Dubai Internet CitySetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Dubai
The region's longest-running technology cluster, operating since 1999.
Dubai Internet City opened in 1999 and is the oldest dedicated technology cluster in the region, hosting over 4,000 businesses and more than 8,000 professionals from 150-plus countries in Al Sufouh. It is a TECOM Group district, so a licence here comes with access to the shared TECOM ecosystem: the in5 startup incubator, the GoFreelance freelance permit route and D/Quarters co-working. Tenants range from global software and telecom names to early-stage startups, which is the main reason founders pick it over a cheaper zone — the address is a hiring and credibility signal in UAE tech. Visa allocation is tied to the size and type of space leased rather than to a published quota table, and TECOM does not publish licence prices.
Visit Official Website"Not scored" means we found no evidence for that dimension, not that the zone scored zero. Compare zones against each other, not against 10.
How much does Dubai Internet City cost?
Dubai Internet City setup costs from AED 7,500 – AED 7,520, published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026.
Setup cost
AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
≈ $2,055 – $2,060 · €1,875 – €1,880
One-time formation cost, as published
Published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026.View the source page
USD and EUR figures are indicative conversions at AED 3.65/USD and AED 4.00/EUR. Only the AED figure is a published price.
What this figure covers, and what it leaves out
GoFreelance freelance licence, valid in Dubai Internet City: AED 7,500 per year per TECOM's headline ('Dubai's easiest freelance package for AED 7,500* per year', conditions apply). Licence only - EXCLUDES visa. To sponsor a visa an Establishment Card of AED 2,000 is required first; employment visa AED 4,600 (1 year) or AED 5,042 (2 years). So a freelancer needing residency pays roughly AED 7,500 + 2,000 + 4,600.
Sourcing notes (checked 22 August 2026)
You will see AED 15,000 quoted for Dubai Internet City on consultancy sites. It does not match anything TECOM publishes, and it cannot be the entry point. The only price TECOM publishes for DIC is the GoFreelance freelance permit at AED 7,500. Two official TECOM pages disagree slightly on it: gofreelance.ae headlines AED 7,500, while dmc.ae references AED 7,520. One important limit: that is a permit for an individual freelancer, not a company licence. DIC publishes no price at all for an FZ-LLC. It does state that an FZ-LLC needs minimum paid-up capital of AED 10,000 — capital you hold in the company, not a fee you pay. The licence renews annually, but no renewal price is published.
What licence types does Dubai Internet City issue?
Dubai Internet City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Startup licence (in5). The licence you hold sets which activities you may carry out, and in most zones it also drives the visa allocation and the workspace you are required to take.
Permitted activities
What office options does Dubai Internet City offer?
Dubai Internet City publishes 6 workspace options: Office, D/Quarters co-working, In5 incubator space, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Retail. Dubai Internet City requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.
Published workspace options: Office, D/Quarters co-working, In5 incubator space, Light industrial unit, Warehouse, Retail. Important: a virtual address or flexi-desk satisfies the free zone's own licensing rule but is a separate question from the adequate-substance test that a Qualifying Free Zone Person must meet to claim the 0% Corporate Tax rate. What the published entry price covers, as stated by the source: Indicative 'from' figure advertised by consultant sites (Emirabiz); not published on dic.ae or tecomgroup.ae and not verified against any official source. Treat as indicative only.
Tax and compliance at Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City publishes no blanket audit obligation of its own. Separately, every free zone company in the UAE falls under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: the 0% rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a QFZP must file audited accounts at any revenue under Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%.
- Regulatory authority
- TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA) (DDA)
- Zone-level audit requirement
- Not published as a blanket requirement
Tax treatment the authority publishes
- 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic
- 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP
- 0% personal income tax in the UAE
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls
- QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue)
- Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person
Substance requirements
Federal position (applies to every UAE free zone): to claim the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate a company must maintain adequate substance in the free zone - core income-generating activity carried out there, plus adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified full-time employees and adequate operating expenditure relative to that activity (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Art. 8). Under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare audited financial statements regardless of revenue; a free zone company that is not a QFZP needs audited accounts only where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022 by Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024, so ESR is no longer a live annual filing. UBO disclosure under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 does still apply. Zone-level audit position: the research found only conditional evidence for this zone (an approved-auditor programme or published exemption rules) and no directly quoted primary regulation. The audit_required flag is therefore recorded as false because the field cannot express 'conditional' - it does not mean an audit is never required here. The federal rules above apply in any case.
