Search for the cost of a Dubai company and you get one number. A licence price, usually the one charged by whoever wrote the page. That number is not wrong. It is just the smallest part of the bill.
The first year in Dubai costs are a ladder of about ten items, and the licence is one rung on it. This article walks the ladder in the order the money actually leaves, from the first decision to the first renewal notice. Several rungs are ranges, not fixed prices.
A note on this case study: the example below is a composite, built from typical START engagements. It is not a single real client, and no client details are disclosed.
The case: one consultant, one visa, no staff
The person in this case study is a German-speaking consultant in her mid forties. She advises industrial clients in Germany and Switzerland. She sells time and judgement, not goods. No warehouse, no imports, no team. One residence visa for herself and nobody else.
She took a professional services licence in a free zone with one visa allocation. Her clients sit outside the UAE and no member of the public ever visits her. If that choice is still open for you, it is worked through in the comparison of licence routes for a one-person business in Dubai. This article only prices it.
How to read these first year in Dubai costs
Three points before the numbers.
First, every figure here is an indicative 2026 range, not an invoice. We do not show real client invoices, and we do not invent them either.
Second, the euro figures use an approximate rate of 4 AED to 1 EUR. The rate moves.
Third, each rung says what pushes the range up or down. Usually four things: the activity, the free zone, the number of visas, and whether a physical desk is required.
And here is the claim this article makes. The cheapest licence quote usually produces the most expensive first year. Not because anyone is dishonest. A very low price is normally low because the immigration file, the visa and the workspace are excluded. Those three items are not optional.
Month 0: what gets paid before the licence
Money leaves before any authority issues anything. Certified translations, degree attestation, courier fees, and often a flight to Dubai to see zones and banks.
Indicative range: AED 2,000 to 9,000 (about EUR 500 to 2,250). More documents and a scouting trip push it up. Someone who handles everything remotely stays at the bottom.
Month 1: the licence, which is the number in the quote
Now comes the item everybody compares. For a one-person professional services licence the indicative 2026 range is AED 12,500 to 35,000 (about EUR 3,125 to 8,750).
The width of that range is the point. It depends on the zone, the number of approved activities, and whether a visa allocation is included at all. A quote with no allocation looks cheap. It only means the next rung is billed separately.
Across the whole year the licence works out at roughly 28 to 42 percent of the total. It is the largest single item and still a minority of the money.
Month 1 to 3: immigration file, visa, workspace
The immigration file, also called the establishment card, is what lets the company sponsor anybody at all. Indicative range: AED 1,500 to 3,500 (about EUR 375 to 875).
Then the residence visa: entry permit, status change, medical test, Emirates ID and stamping. Indicative range: AED 3,500 to 7,000 (about EUR 875 to 1,750) for one person. A longer term and an in-country status change push it up. The steps are set out in the self-employment visa route for the UAE.
Then the workspace: AED 0 to 25,000 (EUR 0 to about 6,250). Zero when a flexi-desk is bundled into the package. Five figures as soon as the zone or the visa allocation requires a real desk. This one line explains much of the gap between a cheap first year and an expensive one.
Year one, indicative 2026
The licence is one rung on a ten-rung ladder
Each bar shows the low-to-high indicative range for a one-person consultancy in AED. The licence bar is the longest single one. It is still one of ten.
Indicative ranges for 2026, not invoices. Figures move with the activity, the free zone, the number of visas and whether a physical desk is required. The bank minimum balance is excluded because it is locked cash, not a fee.
Month 2 to 5: the bank and the insurance
The business account costs less than people expect and locks up more than they plan for. Account fees and charges in year one: AED 1,200 to 6,000 (about EUR 300 to 1,500). The minimum balance is separate. Depending on the bank it sits roughly between AED 25,000 and 150,000. That is not a fee. It is money you cannot spend, so it is in no total here.
Health insurance is the item solo founders most often treat as optional. It is not. The UAE government states that employers in Dubai are required to provide health insurance cover for their employees. Since 1 January 2025 a policy is also a prerequisite for issuing or renewing residency permits for private sector employees, applied on a mandatory basis in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
For a one-person company the conclusion is clear. You are the employer and the employee at the same time. The duty does not disappear because there is only one of you. Indicative range for one person for one year: AED 1,800 to 9,000 (about EUR 450 to 2,250), depending on age, network and deductible.
Month 4 to 12: bookkeeping, tax, paperwork
Bookkeeping starts with the first invoice. For a one-person consultancy the indicative range is AED 4,000 to 15,000 a year (about EUR 1,000 to 3,750). Foreign currencies, many small receipts and a retained German entity push it up.
