Expo City Dubai cost in 2026

Dubai · prices checked September 2026

Licence, 1 year12,520 AED

Visa, per personfrom 3,200 AED

Renewal, per year12,520 AED

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In short

The cheapest Expo City Dubai licence costs 12,520 AED a year. The renewal is 12,520 AED a year.

Publishes a complete official fee schedule, licence by licence, visa by visa, penalty by penalty, which almost no zone in the country does, on the Expo 2020 site.

About Expo City Dubai

Expo City Dubai licence cost in 2026

Expo City Dubai, packages and prices published by the zone
Package	Duration	Price
Expo Freelance, permit only Cheapest Freelance permit for one individual More than 100 professions, and you may propose your own Renewable annually up to five years The official fee schedule states 7,000 AED	1 year licence	7,020 AED
Expo Freelance with a one year visa Freelance permit and a one year residence visa Entry permit through to Emirates ID covered	1 year licence	9,020 AED
Commercial Licence, one activity group Annual licence fee Initial approval 500 AED and registration 5,000 AED payable once on top Company card 2,500 AED per year on top	1 year licence	10,000 AED
Service Licence Annual licence fee Same one-off entry fees as the commercial licence	1 year licence	10,000 AED
Expo Green Licence, shared desk, basic Initial approval, registration and one year Green Licence Company card Shared desk access, allocation of 6 employees Knowledge and innovation fees not included	1 year licence	10,000 AED
Starter Package, no visa Initial approval, registration, licence and a shared desk No visa quota and no company card Up to 4 activities within one licence type and group Renews at 12,520 AED a year VAT and the 20 AED knowledge and innovation fee included	1 year licence	12,520 AED
Commercial Licence, two activity groups Annual licence fee Two activity groups on a single licence	1 year licence	13,000 AED
Expo Green Licence, leased premises Initial approval, registration and one year Green Licence Company card For a company leasing its own premises Knowledge and innovation fees not included	1 year licence	14,000 AED
Industrial Licence Annual licence fee No warehouse or industrial unit is offered on the workspace pages	1 year licence	15,000 AED
Logistics Licence Annual licence fee No warehouse or industrial unit is offered on the workspace pages	1 year licence	15,000 AED
Expo Green Licence, shared desk, premium Initial approval, registration and one year Green Licence Company card Shared desk access, allocation of 6 employees Knowledge and innovation fees not included	1 year licence	15,000 AED
Expo Freelance with a two year visa Freelance permit and a two year residence visa	2 year licence	16,020 AED
Scale up Package, four visas Initial approval, registration, licence, shared desk and company card Allocation of 4 visas, free; each visa is paid on its own Up to 6 activities within one licence type and group Renews at 17,100 AED a year VAT and the 20 AED knowledge and innovation fee included	1 year licence	17,570 AED
Standard Package, six visas Licence, setup and company card, 18,300 AED Shared desk for one year, 4,000 AED Allocation of 6 visas, free; each visa is paid on its own One licence type, up to 6 activities, more at an extra cost Renews at 16,700 AED a year	1 year licence	22,300 AED
General Trading Licence Annual licence fee Any product on one licence	1 year licence	25,000 AED
E-Commerce Licence Annual licence fee	1 year licence	30,000 AED
Holding Licence Annual licence fee Passive holding of shares and assets	1 year licence	30,000 AED
General Trading Package, six visas General trading licence, 25,000 AED Initial approval 500 AED, registration 5,000 AED, company card 2,500 AED Shared desk for one year, 4,000 AED Allocation of 6 visas, free; each visa is paid on its own One licence type, up to 6 activities, more at an extra cost	1 year licence	37,080 AED
Expo Multi, three years Initial approval, registration, licence and company card Reserved for companies leasing 250 square metres or more More than 2,000 eligible activities	3 year licence	38,020 AED
Beyond Package, three years, six visas Licence and setup for three years with the company card, 38,700 AED Shared desk for three years, 3 times 4,000 AED Allocation of 6 visas, free; each visa is paid on its own Up to 6 activities, more at an extra cost Renews at 50,700 AED for each further three years	3 year licence	50,700 AED

Expo City Dubai visa cost

Expo City Dubai, visas
Costs and conditions
Investor or partner visa, all in	4,520 AED from inside the country, 3,220 AED from outside, medical test and Emirates ID included
Employment visa, 1 year, applicant outside the country	2,700 AED
Employment visa, 2 years, applicant outside the country	3,200 AED
Employment visa, 1 year, applicant inside the country	3,800 AED
Employment visa, 2 years, applicant inside the country	4,500 AED
Employment visa renewal, 1 year	2,500 AED
Employment visa renewal, 2 years	3,100 AED
Urgent processing, 1 year, inside the country	5,800 AED
Visa cancellation, inside the country	500 AED
Additional employee allocation	2,500 AED per employee
Visa allocation inside the packages	free, 0 AED
Knowledge and innovation fee	20 AED per visa
Visas per licence type
Visa quota	1 employee per 9 square metres of leased office

Expo City Dubai freelance visa cost

Expo Freelance: 7,020 AED for the permit, one year; 9,020 AED with a 1 year visa, 16,020 AED with a 2 year visa.