Customs treatment
This zone does not appear on the compiled VAT Designated Zone list and was not explicitly excluded from it, so its Designated Zone status is recorded as unknown rather than as 'no'. Goods held inside a customs-controlled free zone area are generally not subject to UAE customs duty until they enter the mainland, at which point 5% import VAT and any applicable duty arise. Verify Designated Zone status with the FTA before relying on it for goods movements.
Profit repatriation
The UAE imposes no exchange controls and no restrictions on repatriating capital or profits from a free zone company, and there is no personal income tax on distributions to individuals. Corporate Tax is assessed on the company, not on the remittance.
Ownership
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
- Local partner
- Not required
Why there is no banking section
We publish no per-zone bank lists, acceptance rates or account-opening timelines, here or anywhere else on the site. No bank and no regulator publishes that data by free zone. Account opening is a decision each bank makes on your shareholders and your activity — it is not a property of the zone you register in, and any site that scores it per zone is inventing a fact.
Who Dubai Internet City suits
Every line below is a restatement of something Dubai Internet City publishes, not a recommendation we were paid to make. We are not a reseller for any zone on this site, which is why the right-hand column exists at all.
Consider it if
- You want 100% foreign ownership with no local partner.
- Entry price is the deciding factor: the published setup cost is AED 7,500 – AED 7,520.
- You want a price you can check against the authority's own page before you commit.
- Your activity spans more than one licence category — 3 are published.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
Key benefits, as Dubai Internet City states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about Dubai Internet City
How much does it cost to set up in Dubai Internet City?
Dubai Internet City setup costs from AED 7,500 – AED 7,520, published by TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), verified 22 August 2026. GoFreelance freelance licence, valid in Dubai Internet City: AED 7,500 per year per TECOM's headline ('Dubai's easiest freelance package for AED 7,500* per year', conditions apply). Licence only - EXCLUDES visa. To sponsor a visa an Establishment Card of AED 2,000 is required first; employment visa AED 4,600 (1 year) or AED 5,042 (2 years). So a freelancer needing residency pays roughly AED 7,500 + 2,000 + 4,600.
What licence types does Dubai Internet City issue?
Dubai Internet City publishes 3 licence types: Commercial licence, Freelance licence (GoFreelance) and Startup licence (in5).
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Dubai Internet City?
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
What tax treatment applies to a Dubai Internet City company?
Dubai Internet City publishes the following: 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic, 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP, 0% personal income tax in the UAE, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls, QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue) and Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The 0% federal rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other income is taxed at 9%.
Where is Dubai Internet City located?
Dubai Internet City is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Compare Dubai Internet City against
- d3 - Dubai Design DistrictAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- DAFZA - Dubai Airport FreezoneAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500
- Dubai Knowledge ParkAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)Similar published setup cost · AED 6,600
- Masdar City Free ZoneSimilar published setup cost · AED 7,000
Guides that cover Dubai and this zone's situation
- 0% Free Zone Corporate Tax: The Eight QFZP Conditions as a Checklist
Free zone 0% corporate tax has eight conditions, and all must be met. The full checklist, including the audit rule with no revenue threshold.
- Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025: Qualifying Activities, and Why MD 265 Content Is Stale
Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025 repealed MD 265 of 2023 retroactively from June 2023. The current qualifying activities list and what expanded.
- The QFZP De Minimis Rule, With a Worked Example (5% or AED 5m)
Non-qualifying revenue must stay under the lower of AED 5m or 5% of total revenue. Two worked examples and what happens if you breach it.
Cost data for Dubai Internet City was last checked against TECOM Group, under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA)'s own site on 22 August 2026. Figures are reproduced in the currency the authority publishes them in, and are never converted, averaged or estimated. We do not charge to be listed, to be listed accurately, or to be ranked. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us the page that says so and we will correct it and re-date the record.