Business Setup
Free Zone Company Formation
Every free zone has its own cost base, activity list, visa quotas and credibility with banks. Choosing well at the start saves years of workarounds. We compare zones against your actual requirements and run the incorporation.
Free zones offer 100% foreign ownership, 0% customs within the zone, straightforward repatriation of profits and, where conditions are met, qualifying free zone person treatment under UAE corporate tax. The trade-off is that each zone suits a different profile: DMCC for commodities and trading, DIFC for financial services, IFZA and Meydan for cost-efficient services businesses, JAFZA for logistics, RAKEZ for light industry.
We shortlist zones against your activity, visa needs, banking expectations and budget, then handle registration, licensing, flexi-desk or office leasing and the immigration file so you arrive at a company that banks will actually onboard.
What we handle
- Zone selection across DMCC, IFZA, JAFZA, DAFZA, DIFC, Meydan, Dubai South, SHAMS, RAKEZ, ADGM and more
- Licence application and registration
- Flexi-desk, office and warehouse solutions
- Immigration card and visa quota setup
- Qualifying free zone person (0% corporate tax) structuring
- Renewals and zone-to-zone migration
Zone-by-zone guides
Dedicated pages with costs, visas, timelines and live news for every zone we work with.
- DMCC
- IFZA
- JAFZA
- DIFC
- Meydan
- Dubai South
- DUQE
- SHAMS
- SAIF Zone
- RAKEZ
- RAK DAO
- ADGM
- SRTIP
- DAFZA
- Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Dubai Internet City
- Dubai Media City
- d3
- Dubai Knowledge Park
- Dubai Science Park
- Dubai Studio City
- Dubai Production City
- Dubai Outsource City
- Academic City
- Dubai Healthcare City
- Dubai CommerCity
- Gold & Diamond Park
- Dubai Maritime City
- Dubai Industrial City
- Expo City
- DWTC
- Hamriyah
- Publishing City
- Healthcare City
- KEZAD
- Masdar City
- twofour54
- Ajman Free Zone
- Ajman Media City
- UAQ FTZ
- Fujairah Free Zone
- Creative City
Frequently asked questions
Which UAE free zone is the cheapest?
Ajman Media City, UAQ FTZ, SHAMS and Sharjah Publishing City run the cheapest visa-eligible licences, starting around AED 5,000 to AED 6,500 per year. The cheapest licence is not always the cheapest structure once banking and renewals are counted, so we compare landed cost across zones.
Free zone or mainland: which should I choose?
Free zone wins for 100% ownership at low cost, international business and qualifying 0% corporate tax. Mainland wins when you invoice UAE customers directly, bid for government work or need unrestricted onshore premises. Many groups end up holding one of each, and we structure which revenue sits where.
Can a free zone company do business in mainland UAE?
Only in limited ways: through a mainland distributor, by obtaining a dual licence where the zone offers one, or by clearing customs on goods leaving the zone. Selling onshore at scale usually justifies a mainland entity alongside the free zone company.
JRE analysis
Advisory Journal- 2026-10-30ADGM Issues Licensing Guidance for Crypto Mining OperationsAbu Dhabi Global Market has published licensing requirements for crypto mining businesses, clarifying a previously ambiguous regulatory area.
- 2026-10-28UAE Foreign-Ownership Reform: What the 2026 Rules Mean for Mainland Business StructuresThe UAE's foreign-ownership liberalisation is reshaping how companies structure mainland operations, with compliance implications for existing licences.
- 2026-10-17Dubai's 2026 Visa Overhaul: Eight Rule Changes Business Owners Must UnderstandDubai has updated its visa framework across eight categories in 2026, with material implications for hiring, residency and workforce planning.
- 2026-10-15UAE Golden Visa: What the Residency Benefit Actually Means for Business OwnersA closer look at the golden visa's residency and tax implications for company owners relocating to or operating from the UAE.
Further reading
Related services
- Mainland Company FormationLLC, sole establishment and branch registration across all seven emirates, with full access to the UAE onshore market.
- Offshore Company FormationHolding and asset-protection structures in the UAE offshore regime, BVI, Cayman Islands, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
- International ExpansionEntity setup beyond the UAE: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UK, USA, Singapore and India.