Tax registration carries the most half-truths. The distinction matters. For a natural person, the UAE tax authority states that corporate tax applies only if that person conducts a business in the UAE and the total turnover from it exceeds AED 1 million within the calendar year. Wages, personal investment income and real estate investment income are not business activities. A natural person who does not conduct a business, or who stays under the threshold, should not register.
A company you incorporate is a juridical person, and that turnover test does not apply to it in the same way. The detail for freelancers and sole traders sits in the explanation of the AED 1 million rule and how registration works. What you actually pay here is professional help with registration and the first filing: AED 1,500 to 6,000 (about EUR 375 to 1,500).
Then the running paperwork: licence amendments, powers of attorney, attestations, couriers. Indicative range: AED 2,000 to 8,000 (about EUR 500 to 2,000). What you keep and what you hand over is covered in the breakdown of what a PRO service in Dubai charges.
The whole ladder in one view
| Rung | When | AED (indicative 2026) | EUR (approx.) | What moves the range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation and documents | Month 0 | 2,000 – 9,000 | 500 – 2,250 | Documents, travel |
| Licence | Month 1 | 12,500 – 35,000 | 3,125 – 8,750 | Zone, activity, visas |
| Immigration file | Month 1 – 2 | 1,500 – 3,500 | 375 – 875 | Package scope |
| Residence visa, 1 person | Month 2 – 3 | 3,500 – 7,000 | 875 – 1,750 | Term, status change |
| Workspace | Month 1 – 3 | 0 – 25,000 | 0 – 6,250 | Bundled desk or real office |
| Health insurance, 1 person | Month 2 – 3 | 1,800 – 9,000 | 450 – 2,250 | Age, network, deductible |
| Business account, year 1 | Month 2 – 5 | 1,200 – 6,000 | 300 – 1,500 | Bank, account type |
| Bookkeeping | Month 4 – 12 | 4,000 – 15,000 | 1,000 – 3,750 | Volume, foreign currencies |
| Tax registration and first filing | Month 6 – 12 | 1,500 – 6,000 | 375 – 1,500 | Advice needed |
| Amendments and attestations | Ongoing | 2,000 – 8,000 | 500 – 2,000 | Licence changes |
| Year one total | 30,000 – 123,500 | 7,500 – 31,000 |
The gap between AED 30,000 and AED 123,500 looks like luck. It is not. It is almost entirely choices: the zone, the breadth of the activity list, a physical desk or none, and how much professional help you buy.
Cash flow, year one
When the money actually leaves
Indicative 2026 ranges in AED for a one-person consultancy, placed in the month they fall due.
Month 0
Preparation and documents
Certified translations, attestations, couriers, often one scouting trip. Nothing is issued yet.
AED 2,000 – 9,000Month 1
Licence and immigration file
The single biggest hit of the year, and the only part most quotes cover.
AED 14,000 – 38,500Month 1 to 3
Workspace, paid up front
Zero if a flexi-desk is bundled. Five figures if a real desk is required.
AED 0 – 25,000Month 2 to 3
Visa, Emirates ID, health insurance
Entry permit, status change, medical, ID, and the policy the residence permit now depends on.
AED 5,300 – 16,000Month 2 to 5
Business account opens
Fees start. The minimum balance is locked cash on top, not counted here.
AED 1,200 – 6,000Month 4 to 12
Bookkeeping, month by month
Spread across the rest of the year rather than landing in one payment.
AED 4,000 – 15,000Month 6 to 12
Tax registration and first filing
Registration is done online. What you pay for is the professional help around it.
AED 1,500 – 6,000Month 12
The renewal notice arrives
Year one closes and year two is priced separately. This is where the recurring items become visible.
About 70%
of the year one total leaves in the first 90 days, at both the low end and the high end of the range. That is before the first invoice from Dubai is paid.
Indicative 2026 ranges, not invoices. Ongoing amendments and attestations of AED 2,000 to 8,000 are excluded from the steps above because they have no fixed month.
The payment curve is the real problem
Add up the first three months. Preparation, licence, immigration file, visa, workspace and insurance come to about 70 percent of the year's cost at both ends of the range. Most of the money leaves before the first invoice from Dubai is paid.
No comparison site shows this curve, because it is hard to sell. For cash planning it matters more than any licence price. Someone who budgets AED 40,000 and spends AED 28,000 of it in the first quarter does not have a cost problem. They have a timing problem.
What this total does not include
Left out on purpose: rent on your own home, the deposit, the agency fee, Ejari, school fees, a car, and daily living. These are real and often larger than the whole company bill. They cannot be honestly ranged for one person, because they depend on lifestyle and family. An invented number would be worse than none.
Month 12: the renewal notice
About eleven months after setup the licence renewal reminder arrives. That is when it becomes clear which items were once-only and which return every year. Year two is a separate bill and is not priced here. Those figures sit in the breakdown of what a free zone licence renewal costs in year two.
