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Dubai South: Company Setup, Costs and Requirements
Dubai South’s free zone sits on the Al Maktoum International Airport corridor, with a logistics district and an aviation district. A licence requires premises in the zone. The location matters when the operation needs that office, warehouse, land or business-centre contract.
Company and premises
The FAQ offers two registrations: a new DWC-LLC, or a branch of a company that already exists. The DWC-LLC is its own legal person. Liability is limited to the share capital. It needs shareholders, directors, a company secretary and a general manager. Shareholders are capped at six. Directors can be from one to seven. The same person can hold the officer roles, and those officers need not live in the UAE, except the general manager, who must reside in the UAE. Foreign ownership can be 100%.
Minimum share capital is AED 300,000, at AED 1 a share. Proof of capital is required only above AED 1,000,000. There is no licence without a lease of office, warehouse or land in the zone, or a contract with the business centre. Flexi desks exist as business-centre products. Offices are leased, not bought. A branch keeps the parent’s name, ends with “Branch”, and cannot do work the parent is not already allowed to do.
This may fit if
- Goods, aircraft-related work or light manufacturing need space in the logistics or aviation district.
- A service company can operate from the business centre, with up to five related activities.
- The aviation or logistics district is the site, where the FAQ allows up to ten related activities.
Check carefully if
- Trading and services are both required. They cannot sit on the same licence. A second licence is the FAQ’s route.
- Finished goods will be sold in the UAE. A commercial trading licence sells them through a local distributor or commercial agent. A logistics company may collect and deliver, and may not sell.
- The general manager will live abroad, or the share capital is below AED 300,000.
- The only reason to choose the zone is that an airport is nearby. The facility rule is the deciding one.
Licence types and visas
The FAQ lists a commercial licence for specified commercial services, including general trading and logistics; a service licence for the services named on it, inside the zone and elsewhere in the UAE; an industrial licence for specified light manufacturing; and an education licence for educational and social services, training and consultancy. A business-centre company can hold up to five related activities. Aviation and logistics districts can hold up to ten related activities.
Visa allocation is one visa per 8 square metres of leased office or warehouse. A business-centre package sets its own ratio. On development land, the administration sets what it calls a reasonable allocation. Each free-zone company must appoint a UAE-licensed auditor and file audited accounts every year.
Fees the FAQ states
The FAQ says these administration fees are current and payable in advance. VAT is not stated. The licence amounts are annual, so they are the published renewal for the licence itself. The lease is not priced in the FAQ. Confirm current renewal pricing from the authority/quotation for the premises. A knowledge dirham of AED 10 is charged on each transaction. Registration can finish in a day once security checks, the fee and the documents are in order. A Dubai South news note also says a name check can be completed digitally and a trade licence can be issued within one business day.
Administration fees. Premises are not included.
Registration
AED 10,000, once, for a DWC-LLC or a branch.
Licence
AED 10,000 a year, per licence. General trading is AED 25,000 a year.
Ownership change
AED 2,500. An officer change is AED 2,500 per position.
Share capital
Minimum AED 300,000. This is capital, not a fee paid to the zone as the licence.
How a licence fee and a separate facility sit in one budget is on company formation cost. The wider formation choice is on company formation.