Everything people ask before they start.

A UAE freelance visa is two things bought together: a freelance permit or licence issued by a free-zone authority, which makes you a legal business and lets you invoice clients, and a residency visa, which lets you live in the country, open a bank account, and sponsor family. You can hold the permit alone if you already have residency, but you cannot legally freelance on residency alone.

A visa issued under a private company is an employment visa: your employer sponsors it and pays for it, and your status depends on that job continuing. A freelance visa is applied for through a UAE government authority or an authorised service provider, and you sponsor yourself. You pay for it, and it does not end when a client relationship does.

Yes. With a legal freelance permit or licence from a UAE free zone you can work anywhere in the UAE, and take on clients outside the country as well. The emirate that issued your permit does not restrict where you live or work.

Yes. Your freelance permit allows you to work with companies across the UAE under a legal contract, and to invoice them in your own business name.

It is a form of business setup, yes. Any entity created in the mainland or a free zone counts. The practical difference: free-zone licences usually do not require office space or a tenancy contract, while mainland setups typically do.

Not for most activities. Education, training, and certain technical or advisory activities do require a degree certificate, and where the activity is regulated it must be attested in the country that issued it. Whether it applies depends on the activity you select, not on the free zone.

Applicants generally need to be at least 18. There is no formal upper limit for a freelance permit, though medical insurance costs rise with age and some free zones apply their own criteria. Ask a consultant with your specific details.

Usually 10 to 12 working days end to end. Initial approval typically arrives within the first 1 to 2 days, and the immigration stages at the end account for most of the remaining time.

Your passport copy and photo are submitted for initial approval. The freelance permit is then applied for under a business name with your selected activities. After the licence is issued, an establishment card and entry permit follow. Applicants outside the UAE travel in; those already in the country complete a status change instead. Medical examination, biometrics, and Emirates ID complete the process.

At minimum: a colour copy of your passport valid for at least six months, a passport-size photograph on a plain white background, your chosen business name, and your selected business activities. If you are already in the UAE you will also need your current visa page, entry stamp, and where relevant a visa cancellation certificate.

No. If you are already in the country on a tourist or visit status, an in-country status change is processed as part of the application. No exit or border run is required.

No. You can start the application from anywhere. If you are abroad, an entry permit is issued once your licence is in place and you travel in on it. Plan to stay available for about a week after you land, because the medical test and Emirates ID biometrics are both in person.

Typically up to ten under a single licence, which you can mix across related fields. Choose for the work you expect in two years rather than only the work in front of you now, because adding an activity later is chargeable.

Four things, and three of them are decided on day one: a passport with less than six months of validity, a photograph that fails the white-background and framing specification, an activity that the chosen free zone does not license, and public holidays closing government counters. A medical result needing a follow-up test is the fourth and is nobody’s fault.

Our fixed-price packages run from AED 5,500 for a freelance permit alone to AED 11,800 for the complete self-sponsored residency and licence bundle. Across the wider market, a permit paired with residency typically lands between AED 7,500 and AED 20,000 in the first year depending on the issuing free zone and the visa length.

Every package covers our professional service fee plus the actual government and free-zone charges we can predict at the time of quoting. If an authority changes a fee mid-process we tell you before we proceed, never after, and every final quote is confirmed in writing before processing begins.

No, and it is rarely included by anyone. Health insurance is a separate legal requirement for every UAE resident, renewed annually per person. Budget for it alongside the package price, and ask any provider you are comparing us against whether their quote includes it.

Yes. Instalment plans are available through Tabby and Tamara, so the setup cost can be spread rather than paid as a single amount.

Licence renewal comes round annually regardless of your visa length. Residency renewal falls at the end of your one- or two-year cycle and includes a fresh medical and Emirates ID. Health insurance renews annually for you and anyone you sponsor.

Because you pay the entry permit, medical fitness test, Emirates ID, and stamping fees once instead of twice. It costs more up front and less per year over its life.

Residency holders can sponsor immediate family: spouse, children, and in many cases parents, subject to income and accommodation requirements. With a free-zone freelance licence you can also sponsor additional visas under your licence quota, including non-relatives where the free zone allows it.

Your own residency visa and Emirates ID must be issued first. Beyond that: proof of income, a registered tenancy contract in your name of a size suitable for the family, attested marriage and birth certificates, and health insurance for each dependant. Attestation happens in the country that issued the certificate and is the slowest part, so start it early.

Yes, it makes you eligible for both business and personal accounts, and we assist with account opening as part of our packages. The bank still runs its own compliance checks and sets its own minimum balance requirements, but a trade licence and Emirates ID are what get the application started.

Investor-category visas generally allow up to 365 days outside the UAE. Employee-category visas should generally not exceed 180 days outside the country. Check which category your visa falls into before making long-term travel plans.

There is no personal income tax in the UAE. Corporate tax and VAT have their own registration thresholds and rules that can apply to a licensed business depending on turnover, so take qualified tax advice on your specific numbers rather than relying on a general answer.

No. Easy Freelance Visa is operated by Trivup Documents Clearing Services, a private visa-assistance consultancy based in Dubai. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government entity. Permits and visas are issued by the relevant UAE authorities; we prepare and submit the application on your behalf.

No, and neither can anyone else. Approval decisions rest entirely with the issuing authorities. What we do is review your documents before submission so the avoidable reasons for rejection are dealt with in advance, and tell you honestly at the consultation stage if we think your case has a complication.

Whichever one fits your activity and budget. We are not tied to a single free zone, so the recommendation is based on your circumstances rather than on a relationship we hold. If a Sharjah permit serves you better than a Dubai one, that is what we will tell you.

Within one working day. If you would rather not wait, call or WhatsApp +971 50 256 1678 and you will speak to a consultant rather than a call centre.

Aspin Commercial Tower, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. You are welcome to visit, though most of our clients handle everything by phone, WhatsApp, and email.