Yes, a free zone company can now sell to and operate on Dubai's mainland without shutting down first. Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, in force since 3 March 2025, created a permit route that lets a free zone company operate on mainland Dubai while keeping its existing entity, licence and bank account. There are three ways to do it.
For years the advice was blunt: a free zone licence lets you trade inside your zone and internationally, but the moment you want to serve mainland clients directly, you close down and reopen as a mainland company. That is no longer the only path. This guide walks through the three current routes, what each costs, and the one tax detail that catches almost everyone.
What changed on 3 March 2025
You no longer close your company to reach the mainland
Before Resolution 11/2025
Close and reopen
Liquidate the free zone company, then set up a new mainland company from scratch. Months of work, new bank, new visas.
After 3 March 2025
Operate from
~AED 5,000 / 6 months
Keep your entity, bank and staff. Add a renewable DET permit for eligible mainland activity. Live in weeks.
Fees are DET-set and activity-dependent as of 2026. Eligible non-regulated activities only. DIFC excluded. Mainland income is taxed at 9%.
Can a free zone company operate on the mainland in Dubai?
A free zone company operating on the mainland is a company licensed inside one of Dubai's free zones that also does business directly with customers and suppliers based in mainland Dubai, rather than only inside its zone or abroad. Since 3 March 2025, this is allowed under a formal permit system instead of requiring a full company relocation. The change came through Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025.
Before that resolution, a free zone entity had no clean legal way to invoice a mainland client or run a mainland branch on the same licence. You either appointed a mainland distributor, or you liquidated and reopened. The rules that now let a free zone company operate on mainland Dubai run through the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the body that issues mainland licences in Dubai, which can grant your existing free zone company permission to work on the mainland. The UAE government's official business licensing portal confirms that mainland commercial activity runs through this kind of DET licensing, and the 2025 reform extends a version of that access to free zone firms.
Three routes now exist, and they are not interchangeable. One keeps your company as it is, one moves its legal home to the mainland, and one closes the free zone company and starts fresh. Picking the wrong one wastes months and money.
Free zone to mainland options Dubai founders now have: the three routes
The free zone to mainland options Dubai now offers fall into three routes. The table below compares them on the points that actually drive the decision. Read it, then match your situation to a route in the section that follows.
| Route | Cost (2026, indicative) | Timeline | Keeps your entity? | When to use it | Corporate-tax treatment | Approvals needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Operate permit or branch | Permit from ~AED 5,000 per 6 months; branch licence approx. 1 year term | Weeks | Yes, fully | You want mainland revenue fast and want to keep your bank, contracts and staff visas | 9% on mainland-source profit; separate records required | Free zone NOC, then DET / Invest in Dubai application |
| 2. Re-domiciliation (Article 15 bis) | Government fees to be set by regulation | Not yet available; regulations expected 2026 | Yes, same legal person moves | You want a true mainland company but do not want to lose your incorporation history | 9% as a mainland company; free zone 0% rate ends | Free zone exit approval plus mainland registration under the new rules |
| 3. Full close and reopen | Liquidation cost plus new mainland setup cost | Months | No, new entity | Your activity is regulated, ineligible, or you want a clean mainland structure anyway | 9% as a new mainland company | Free zone liquidation, then fresh mainland licence |
Pick your route
Free zone company reaching mainland Dubai: which route fits?
Need mainland revenue now and want to keep your entity, bank and staff? Yes
Want a true mainland company but not lose your corporate history, and can wait? Yes
Activity regulated or ineligible, or you want a clean new structure anyway? Yes
Every route reaches the mainland, so every route brings 9% UAE corporate tax on mainland-source profit above AED 375,000, tracked in separate records. Fees are DET-set and activity-dependent as of 2026.
Route 1: Operate with your existing entity (the permit or branch)
This is the route most competitors still miss, so start here. Under the Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 mainland permit, your free zone company stays exactly as it is and simply gains permission to work on the mainland. You keep your licence, your corporate bank account, your signed contracts and your employees' visas. Nothing is liquidated.
The options that help a free zone company operate on mainland Dubai come in two forms. The first is a temporary permit to carry out a specific mainland activity, which is the Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 mainland permit in its narrowest form. As of 2026 this is priced from around AED 5,000 per six months and is renewable, though DET sets the exact fee and it depends on your activity. The second is a mainland branch licence for your free zone company, typically issued for a one-year term. A branch suits a business that expects steady, ongoing mainland work; the short permit suits project-based or trial activity.
