DAFZA Free Zone in 2026: Licences, Setup Steps, Costs, Visas and Corporate Tax

Dubai Airport Freezone — still widely called DAFZA — sits on the edge of Dubai International Airport and is home to more than 3,400 companies in aviation, logistics, pharmaceuticals, electronics, luxury goods and technology. This guide is for founders and regional managers weighing DAFZA against cheaper free zones. You'll see who it suits, the licence and office options, how setup works step by step, what makes up the cost, visas, mainland access, and — the part most guides skip — exactly when a DAFZA company keeps its 0% corporate tax rate.

Quick answer

DAFZA (now branded DAFZ) is a government free zone next to Dubai International Airport that licenses FZCO companies and branches for trading, service, industrial and e-commerce activities with 100% foreign ownership. You choose a licence, a company type and a space (smart desk, office or warehouse), and DAFZ issues the licence, establishment card and visas. It costs more than budget zones but gives you a premium address, airport logistics and a VAT Designated Zone.

• Licence types: trading, general trading, service, industrial, e-commerce, plus the Talent Pass freelance permit

• Visas follow your space — DAFZ packages run from 1 visa (smart desk) to 6 (50 sq m office)

• Corporate tax: register within 3 months; 0% on qualifying income only if all QFZP conditions are met

• Mainland Dubai work needs a DET branch licence or permit under Resolution No. 11 of 2025

What DAFZA is and who it suits

DAFZ opened in 1996 and, since Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021, operates under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) alongside Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity. It licenses companies, leases them space and handles their immigration work under one roof.

Its pull is location. Your warehouse or office sits beside one of the world's busiest cargo and passenger airports, the Airport Free Zone metro station is at the gate, and visiting clients can reach you minutes after landing.

DAFZA suits you if you:

• move high-value, time-sensitive goods by air — electronics, pharma, medical devices, watches, jewellery, perfume, aircraft parts;
• need a regional head office with a prestige address and real offices rather than a flexi-desk;
• sell mostly to other businesses abroad or in other free zones;
• plan to hire a team and need a visa quota that grows with your space.

It suits you less if you're a solo consultant on a tight budget, or if most of your customers are UAE consumers — a cheaper zone such as Ajman Free Zone, or a mainland licence, may fit better. Our UAE trade licence guide compares all three routes.

DAFZA licence types and activities

Your licence lists the activities you may carry out. Pick them carefully — adding activities later means an amendment and sometimes extra approvals.

Regulated activities — pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food or anything touching aviation safety — may need approval from the relevant federal or Dubai authority before DAFZ issues the licence.

Company types: FZCO or branch

DAFZ offers two legal forms:

• Free Zone Company (FZCO) — a new limited-liability company owned by individuals, companies or both. Setup guides consistently report one to 50 shareholders; check the current rule and any share-capital requirement in DAFZ's quote.
• Branch — an extension of an existing UAE or foreign company. It isn't a separate legal person, so the parent is liable, and you'll need attested parent-company documents.

Office, desk and warehouse options

DAFZA is known for real space rather than virtual addresses. DAFZ's own package pages list these all-in options, each bundling the licence, space and a set number of employment visas:

DAFZ office packages and visas included (2026)

Package	Space	Employment visas included	Good for
Smart Office	Exclusive desk in a shared office	1	Solo founder needing a visa
Smart Office Plus	Desk in a semi-private layout	1	Founder wanting more privacy
Business Boutique	Small closed office	2	Founder plus one hire
Premium	25 sq m office	3	Small team
Premium Plus	50 sq m office	6	Growing regional office
Warehouse / light industrial unit	Leased by size	Linked to size	Traders and light manufacturing

Smart Office

Space

Exclusive desk in a shared office

Employment visas included

1

Good for

Solo founder needing a visa

Smart Office Plus

Space

Desk in a semi-private layout

Employment visas included

1

Good for

Founder wanting more privacy

Business Boutique

Space

Small closed office

Employment visas included

2

Good for

Founder plus one hire

Premium

Space

25 sq m office

Employment visas included

3

Good for

Small team

Premium Plus

Space

50 sq m office

Employment visas included

6

Good for

Growing regional office

Warehouse / light industrial unit

Space

Leased by size

Employment visas included

Linked to size

Good for

Traders and light manufacturing

Beyond the packages, you can lease standard offices of any size, retail units and warehouses, and DAFZ runs serviced space with partners. Rent is usually quoted per square metre per year, so the space you choose is the biggest single lever on your cost and your visa quota.

How to set up a company in DAFZA, step by step

DAFZ frames setup as three choices — licence, company type, space — followed by documents, payment and immigration. In practice it looks like this:

DAFZA company setup (2026)

1. 1

   Enquire and choose activities

   Submit DAFZ's online enquiry form with your activities, shareholders and the space you want. DAFZ says it responds within one working day.

   DAFZ business setup
2. 2

   Pick FZCO or branch, and a trade name

   Choose the legal form and propose a trade name that ends in FZCO (or matches the parent for a branch).

