FREE ZONE FILE

twofour54 Abu Dhabi

Emirate Abu DhabiEstablished 2008Type Media and creative industries free zone

Authority Creative Media Authority, formerly Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi

What we think

Waives its licence and registration fees for two years, then charges AED 12,500 to renew. The headline price is therefore never actually paid, and the waiver has no published expiry.

Publishes its headline prices, but not everything

Packages

New company business licence package

15,000 AED

1 year licence · product page

Licence and registration fees waived for 2 years
One hundred percent ownership
Access to rebate and incentive programmes

New branch business licence package

15,000 AED

1 year licence · product page

Licence and registration fees waived for 2 years
Setup support

Freelance package, 12 months

3,500 AED

1 year licence · product page

Licence waived for 2 years
3 activities included
Fully online process

Freelance package, 6 months

1,750 AED

duration not published · product page

Licence waived for 2 years
3 activities 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

Residence visa, 1 year, normalAED 3,433.50product page

Residence visa, 1 year, urgentAED 4,641product page

Residence visa, 2 years, normalAED 3,538.50product page

Identity card, 1 yearAED 189product page

Identity card, 2 yearsAED 315product page

Quota by workspace type1 visa on the entry desk, 2 on the plug and play, others not publishedproduct page

Offices and desks

Entry desk option1 activity, 1 owner, 1 visa, price not publishedproduct page

Plug and play option2 activities, 2 owners, 2 visas, price not publishedproduct page

Fitted office to furnishprice not publishedproduct page

Core and shell officeprice not publishedproduct page

Meeting room by the hourAED 150 for 6 people, AED 200 for 12product 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

12,500 AED

AED 12,500 per year. Licence and registration fees are waived for the first two years and the first renewal is waived in full, so the real cost only starts in the third cycle. This is the figure that flips the price ranking.

Closing the company

not published by the zone

Not published. No deregistration, liquidation or striking off fee is published. The 2016 company regulations state only that fees are as specified by the registrar from time to time.

Other fees and penalties

Business licence, 5 activities includedAED 15,000, waived for 2 years

Registration feeAED 3,500, waived

Extra activity beyond the quotaAED 1,000 each

Broadcast dissemination licenceAED 20,000 per channel, capped at AED 100,000

Publishing dissemination licenceAED 5,000 per title, capped at AED 50,000

Binding terms

Licence and registration fees are waived for the first two years for new partners and freelancers, effective 1 December 2018.
The first licence renewal is waived in full, so the AED 12,500 renewal applies from the following cycle.
No minimum share capital is required for a free zone company.
The company regulations require appointing an auditor and filing an annual return with the registrar.
Setup is advertised at roughly fourteen working days, excluding visa issuance.

Contradictions on the zone's own site

The regulatory fee table prices a new branch establishment at AED 3,500 while the package page prices the branch package at AED 15,000.
The freelance page shows AED 3,500 for twelve months while the regulatory fee table shows AED 4,500 for twelve months and three activities.
The two year waiver is dated December 2018 with no published expiry, leaving the headline prices effectively unpayable and unverifiable.

What this zone does not publish

Office and workspace rental prices.
Warehouse and land availability or pricing.
Company closure, liquidation and deregistration costs.
Late renewal penalties and fine schedule.
Trade name reservation fee.
Any agent or referral commission terms.

Where every figure above comes from

cma.gov.ae/regulation-license
cma.gov.ae/business-package
cma.gov.ae/freelance-package
twofour54.com/en/business-setup/

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.