What does a FREE ZONE mean?

Free Zones are geographically and economic demarcated areas where goods and services can be traded freely inside the one free zone and between each others. currently more than 45 free zones across the UAE were rolled out to boost international business in the region. Each free zone covers a specific industry such as technology in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) , Financial services in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC),etc, and they offer 100% foreign ownership.
EBDA Consulting assists you to incorporate your company in the suitable free zone , There’s no doubt is necessary to take account of different factors to choose the suitable area for the business. Our team’s role is to walking you through it step-by-step, steering you in the right direction, decrease the expenses , and ultimately making the entire experience a stress-free one.


Benefits of UAE Free Zone

  • 100% foreign ownership for free zone companies.
  • 100% exemption from corporate, personal, and income taxes
  • The possibility to repatriate 100% of capital and profits
  • No customs duties levied on imports and exports,
  • Low freight charges
  • Easy Procedure of Company Formation in UAE Free Zones
  • Inexpensive workforce, and easy recruitment procedures
  • The UAE free zones are sectors specific. This gives its entrepreneurs ready access to a hub of knowledge and expertise from others within their field.

The are 3 main types of free zone corporate entities

  • Freezone establishment
  • Freezone company
  • Branch company

The main difference between an "establishement" and a "company" is the number of shareholders required, An establishement is a signle-shareholder entity while a company is actually a limited liability company, generally requiresmore than 1 shareholder .


The principal types of Free zones Licenses



Service License

Allows service providers production, re-production, transformation, and distribution of services. The service license includes rendering services as the primary objective and utilizing associated goods to provide those services.

Holding License

Allows the holding of standalone assets and/or shares in other companies. Holding companies are commonly used for controlling other companies and entities, property , stocks , assets , trademarks...

General Trading License

This enables the trade of wide range of products and gives the freedom and flexibility to trade in any commodity which is permitted within the UAE.

Industrial License

This enables the licensee to import raw materials, then production, re-production, manufacture, package the specified products, and finally export them.

Consultancy License

Suitable for business professionals providing expert and professional consultancy services across all industries.

Trading License

Authorizes the import, export, distribution, and storing of specified item on the license.


To know before choosing the free zone

Each free zone is set to register companies in their own line of business and each of them has a different set of requirements, cost and legal structure. The right jurisdiction depends on the objectives of the firm and cost difference .

  • some zones support businesses on wide scale while, others are for specific types of business activities.

  • Each free zone has its own rules and regulations for company registration, type of required documents may also differ according to the type of business activity.

  • the share capital varies from one free zone to other,

  • Trading between free zones and import/export activity is freely allowed.

  • The Value-Added Tax (VAT) is 5% for any type of good or service.

List of some freezones in UAE

UAE there has several free zones across different areas such as Dubai, Ras al khaimah ,sharjah ,Ajman ,....