Freelance visa cost in every UAE free zone

Expo City Dubai office and desk cost

Expo City Dubai, offices and desks
Grade A offices, LEED Platinum and Gold
Coworking, three locations
Retail and restaurant units
Shared desk	4,000 AED a year, sold inside the packages, with up to 6 visas
Sublease of licensed premises	1,500 AED per instance
Full time desk taken alone, outside the packages	10,000 AED a year, two visa allocations included

Expo City Dubai renewal and closing fee

First year, licence
12,520 AED
Renewal, per year
12,520 AED
Closing the company
1,000 AED

Details

Renewal, per year. Identical to the issue fee, billed annually, 10,000 AED for a commercial or service licence and up to 30,000 AED for holding or e-commerce. Add 2,500 AED a year for the company card. Late renewal is penalised at 1,500 AED after 31 days, 3,000 AED after 60 and 6,000 AED after 90. Packages renew at 12,520 AED a year for Starter, 17,100 AED for Scale up and 16,700 AED for Standard, and at 50,700 AED for each three-year term for Beyond.

Closing the company. Cancellation of the licence, plus 300 AED for the company card and 250 AED for a freelance permit. No formal liquidation procedure with an appointed liquidator is described or priced.

Expo City Dubai other fees and penalties

Administrative fees

Initial approval500 AED, non refundable
Company registration5,000 AED, payable once
Company card2,100 AED in one official document, 2,500 AED in the other
Additional business activity500 AED each
Trade name change1,500 AED
Share transfer1,500 AED plus 2 percent of the value, capped at 10,000 AED
Licence freeze for one year3,000 AED, reactivation 1,000 AED
Fast track business setup3,000 AED
Bank account setup assistance2,000 AED
Dual licence no objection certificate250 AED
Alcohol no objection certificate15,000 AED, shisha 10,000 AED

Important to know

Rules that apply

A leased space inside Expo City must be confirmed before the incorporation file may be submitted, and a lease deposit is required. There is no address-only option.
The visa allowance is indexed on the leased area, one employee per nine square metres.
Expo Multi, a three year package, is reserved for companies leasing 250 square metres or more; the Beyond package also runs three years, on a shared desk.
The cheapest complete entry is the Starter package, 12,520 AED a year with the licence and a shared desk but no visa. The first package with visas is Scale up, 17,570 AED for a quota of four.
The freelance permit is valid one year and renewable annually up to five years.
Virtual asset activity is limited to proprietary trading and requires approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
Film and audio media trading requires approval from the Ministry of Culture and Youth.
Minimum share capital 10,000 AED, and a free zone company takes up to 6 shareholders.
The zone's activity list counts 1,046 activities: 633 service, 391 trading and 23 light industrial. 167 require a physical office, 113 a retail shop and 34 a workshop or plot; the other 708 accept any type of space.

Points to confirm before you sign

Two versions of the same official fee schedule are online, one dated 28 April 2025 and one linked from the free zone page, and they price the company card at 2,100 AED and 2,500 AED respectively.
The Expo Grow package is presented as active on the free zone page but its own page returns a not found error and no such line exists in the fee schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a licence at Expo City Dubai cost?

The cheapest package the zone lists is Expo Freelance, permit only, 7,020 AED for one year.

What does Expo City Dubai cost in year two?

The zone publishes 12,520 AED at renewal.

Does Expo City Dubai include a workspace?

Shared desk: 4,000 AED a year, sold inside the packages, with up to 6 visas.

What does a residence visa cost at Expo City Dubai?

Investor or partner visa, all in: 4,520 AED from inside the country, 3,220 AED from outside, medical test and Emirates ID included.

All prices and terms come from the free zones and may change at any time without prior notice. Free Zone Radar cannot be held responsible for any change, error or omission. Always confirm the final price and terms in writing before you sign or pay.

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Guides

Freelance visa in the UAE: the cost in each free zone, 2026 Cheapest free zones in the UAE and Dubai, 2026 Meydan vs Expo City Dubai in 2026 Knowledge and innovation fees in Dubai: the 20 AED on your free zone bill What the zone told us in writing

Sources

expocitydubai.com/en/free-zone/ · expocitydubai.com/en/business-at-expo-city-dubai/business-setup/ · expocitydubai.com/en/business-at-expo-city-dubai/business-setup/expo-freelance/ · Expo City Dubai Authority, Fees and Service Charges List, Resolution 1 of 2025 · How to set up your business in Expo City Dubai, version 3, August 2024 · Permitted Activity List, 17 May 2024 · expocitydubai.com, Expo City Dubai Green Licence brochure, version 2.2 · Written answers from the zone to Free Zone Radar, September 2026