AED 187,500 a year and required above AED 375,000, and a registered freelancer issues each tax invoice within 14 calendar days, in dirhams. The formats are in tax invoice format in the UAE, the e-invoicing dates in e-invoicing in the UAE.
When the permit stops fitting
The permit stops fitting when one of these becomes true:
- You need a second person: an employee, or a partner with a visa.
- A client's procurement rules ask for a company as the other party.
- A contract is large enough that personal liability for it worries you.
- You want a trade name, a corporate bank account or shares to sell to an investor.
- The work moves beyond the listed professions, into goods or a second unrelated line.
We register your free zone company and its visas, among them the residence visa in the UAE that replaces the freelance one. The choice between a zone and the mainland is weighed in free zone vs mainland, and a first year on each Dubai route is budgeted on company formation in Dubai.
How to get a freelance visa in Dubai, step by step
- Find your profession in the authority's list. GoFreelance covers technology, media, education and design.
- Prepare a passport copy, a photo, and a portfolio or a qualification certificate. If an employer sponsors your current visa, add the declaration or the no-objection certificate.
- Register on the authority's portal, apply and pay. The Dubai Development Authority gives two working days for the permit.
- Apply for the establishment card, AED 2,000 at GoFreelance. Immigration requires it before any visa.
- Apply for the visa on the same portal. From abroad you receive an entry permit and fly in to finish.
- Pass the medical test, give biometrics for the Emirates ID and take medical insurance.
- Open a personal bank account with the permit and the Emirates ID.
