UAE Free Zone

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Guide Published 23 October 2026 7 min read

Dubai free zone mainland operating permit: cost and tax

Dubai's Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit costs AED 5,000 for six months. Who can apply, how it differs from a branch licence, and how income is taxed.

The Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit lets a Dubai free zone company trade with customers on the Dubai mainland. It costs AED 5,000 for six months and you renew it at the same fee, so a full year costs AED 10,000 in permit fees. The catch is tax: profit from your mainland work is taxed at 9% corporate tax, and you must keep separate books for it.

Fees last verified 23 October 2026 against the sources listed on this page. Fees can change. Treat every figure here as an estimate until the authority confirms it.

What is the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit?

It is a permit issued in Dubai under Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, which was published in March 2025. The permit itself was launched on 8 October 2025 by the Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation, part of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), together with the Dubai Free Zone Council.

Before this, a free zone company that wanted mainland customers usually had to use a local agent, open a mainland branch, or set up a second company. The permit is a lighter option. DET's own press release says the framework opens the mainland to more than 10,000 free zone companies.

This site is independent and has no link to DET, Invest in Dubai or any free zone authority.

How much does the mainland operating permit cost?

The headline fee is AED 5,000 per six-month permit, renewable at the same fee (Khaleej Times). That is only the permit. Your real cost of serving mainland clients also includes your free zone licence, extra bookkeeping, and the 9% tax on mainland profit.

Worked example: one year of mainland trading

Say you run a consultancy from a Dubai free zone. You expect AED 400,000 of mainland revenue in a year, with AED 200,000 of direct costs linked to that work.

Item Amount (AED) Notes
Permit, first six months 5,000 Published fee
Permit renewal, second six months 5,000 Same fee on renewal
Mainland revenue 400,000 Your estimate
Costs linked to mainland work 200,000 Must be tracked in separate books
Mainland profit 200,000 Before tax
Corporate tax at 9% 18,000 See the tax section below
Permit fees plus tax 28,000 Excludes accounting and audit fees

Your accountant's fees will likely rise because you now run two sets of records. We have not found a reliable published figure for that, so get a quote.

Who qualifies for the permit?

Based on the launch announcements and law firm summaries, you need:

  • A valid licence from a Dubai free zone. Examples include DMCC, JAFZA, IFZA, Meydan, DAFZ, DSO, DDA and Dubai South.
  • A Dubai Unified Licence (DUL). This is Dubai's single business identification number. Afridi & Angell note that holding a DUL was not yet mandatory for all companies, but you need one for this permit.
  • A non-regulated activity. The first phase covers activities such as technology, consultancy, design, professional services and trading. Regulated sectors are due to follow later.

Applications go through the Invest in Dubai platform online. Approval from your free zone authority is also needed, and regulated activities may need sign-off from the sector regulator (Reed Smith).

Who cannot use it?

  • DIFC financial entities. The resolution excludes financial institutions licensed in DIFC.
  • Companies in free zones outside Dubai. The permit covers mainland Dubai only. A company in Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah needs to check what its own emirate allows. Equally, a Dubai permit does not let you trade on the mainland of another emirate.

Can my existing staff work on the mainland?

Yes. The launch announcement says permit holders can use their existing staff for mainland work without hiring new people. Afridi & Angell add that no new visas or transfers are needed.

Permit vs mainland branch licence: which one do you need?

The resolution created more than one route. Here is how they compare, based on KPMG and Reed Smith.

Mainland operating permit Branch licence
Fee AED 5,000 AED 10,000 per year (for a branch operating from the free zone)
Validity Six months, renewable One year, renewable
Yearly fee if kept all year AED 10,000 AED 10,000
Best for Testing the mainland, project work Steady, long-term mainland trade
Activities Non-regulated activities at launch Depends on DET's activity list
Separate books Yes Yes

On fees alone, a full year costs about the same either way. The permit suits you if you want to test demand, or only have a few months of mainland work. A branch licence may suit you if mainland trade is core to your business. DET was due to publish a list of which activities need a branch and which can use a permit. Check that list with DET before you choose.

There is also a federal change to note. Amendments to the Commercial Companies Law announced in October 2025 allow free zone companies to open mainland branches where the licensing authority permits it (Gulf News). If you plan to leave the free zone completely, see our guide on moving a company between free zones.

How is mainland permit income taxed?

The launch announcement states that revenue from mainland activity is subject to 9% corporate tax. You must keep separate financial records for it, in line with Federal Tax Authority (FTA) requirements.

That 9% sits alongside the free zone tax rules. A free zone company that meets all the conditions of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) pays 0% on qualifying income. Other income is taxed at 9%. Read does a small free zone company need an audit to keep 0% tax? for the full list of conditions.

The tax catch: will mainland income cost you your 0% rate?

This is the question to settle before you apply. Two outcomes are possible, and they lead to very different results.

  1. Mainland work treated as a domestic permanent establishment. Under the corporate tax law, a presence in the UAE outside the free zone can be a domestic permanent establishment (PE). According to PwC's tax summary, profit of a domestic PE is taxed at 9% as if it were a separate business. It does not count towards the de minimis test, so it does not by itself remove 0% treatment on your other qualifying income.
  2. Mainland revenue treated as non-qualifying revenue of the free zone company. Income from mainland customers is generally non-qualifying unless it comes from a qualifying activity. Non-qualifying revenue counts towards the de minimis limit, which is the lower of 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million. Go over that limit and you can lose QFZP status for that year and the next four.

We could not find FTA guidance that says which treatment applies to permit activity. Law firm notes on the permit stress separate records but do not settle the point. Treat this as unconfirmed and get written advice from a registered tax agent.

Worked example: why the treatment matters

Take a free zone trading company with AED 3,000,000 of total revenue, of which AED 400,000 comes from mainland customers under the permit.

  • If the mainland work is a domestic PE: the AED 400,000 is left out of the de minimis test. The mainland profit is taxed at 9%. Your free zone qualifying income may still get 0%, if you meet every other condition.
  • If it counts as non-qualifying revenue: 5% of AED 3,000,000 is AED 150,000. AED 400,000 is well over that limit. You could lose QFZP status and pay 9% on all taxable income for five tax periods.

See our de minimis rule examples for more scenarios.

Is there a tax-free band on mainland profit?

Do not assume one. Meydan Free Zone says the AED 375,000 0% band belongs to the standard regime and does not apply to a QFZP's 9% income. Our worked example above therefore applies 9% from the first dirham.

Does the permit change e-invoicing or VAT?

The permit does not exempt you from other rules. Free zone companies are not exempt from the coming e-invoicing system. See e-invoicing for free zone companies.

What to check before you act

  1. Confirm eligibility with DET. Check that your activity is on the permitted list and that you hold, or can get, a Dubai Unified Licence.
  2. Ask your free zone authority whether it supports the permit for your licence, and what approval it needs.
  3. Get written tax advice from an FTA-registered tax agent on whether your mainland work is a domestic permanent establishment or non-qualifying revenue.
  4. Model the de minimis test on your real numbers before you sign mainland contracts.
  5. Set up separate books for mainland income and costs from day one, and ask your auditor what they need.
  6. Compare the permit with a branch licence if you expect mainland work for longer than a year.
  7. Re-check the fee on the official channel before you pay. Fees here were last verified on 23 October 2026.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. It does not promise any tax outcome.

General information only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Free zone fees and rules change; confirm the current figures with the free zone authority before you commit. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Sources