The process, in plain terms:
- Get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your free zone authority. This is the free zone confirming it does not object to you working on the mainland.
- Apply to DET, usually through the Invest in Dubai platform, for the operate permit or the branch licence.
- Receive approval and begin mainland activity under the permit.
Two limits matter. First, the permit only covers eligible, non-regulated activities from the DET list. DET published its list of eligible activities around September 2025, and regulated sectors (for example certain financial or professional activities) sit outside it. Second, the permit does not extend to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). DIFC is its own financial free zone with its own regulator, and it is excluded from this route. Big-four analysis of Resolution 11 of 2025, such as KPMG's briefing on the free zone to mainland changes, stresses the same eligibility and DIFC boundaries.
One more point that surprises people: existing informal mainland operations are expected to be regularized within one year. If your free zone company has quietly been serving mainland clients, this route is the way to bring that onto a legal footing rather than a nice-to-have.
If you are still deciding whether to be a free zone or mainland business in the first place, that is a different question, and our guide on which structure to start with covers it in full. This article assumes you already have a free zone company and want to reach the mainland.
Route 2: Re-domiciliation under Article 15 bis (not turnkey yet)
Re-domiciliation means moving your company's legal home from the free zone to the mainland without dissolving it. The same legal person continues; only its registration changes. The 2025 amendments to the UAE Commercial Companies Law added Article 15 bis to enable this, so a free zone entity can in principle convert into a mainland company and carry its history, contracts and assets across.
Here is the honest status as of 2026: this route is not ready to use yet. The implementing regulations that spell out the procedure, fees and conditions are still expected during 2026. Article 15 bis exists in the law, but until the detailed rules are published, you cannot simply file a re-domiciliation and expect it to complete. Treat it as coming, not available.
When it does open, Route 2 will suit founders who want a genuine mainland company (not just a permit bolted onto a free zone licence) while preserving their incorporation date and identity. It is the middle path between the light-touch permit and the heavy close-and-reopen. For now, if you need mainland revenue this quarter, Route 1 is your answer and Route 2 is a plan for later.
Route 3: Full close-and-reopen migration (the old way)
The traditional route still exists and is still the right call in some cases. You liquidate the free zone company and open a new mainland company from scratch. It is the most work and the slowest, running to months rather than weeks, because you are ending one entity and building another.
Choose Route 3 when your target activity is regulated or not on the DET eligible list, so the permit route is closed to you; when you want a clean, purpose-built mainland structure regardless; or when your free zone licence no longer serves any purpose. The closing side of this route, liquidation and deregistration, has its own steps, deadlines and clearances, and our walkthrough on liquidating a free zone entity covers exactly how to close the old company cleanly before the new one opens.
The tax catch: 9% corporate tax on your mainland income
Reaching the mainland has a tax consequence that applies to every route above. Mainland-source income is subject to the UAE's 9% corporate tax on profits over AED 375,000, and you must keep separate records for it. This is the detail that catches free zone owners off guard, so plan for it before you start.
The reason is how the free zone tax benefit works. A Qualifying Free Zone Person can keep a 0% corporate tax rate, but only on qualifying income earned within the free zone framework. The UAE Federal Tax Authority sets the 9% headline rate and the free zone conditions, as set out on the Federal Tax Authority's corporate tax pages. Mainland trading income does not qualify for the 0% rate. So the moment you earn money from mainland clients, that slice of profit is taxable at 9%, and it must be tracked separately from your zero-rated free zone income.
Two practical steps follow. First, understand how a free zone keeps its 0% tax so you know what you are trading away on the mainland slice. Second, make sure you are correctly set up for tax filing; our step-by-step on registering for UAE corporate tax explains registration and your first return for a company earning mainland income.
Which route is right for you?
The free zone to mainland options Dubai gives you in 2026 come down to a simple match. Line up your situation with a route:
- You want mainland revenue soon and want to keep your entity, bank and staff, and your activity is on the DET eligible list. Route 1, the operate permit or branch.
- You want a true mainland company but do not want to lose your corporate history, and you can wait for the 2026 rules. Route 2, re-domiciliation, once it opens.
- Your activity is regulated or ineligible, or you want a fresh mainland structure regardless. Route 3, full migration.
For most established free zone businesses that simply want to invoice mainland clients, Route 1 is the fastest and cheapest answer in 2026. The permit exists precisely to let a free zone company operate on mainland Dubai without closing a working entity first.
