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 with its license costs from $7,000 with us 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 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.
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.
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 Free zone company setup in Dubai and the UAE from $7,000
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 | From $7,000 with the license, before VAT, and from AED 3,000 for each visa | From $8,000, before VAT, and from AED 3,000 for each visa |
| 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 part of our price for a company. 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.
When a company is the better choice
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.
