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IFZA: Company Setup, Costs and Requirements
IFZA is the International Free Zone Authority, a Dubai licensor. It is not Dubai Silicon Oasis. A Silicon Oasis address, where one appears, is a location. The licence is an IFZA licence.
What the licence is built from
IFZA’s activity pages say a licence includes up to three activities in the standard fee. Further activities are charged separately. The same pages allow commercial and professional activities on one licence, which matters for a hybrid such as a product business that also consults. One IFZA guide also refers to a ceiling of seven activities, with the first three included. Confirm the cap for the activities you actually want.
IFZA splits activities into non-regulated (“green”) and regulated (“amber”). Green activities do not need an outside approval, though they can still need a particular premises. Amber activities need approval from a Dubai or federal body, and the licensee has to obtain it. Packages are also split by visa allocation. IFZA says you can start with fewer visas and later pay the difference to add more, without forming a second company.
This may fit if
- You want more than one activity family, including a mix of commercial and professional work, on one IFZA licence.
- You can start with no visa and add residence visas when the people are ready.
- The shareholders can sign digitally. IFZA describes incorporation, the memorandum and the licence as a digital process.
Check carefully if
- An activity is amber. Budget time for the outside approval, and for any property that approval requires.
- You need four or more visa allocations. IFZA’s registration guide says registered office space then becomes part of the cost.
- Someone must be in the UAE immediately. Company formation can be remote. A later visa still needs a visit for the medical test and Emirates ID.
- You need a published dirham price before you talk to anyone. IFZA’s current pages describe the cost components and do not print a current licence tariff.
Cost components, without a number
No current official IFZA licence price was clear on the pages reviewed on 1 October 2026. Older application forms are not used here. VAT treatment is not stated. Renewal should be confirmed from a current quotation.
What changes the quote. Amounts are not published on the pages reviewed.
Licence package
Priced by the visa allocation you choose. An upgrade charges the difference.
Activities
Three included. Each activity after that is charged. Confirm whether seven is the ceiling.
Premises
A registered office cost is described once the company has four or more visa allocations.
Visa processing
Separate from the allocation. Medical and Emirates ID happen in the UAE.
Approvals
Amber activities add the outside body’s own requirements.
What IFZA asks for
- A proposal that names the licence, activities, visa package and office.
- The application, including beneficial-owner details, a passport copy and a digital photo. UAE residents also provide an Emirates ID and a visa copy.
- Electronic signature of the incorporation papers. IFZA says this takes a few business days. That is IFZA’s description, not a promise that every file finishes in that window.
A Dubai alternative with published prices is Meydan. The wider choice of route is on company formation.