IFZA is the volume choice for service and consultancy businesses in Dubai — licences typically issued in three to five working days, from around AED 11,900, with no requirement for physical premises beyond a desk. It is the zone we file in most often, and for the right business it is genuinely hard to beat on cost.
Why businesses choose IFZA company setup
- Speed — licence issuance in three to five working days for straightforward activities
- Cost — among the lowest credible entry points in Dubai
- Flexibility — broad activity list, multiple activities on one licence
- No mandatory office — flexi-desk packages satisfy the address requirement
- Visa allocation scaled to package rather than to office size
Who it suits, and who it does not
IFZA works well for consultancy, professional services, IT, marketing, trading businesses selling internationally, and holding structures.
It works badly for one specific situation: a business whose customers are mainly UAE mainland companies. That revenue is generally not qualifying income, and crossing the de minimis threshold costs you 0% status on everything.
If most of your invoices will go to UAE mainland customers, a mainland licence is usually the better structure despite costing more. We test this before recommending a jurisdiction — the reasoning is set out in our guide to mainland versus free zone.
What it actually costs
The licence headline is not the number to plan around. A realistic first year with one visa:
- Licence and registration — from around AED 11,900
- Flexi-desk — commonly bundled in the package
- Establishment card — roughly AED 1,200 to 2,000
- Each visa — roughly AED 3,500 to 5,500 including medical and Emirates ID
- Realistic first-year total — AED 18,000 to 25,000 with one visa
Zero-visa packages are cheaper and genuinely available, but they leave you without an Emirates ID — which makes opening a corporate bank account materially harder. Full breakdown in our Dubai setup cost guide.
The formation process
- Activity and structure — selecting activities that cover what you will actually invoice for, and testing the tax position
- Name reservation — subject to naming rules
- Application and documents — passport copies, photographs, and where applicable a No Objection Certificate
- Licence issuance — typically three to five working days
- Establishment card — required before any visa processing
- Visa guidance — entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID, stamping
- Bank account — file preparation and introduction
Ongoing obligations
The licence is the start, not the whole cost. Annually you will need renewal, corporate tax registration and filing, bookkeeping maintained through the year, and audited financial statements if you are claiming Qualifying Free Zone Person status — which has no revenue threshold.
Visa renewals fall every two to three years. Budget on a three-year view rather than year one, because that is where the real comparison between zones emerges.
Choosing your activities correctly
Your licence lists the activities you are permitted to invoice for. Getting this wrong is the most common and most avoidable formation error.
Two failure modes. The first is choosing too narrowly — a consultancy licence that does not cover the training work you also deliver, meaning those invoices sit outside your licensed scope. The second is assuming a broad-sounding activity covers everything; activity definitions are specific, and "management consultancy" does not automatically include recruitment or marketing.
Amending activities later is possible but costs fees and time. Spending an extra hour on activity selection at the outset is the cheapest hour in the whole process.
What you need to provide
- Passport copy for every shareholder and the manager, valid at least six months
- Passport-style photograph against a white background
- Current visa page and entry stamp if you are already in the UAE
- Emirates ID if you hold UAE residence
- Proof of address, typically a recent utility bill or bank statement
- A No Objection Certificate from your current sponsor, where you hold a UAE employment visa
- For corporate shareholders: attested certificate of incorporation, memorandum, and a board resolution authorising the setup
Corporate shareholding adds attestation time. Documents issued outside the UAE generally require legalisation, which is measured in weeks rather than days — plan for it rather than discovering it mid-application.
Visas and the establishment card
The establishment card is issued after the licence and is a prerequisite for any visa processing. Nothing on the immigration side can begin until it exists.
Each residence visa then runs through entry permit, status change or exit and re-entry, medical fitness testing, Emirates ID biometrics, and finally visa stamping. Budget two to four weeks per visa in normal conditions, longer if a medical result requires follow-up.
Family sponsorship is available once your own residence is issued and salary conditions are met. That is a separate process with its own attestation requirements for marriage and birth certificates — worth starting early if relocating a family.
IFZA compared with the alternatives
- vs Meydan — broadly similar on cost. Meydan offers a central Dubai registered address, which some founders prefer for perception. IFZA typically issues faster.
- vs DMCC — DMCC costs several times more and requires annual audited accounts, but carries recognition that matters for commodities, international trading and certain banking relationships.
- Compared with SHAMS — SHAMS is Sharjah-based and strong for media and creative activity; IFZA carries a Dubai address.
- vs mainland — mainland costs more and requires real premises, but allows direct trade with UAE mainland customers without the qualifying income problem.
Our free zone comparison guide works through this in detail, including three-year total cost rather than year one.
Banking realities
Bank account opening is where free zone setups most often stall, and zone choice affects it. Banks assess substance, activity clarity and source of funds — and a flexi-desk company with a non-resident director presents a weaker profile than one with real premises and a resident signatory.
This is a practical argument for taking at least one visa rather than a zero-visa package. An Emirates ID and resident signatory materially improve the file. We prepare banking documentation as part of formation rather than leaving you to it — the common reasons applications fail are set out in our guide to why corporate accounts get rejected.
Frequently asked questions
Is IFZA a good freezone for a first UAE company?
For a straightforward service or consultancy business, yes — the freezone company setup cost is competitive, issuance is quick, and the banking profile is stronger than the northern emirates zones.
Three to five working days for straightforward activities, assuming documents are complete and the name is approved.
No. Flexi-desk arrangements satisfy the address requirement, which is a large part of why the entry cost is low.
Commercially yes, but that revenue is generally non-qualifying for corporate tax and counts toward the de minimis threshold. Exceeding it costs 0% status entirely.
IFZA has historically been lighter on renewal than DMCC or JAFZA, but audited accounts are mandatory for Qualifying Free Zone Person status regardless of what the zone asks.
Allocation depends on the package rather than office size. Confirm the number you need before selecting, as upgrading later costs more.
Yes, subject to approval and fees. Selecting adequately broad activities at the outset is usually cheaper than amending.
Getting started
Tell us what you will actually invoice for and where your customers are. We will confirm whether IFZA is the right zone, quote the full first-year cost including visas, and test the corporate tax position before you commit.