Getting a UAE Freelance Permit Instead of Setting Up a Company

Who runs this process

Before you start

• Your work is a service you personally deliver, not the sale of goods
• You do not need to hire staff, because a freelance permit covers you alone
• Your activity is one the issuing authority actually lists, since permits are activity-restricted
• You know your current residence status, because it changes which route is cheapest

The journey

Each step is marked by who acts: YouEmployerYou + employer

1. 1
   YouYour own assessment

   Decide honestly whether you need a company at all

   Before you speak to any setup agent

   A freelance permit authorizes you as an individual to sell your own services under your own name. A trade license creates a separate legal entity that can hire people, hold assets, sign contracts in its own name, and carry a brand. If you are one person selling a skill, the permit is normally the cheaper and simpler answer. Choose the company if you need to employ anyone, trade goods, take investment, or present a corporate identity to clients who will not contract with an individual.

   You get

   A decision: permit or license

   Watch out for

   • Buying a trade license because it sounds more serious, then paying annual renewals on an entity you never needed
   • Taking a permit when you already know you will hire staff in year one, which forces a second setup later

   Full guide: Decide honestly whether you need a company at all

2. 2
   YouFree zone authority or MOHRE

   Choose who issues the permit

   Free zone or the federal MOHRE route

   Free zones issue freelance permits tied to their own activity lists, and several are built around specific sectors such as media, technology, and education. The Dubai Development Authority describes its freelancer product as letting professionals work under their birth name rather than a brand name, which is the defining feature of this permit type across issuers. Separately, MOHRE operates federal freelance and self-employment work permits for the private sector. The right issuer depends on your activity, whether you need a residence visa bundled, and which sector list your work appears on.

   You get

   Chosen issuer and activity

   Fee

   Fee varies, confirm at the official portal · paid by you (Permit pricing is set per issuer and is frequently promotional. Free zone packages that bundle a residence visa cost substantially more than a permit alone. No single figure is asserted here because none is published as a government-wide rate.)

   Watch out for

   • Assuming any free zone can license your activity, when permit activity lists are narrow and sector-specific

   MOHRE Federal: The MOHRE route is not tied to a free zone and is aimed at the private-sector labour framework. Confirm current conditions with MOHRE, whose service pages we could not reach at the time of writing.

   Already Sponsored By Spouse Or Employer: You may be able to take a permit without a visa package, which is usually the cheapest legal route to invoicing.

   Full guide: Choose who issues the permit

3. 3
   YouIssuing free zone or MOHRE

   Apply for the freelance permit

   Online with the issuing authority

   You submit identification, proof of your professional background, and the activity you want listed. Issuers commonly ask for a CV, samples or evidence of experience, and a passport copy. The permit is granted in your own name, so there is no trade name reservation, no memorandum of association, and no share capital. What you receive is a permit document that lets you invoice clients lawfully for the listed activity.

   You get

   Freelance permit

   Fee

   Fee varies, confirm at the official portal · paid by you (Set per issuer. Confirm at the authority before paying, and check whether the quoted figure includes a residence visa.)

   Watch out for

   • Being employed and applying without your employer's no objection certificate, where the issuer requires one
   • Listing an activity loosely, then finding your invoices fall outside what the permit authorizes

   Full guide: Apply for the freelance permit

4. 4
   YouFree zone immigration, or ICP for the Green Visa

   Sort out your residence status, which is a separate thing from the permit

   Only if you are not already resident

   A freelance permit is work authorization. A residence visa is your right to live here. They are separate, and conflating them is the most common misunderstanding in this area. If you are already sponsored by a spouse or an employer, you may only need the permit. If you are not resident, you can take a visa package from the issuing free zone, or, if you meet the conditions, apply for a Green Visa as a self-employed person, which is self-sponsored rather than tied to an employer.

   You get

   Residence visa and Emirates ID, where applicable

   Fee

   Fee varies, confirm at the official portal · paid by you (Visa costs sit with the sponsoring authority and vary by emirate and visa length. GDRFA Dubai does not publish an itemized schedule we could retrieve.)

   Watch out for

   • Assuming the permit gives you the right to live in the UAE, which it does not

   Already Sponsored By Spouse Or Employer: No new visa needed. The permit alone makes your invoicing lawful, which is why this is by far the cheapest route.

   Staying Non Resident: A permit without residence can still be workable for some activities, but it limits banking and means no Emirates ID.

   Full guide: Sort out your residence status, which is a separate thing from the permit

5. 5
   YouFederal Tax Authority, EmaraTax

   Invoice, keep records, and register for corporate tax at the right point

   Ongoing, with a hard threshold to watch

   As a freelancer you are a natural person conducting a Business. The Federal Tax Authority is explicit that a natural person's business activities are subject to corporate tax only once total turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a Gregorian calendar year, and that registration is likewise only required once you cross that line. Wage income, personal investment income, and real estate investment income are excluded when working out that turnover. Cross it and you must register, and there is no exemption for the profit relating to the first AED 1 million.

   You get

   Corporate tax registration once the threshold is crossed · A Small Business Relief election, where eligible

   Fee

   Free · paid by you (Corporate tax registration itself carries no service fee. Late registration penalties are a separate matter and are significant.)

   Deadline

   Registration is required once total turnover from business activities exceeds AED 1 million within a Gregorian calendar year

   Watch out for

   • Believing turnover under AED 1 million is covered by Small Business Relief. These are two different rules with two different thresholds: AED 1 million decides whether you are taxed and must register at all, and AED 3 million is the separate ceiling for electing Small Business Relief.
   • Assuming the first AED 1 million of turnover is exempt once you cross the threshold. It is not.
   • Counting salary from a job, or personal investment income, towards the turnover test when the guide excludes both

   Free Zone: Holding a free zone permit as an individual does not by itself make you a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The 0% rate has its own conditions.

   Full guide: Invoice, keep records, and register for corporate tax at the right point

Documents checklist

Where this goes wrong

What comes next

• Open a business bank account
• Register for corporate tax on EmaraTax
• Find somewhere to actually work