Setup guide
How to get a freelance permit in the UAE
A freelance permit lets you work in your own name without incorporating, and carries a residence visa. It is materially cheaper than a company — often under AED 10,000 including the visa — and is under-recommended because it earns advisers less than a company does.
What it costs
The cost drivers for this trade.
With roughly 10.04 million expatriates in the UAE and a large professional population, freelance permits have become a mainstream route to residence for individual practitioners across media, technology and consulting.
Figures on this page
UAE fintech market around USD 52bn in 2026, forecast USD 90bn by 2031 (11.6% CAGR). Digital payments account for roughly 57% of the market; Dubai holds close to 60% share, supported by DIFC and the VARA regime.
Mordor Intelligence, 2026
How the business makes money here
You are the product and your rate times billable days is the ceiling. No staff means no leverage, but also almost no fixed cost. Many freelancers earn more net here than as employees elsewhere purely because there is no personal income tax.
What it costs to start
Published "from" prices compare licence fees and ignore everything that actually moves the total. These are the variables that decide what a freelance & solo business pays in year one.
- Permit
- The cheapest route to UAE residence through work. GoFreelance, SHAMS, twofour54, RAKEZ and Fujairah Creative City all run schemes.
- Visa
- Usually priced separately from the permit itself.
- Medical insurance
- Mandatory for residence, and your own responsibility rather than an employer's.
- What you give up
- No corporate bank account, no staff, and a personal rather than corporate invoice — which some clients' procurement systems will not accept.
We quote a single all-in figure with every government fee itemised beside our own, before you commit. Ranges published anywhere — including here — are indicative.
Why here
Regional advantages
Cheapest legitimate route to residence
Often under AED 10,000 including the visa — a fraction of a company.
No personal income tax
Net income is materially higher than the equivalent gross in most home countries.
Multiple issuing authorities
GoFreelance, SHAMS, twofour54, RAKEZ and Fujairah Creative City all compete on price and field coverage.
And the other side
Regional disadvantages
Cannot employ anyone
The permit attaches to you personally. Growth requires converting to a company and starting the immigration file again.
Personal rather than corporate banking
Some clients' procurement systems will not pay an individual, which is a hard commercial limit.
Field lists vary by authority
Not every profession is covered by every scheme — check before choosing on price.
Approvals
Beyond the trade licence.
- Issuing authority
- GoFreelance through TECOM, twofour54, SHAMS, RAKEZ, Fujairah Creative City and others each run their own scheme with different field lists.
- Federal freelance work permit
- MoHRE operates a separate route aimed at residents already sponsored elsewhere.
The sequence
How the setup runs.
Confirm the activity and the licence category
Map what you actually do onto the authority's activity schedule and identify any external approval it triggers, before a name is reserved or a fee is paid.
Choose the jurisdiction
Free zone or mainland, decided by who receives your invoices — then narrowed by visa quota, premises need and cost.
Reserve the trade name and obtain initial approval
Three candidate names checked against the register and the naming rules, then initial approval confirming no objection to you owning this business.
Prepare and notarise the incorporation documents
Memorandum of association, shareholder resolutions, attestations where required, and a power of attorney if you are not in the country.
Take the licence, establishment card and immigration file
The company now exists, can contract and can sponsor residence visas.
Complete residence, banking and registrations
Medical and Emirates ID, corporate bank account, corporate tax registration and any VAT, ESR or UBO obligation the structure carries.
Shortlist
Where to license it.
Four worth looking at for this activity, and why each one is on the list. All 9 are in the finder.
Questions
Materially less than a company — frequently under AED 10,000 including the residence visa, depending on the issuing authority and field. It is the cheapest legitimate route to UAE residence through work.
No. The permit attaches to you personally. Employing anyone requires a company with its own establishment card and immigration file.
Generally banks offer a personal account rather than a corporate one. For many freelancers that is adequate; for anyone invoicing large corporates it is a real constraint.
One question
Who will be paying your invoices?
Ask the regulator question first. Whether your activity is regulated matters more than where clients sit, because regulated activity needs DFSA, FSRA, Central Bank or SCA authorisation before the jurisdiction question even arises.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usServing UAE retail clients almost always means onshore regulation rather than a free zone licence. The Central Bank and SCA govern that, and a professional licence naming financial consultancy does not substitute.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usFor regulated firms the DIFC or ADGM decision usually settles this before the market question does. Both apply common law with their own regulator, and permissions travel differently from trade licences.
Answer five questions insteadOr just ask us