FREE ZONE FILE

DAFZA, Dubai Airport Free Zone

Emirate DubaiEstablished 1996Type Airport free zone, trade, logistics and services

Authority Dubai Airport Freezone Authority, part of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones

What we think

Publishes its company types, its visa quota per office size, its capital and its lease penalties, and not a single price. Licence, renewal, visa, closure and rent all go through a sales enquiry form.

Publishes no licence price at all

Packages

Talent Pass

7,500 AED

1 year licence · product page

Freelance licence
Community access
Development services
Non refundable, visa not included

Where each line was read: product page, a commercial commitment on the zone's own site. Official document, a downloadable schedule, regulation or terms. Blog only, an article on the zone's site, editorial and not contractual. Not published, the zone does not say.

Visas

Employee visa costnot publishednot published

Talent Pass visa costnot published, excluded from the AED 7,500product page

Quota, smart office1 employment visaproduct page

Quota, boutique office of 9 to 23 square metres2 employment visasproduct page

Quota, premium office 25 square metres, premium plus 503 and 6 visasproduct page

Quota, light industrial unit20 visas up to 350 square metres, 30 beyondproduct page

Offices and desks

Smart office, one workstation1 visa, price not publishedproduct page

Boutique office, 9 to 23 square metres2 visas, price not publishedproduct page

Premium office, 25 square metres3 visas, price not publishedproduct page

Premium plus office, 50 square metres6 visas, price not publishedproduct page

Standard office from 25 square metres1 visa per 8.33 square metres, price not publishedproduct page

Year two, and closing down

The two figures nobody advertises. A cheap first year means nothing if year two doubles, and nothing at all if leaving costs a fortune.

Renewal, per year

not published by the zone

Not published anywhere. Only the freelance pass is described as annually renewable, and its renewal amount can be obtained solely by contacting the zone.

Closing the company

not published by the zone

Not published. The 2021 regulations describe voluntary winding up, winding up by the registrar and branch deregistration, but publish no fee, no deposit and no timeline.

Other fees and penalties

Talent Pass licence, non refundableAED 7,500

Lease security deposit10 percent of the annual rent

Unpaid rent beyond 30 daysAED 3,000 per month

Bounced chequeAED 1,000

Occupying after lease expiry150 percent of the rent plus charges

Binding terms

Minimum share capital is AED 1 for a free zone company and AED 250,000 issued for a public company.
All freelance pass fees are non refundable and the licence must be renewed annually.
Leases renew automatically unless notice is given three months ahead, six for plots, otherwise three months of rent is due.
Beneficial owners holding 25 percent or more must be declared, updated within 15 days, and kept on record for five years.
Company name approval is at the registrar's absolute discretion.

Contradictions on the zone's own site

A 2018 press release still online requires AED 500,000 of capital for a general trading licence, while the FAQ and the 2021 regulations state AED 1.
The same release advertises cuts of 65 percent on registration and 33 percent on the licence, with no published base amount to check them against.
The no registration fee offer page carries no start date, no end date, no eligibility and no baseline fee.

What this zone does not publish

Any price for a trade, service, industrial or general trading licence.
The year two renewal fee.
Liquidation, cancellation or deregistration cost.
Visa, medical, identity card and establishment card fees.
Office, warehouse, cold storage and land rental rates.
Name reservation fee and late renewal fine schedule.

Where every figure above comes from

dafz.ae/en/business-setup/process
dafz.ae/en/talent-pass
dafz.ae/en/business-space/rental-office-space
dafz.ae, 2021 regulations, PDF

Read on the zone's official site on 13 aout 2026. We print the addresses rather than link them, so you can check any figure word for word, and so this page stays a comparison rather than a doorway.

AED 1,000 back on this zone

This zone pays us an introduction fee, and we hand AED 1,000 of it back to you once your trade licence has actually been issued. You pay the zone exactly what you would pay going direct, we never take a dirham from you, and the cashback is only due if you filled in the Free Zone Radar form first.

Check whether this zone fits your case12 questions, about 90 seconds. It may well tell you this zone is wrong for you.

Figures quoted from the zone are left in the language the zone published them in, so you can check them word for word. This file is available in English and French. The comparator itself is in Arabic too.