Dubai Knowledge ParkSetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Dubai
The only Dubai free zone specialised in HR, recruitment and training licences.
Dubai Knowledge Park in Al Sufouh is the only free zone in Dubai built specifically around human resources, recruitment, training and vocational education licensing, and it forms TECOM's education cluster together with Dubai International Academic City. That specialisation matters practically: recruitment and executive search are activities several general-purpose zones will not license at all, so DKP is often the only free zone route for an agency that wants to place candidates in the UAE. It hosts universities and training institutions alongside commercial tenants, and unusually for a TECOM district it offers land plots as well as offices, desks and co-working. Freelance and commercial company licences are both available. Pricing is not published.
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 Knowledge Park cost?
Dubai Knowledge Park 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 Knowledge Park (named by TECOM as one of the four covered zones). AED 7,500/yr headline. Licence only, EXCLUDES visa; Establishment Card AED 2,000, visa AED 4,600 (1yr) / AED 5,042 (2yr) separate.
Sourcing notes (checked 22 August 2026)
DKP is the only Dubai free zone specialised in HR/recruitment/training licensing, but it publishes no price for those commercial licences - only the shared TECOM freelance figure. Scope limit: individual freelance permit, not a company licence. RENEWAL BASIS: Renewable annually; no renewal price published.
What licence types does Dubai Knowledge Park issue?
Dubai Knowledge Park publishes 2 licence types: Freelance licence and Commercial company licence. 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 Knowledge Park offer?
Dubai Knowledge Park publishes 6 workspace options: Office, Co-working, Desk rental, In5 centre, Retail, Land. Dubai Knowledge Park 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, Co-working, Desk rental, In5 centre, Retail, Land. 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.
Tax and compliance at Dubai Knowledge Park
Dubai Knowledge Park 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: no primary source stating this zone's own audit requirement was retrievable during research. The audit_required flag is recorded as false because the field cannot express 'unknown'; do not read it as confirmation that no audit is required. 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 Knowledge Park suits
Every line below is a restatement of something Dubai Knowledge Park 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.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
Key benefits, as Dubai Knowledge Park states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about Dubai Knowledge Park
How much does it cost to set up in Dubai Knowledge Park?
Dubai Knowledge Park 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 Knowledge Park (named by TECOM as one of the four covered zones). AED 7,500/yr headline. Licence only, EXCLUDES visa; Establishment Card AED 2,000, visa AED 4,600 (1yr) / AED 5,042 (2yr) separate.
What licence types does Dubai Knowledge Park issue?
Dubai Knowledge Park publishes 2 licence types: Freelance licence and Commercial company licence.
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Dubai Knowledge Park?
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 Knowledge Park company?
Dubai Knowledge Park 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 Knowledge Park located?
Dubai Knowledge Park is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Compare Dubai Knowledge Park against
- d3 - Dubai Design DistrictAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- DAFZA - Dubai Airport FreezoneAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500
- Dubai Internet CityAlso 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 Knowledge Park 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.