3. 3

   Submit documents and get approval

   Upload passports, a business plan if asked, and — for corporate shareholders or branches — attested parent documents. Regulated activities go to the external authority.

   Tip: Attestation of foreign company documents is often the slowest step; start it first.

4. 4

   Sign the lease and pay

   Sign the space agreement and pay the registration, licence and rent invoices.

5. 5

   Collect licence and incorporation documents

   DAFZ issues the licence, certificate of incorporation and constitutional documents.

6. 6

   Establishment card and visas

   Apply for the establishment (immigration) card, then residence visas: entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID and visa stamping.

7. 7

   Register for corporate tax and open a bank account

   Register on EmaraTax within three months of incorporation, and approach banks with your licence pack.

Documents to prepare

DAFZ usually asks for:

• passport copies (and UAE visa or Emirates ID if resident) for every shareholder, director and manager, plus photos;
• a short business plan or activity description;
• a no-objection letter from your employer if you're on a UAE employment visa;
• for corporate shareholders or branches: certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, board resolution and good-standing certificate, legalised and attested;
• approvals from external authorities for regulated activities.

What DAFZA costs: fee components and what drives them

DAFZ doesn't publish one headline price on its package pages; it prices each application by activity, legal form and space. That's sensible, because two DAFZA companies can differ by tens of thousands of dirhams. Budget for these components:

Independent setup guides in 2026 report DAFZ's base licence at around AED 15,000 a year, with general trading markedly higher — treat that as indicative only. Ask DAFZ for a written, itemised quote, and compare it against a Meydan or other Dubai free zone package on the same basis: licence + space + visas for year one, then renewal.

Worked example: year-one budget for a two-person distributor

Leila sets up an FZCO to import diagnostic equipment by air and resell it to hospitals' distributors across the GCC. She takes a Business Boutique office for herself and one sales manager. Her year-one budget lists: registration and documents (one-off), one licence fee, one year's Business Boutique rent, the establishment card, and two visas with medicals and Emirates IDs. She adds a buffer for Ministry of Health approval of her product range. At renewal, only the licence, rent and any visa renewals recur — so year two should cost noticeably less than year one.

Run your own numbers through our startup cost calculator once you have DAFZ's quote.

Visas and timelines

Your visa quota comes from your space. Each employment visa runs through the same chain: entry permit (or change of status if already in the UAE), medical fitness test, Emirates ID biometrics and the residence visa itself. Shareholders typically take an investor or partner visa against the company's quota; family sponsorship follows once you hold your own residence visa and meet the salary rules.

A typical sequence: DAFZ responds within one working day of your enquiry; documents, name approval and any external approvals take the first week or two; once approved you sign the lease, pay and receive the licence; the establishment card and visas follow over the next few weeks. Corporate tax registration is due within three months of incorporation, and the licence and lease renew every 12 months.

For the Talent Pass freelance permit, DAFZ quotes 10 to 15 working days once the application is approved. Company setups vary more: attestation of foreign documents and external approvals are the usual delays.

Can a DAFZA company trade on the mainland?

By default a free zone company trades inside its zone and abroad. That changed in practice on 17 March 2025, when Dubai issued Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025. A free zone company can now work elsewhere in Dubai once the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) grants one of three permissions:

• a licence for a branch in mainland Dubai;
• a licence for a branch operating from the free zone premises; or
• a permit for specific activities for up to six months.

You must follow federal and Dubai rules for those activities and keep separate records for the mainland business. Remember the tax side too: mainland sales are usually non-qualifying income for the free zone 0% rate (next section).

Corporate tax and VAT for DAFZA companies

Being in a free zone doesn't take you out of the UAE tax system. Every DAFZ company must register for corporate tax within three months of incorporation — late registration costs AED 10,000.

Free zone tax numbers (2026)

0%

Rate on qualifying income

if every QFZP condition is met

9%

Rate on other taxable income

no AED 375,000 0% band for QFZPs

5% / AED 5 million

De minimis limit

non-qualifying revenue — whichever is lower

5 tax periods

Penalty for failing a condition

standard rates on all income

To be a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP), the FTA's free zone guide says a DAFZ company must:

1. keep adequate substance in the free zone — real staff, premises and spending for its core activities;
2. earn qualifying income;
3. not elect into the standard corporate tax regime;
4. deal at arm's length and keep transfer-pricing documentation;
5. prepare audited financial statements; and
6. keep non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit — 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower.

Qualifying activities in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 include manufacturing, processing, logistics, distribution of goods in or from a Designated Zone, headquarters services to related parties, and holding shares. Transactions with natural persons are excluded for most activities — so retail sales to consumers break the 0%. A QFZP also loses the 0% band on the first AED 375,000 and can't use Small Business Relief.

Worked example in AED

Leila's FZCO earns AED 8,000,000 revenue: AED 7,700,000 from distributing equipment from DAFZ to distributors abroad (qualifying) and AED 300,000 from a training contract with a mainland clinic (non-qualifying).

• De minimis limit: the lower of 5% × 8,000,000 = AED 400,000 and AED 5,000,000 → AED 400,000.
• Non-qualifying revenue of AED 300,000 is within it, so she stays a QFZP.
• If that contract leaves AED 200,000 of taxable profit, tax = 9% × 200,000 = AED 18,000; distribution profits stay at 0%.

Had the clinic contract been AED 450,000, she would breach the limit and pay standard rates on everything for 5 tax periods. Model scenarios with our UAE corporate tax calculator.

VAT. Dubai Airport Free Zone is a Designated Zone under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017, so certain goods moving within or between designated zones can be outside the scope of VAT. Services are taxed normally. Register on EmaraTax once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000, and price at 5% with our UAE VAT calculator.

Mistakes to avoid

• Choosing DAFZA for prestige alone. If you only need a licence and a visa, a budget zone costs far less.
• Under-sizing your space. Your visa quota follows your square metres; moving later means a new lease.
• Selling to consumers from a free zone company and assuming 0% tax — those sales are non-qualifying.
• Skipping audited accounts. A QFZP must prepare them every year, even if it owes nothing.
• Missing corporate tax registration. The AED 10,000 penalty applies even when no tax is due.

Official links

• DAFZ — business setup processLicence, company type and space
• DAFZ — office packagesDesks, offices and included visas
• DAFZ — Talent Pass
• Dubai Media Office — Resolution No. 11 of 2025Free zone firms operating in mainland Dubai
• FTA — Corporate Tax guide for Free Zone Persons
• Ministry of Finance — Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025Qualifying and excluded activities
• FTA — Corporate Tax registration

What to do next

Write down your activities, how many people need visas in year one, and where your customers are. Then ask DAFZ for an itemised quote, get one from a budget zone such as Ajman Free Zone for comparison, and check the tax effect with the corporate tax calculator. Once licensed, register for corporate tax straight away.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a DAFZA licence cost in 2026?

DAFZ quotes each application individually and its online package pages list what is included rather than one fixed price. Your total is the licence fee for your activity group, one-time registration charges, the establishment card, rent for a smart desk or office, and each visa. Independent setup guides in 2026 report a base licence from about AED 15,000 a year before office and visas; get DAFZ's written quote before you commit.

What is the difference between DAFZA and DAFZ?

They are the same free zone. Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) is the older name; the zone now brands itself Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ). Since Law No. 16 of 2021 it sits under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority together with Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity. Licences, leases and visas are still issued through DAFZ.

Do DAFZA companies pay corporate tax?

Every DAFZ company must register for UAE corporate tax. If it meets all the qualifying free zone person conditions, its qualifying income is taxed at 0% and other taxable income at 9%. Fail a condition — for example, non-qualifying revenue above 5% of revenue or AED 5 million — and the whole company is taxed at the standard rates for 5 tax periods.

Can a DAFZA company trade with mainland Dubai customers?

Yes, with the right permission. Dubai's Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 lets free zone companies operate in Dubai outside their zone once they hold a licence or permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism — a branch licence, a branch run from the free zone, or a temporary permit for up to six months. Alternatively, sell through a mainland distributor.

How many visas can I get with a DAFZA office?

Visa allocation follows your space. DAFZ's package pages list one employment visa with its Smart Office and Smart Office Plus desks, two with Business Boutique, three with a 25 sq m Premium office and six with a 50 sq m Premium Plus office. Larger offices and warehouses carry larger quotas; extra quota can be requested.

How long does DAFZA company setup take?

DAFZ says it contacts applicants within one working day of an enquiry. For its Talent Pass freelance permit it quotes 10 to 15 working days once the application is approved. Company setups usually take a few weeks, depending on activity approvals, document attestation for corporate shareholders and how quickly you sign the lease.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.DAFZ — Business setup process — Dubai Airport Freezone · accessed 7 October 2026
2. 2.DAFZ — Office packages — Dubai Airport Freezone · accessed 7 October 2026
3. 3.DAFZ — Talent Pass — Dubai Airport Freezone · accessed 7 October 2026
4. 4.Law No. (16) of 2021 Establishing the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority — Dubai Legislation Portal · accessed 7 October 2026
5. 5.Hamdan bin Mohammed issues resolution to regulate free zone establishments operating outside designated zones — Dubai Media Office · accessed 7 October 2026
6. 6.Corporate Tax Guide — Free Zone Persons (CTGFZP1) — Federal Tax Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
7. 7.Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 on Qualifying Activities and Excluded Activities — UAE Ministry of Finance · accessed 7 October 2026
8. 8.Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 on Designated Zones — UAE Cabinet (copy hosted by Grant Thornton UAE) · accessed 7 October 2026
9. 9.Corporate Tax Registration (service card) — Federal Tax Authority · accessed 7 October 2026
10. 10.DAFZA Dubai (Airport Free Zone): setup cost, licence and benefits — UAE Free Zones (directory) · accessed 7 October 2026