Meydan Free Zone

RIGHT FOR

Founders who want a Dubai address and a fast, low-friction setup without renting an office — and particularly those who know they will need to invoice mainland UAE customers and want the dual-licence route available rather than bolted on later.

WRONG FOR

Teams that will need a substantial visa allocation early, since the quota tracks the facility tier rather than the licence, and anyone who needs regulated financial services authorisation, which is not what a commercial free-zone licence provides.

Year two renewal: Not published separately — Meydan advertises multi-year licences at up to 15% off but does not publish a standalone renewal figure, so treat the licence line as recurring until a founder confirms otherwise.

Visa quota is tied to the facility you take rather than the licence itself, so the ceiling moves with the package — and the tier you start on is usually the cheapest one, not the one that survives your first hire.

Time to open an account varies by bank, by your declared activity and by your shareholder profile. Two companies in the same free zone can be weeks apart, which is why no fee table mentions this step at all.

What actually catches founders out is specific to the zone and to the year they did it — which is exactly why it is worth collecting rather than generalising.

The advertised price does not include a visa

AED 12,500 buys the licence and the flexi-desk. Meydan states plainly that a first investor visa adds around AED 7,850, and that medical and Emirates ID assistance is another AED 2,250. A founder who wants residency should plan on roughly AED 20,350 before anything optional.

The visa is a two-year cycle, not an annual one

Meydan issues 2-year investor and employee residence visas. That is good news for cash flow but it means the visa cost lands again in year three, not year two — and the establishment card portion is one-off, so the renewal is not a repeat of the same number.

A free-zone licence alone will not let you invoice mainland clients

This is the constraint that catches most free-zone founders. Meydan is unusual in offering a DED dual-licence route, but it is a separate permit with its own cost — not something the AED 12,500 covers.

Multi-year licences are discounted up to 15%

Meydan advertises up to 15% off for committing to a longer term. If you are confident about the jurisdiction, paying for several years up front is the cleanest saving available here — and the confidence question is exactly what the rest of this page is for.

If you do not need residency, do not buy a visa

Meydan offers a non-resident licence at the same AED 12,500 starting point. Founders who already hold residency through another entity, or who are genuinely operating from outside the UAE, can skip the visa and establishment card entirely — roughly AED 7,850 of the first-year figure.

The establishment card is one-off, so its timing is yours to choose

It is required before you can sponsor any visa, but not before the licence exists. If your first hire is months away, the card and the visa costs move with it rather than landing in month one.

What does a Meydan licence actually cost in year one?

The advertised figure is AED 12,500 for the standard digital trade licence, which includes the flexi-desk. Meydan itself states that a first investor visa adds around AED 7,850 covering the visa fee, allocation and the one-time immigration establishment card — so a founder who wants residency is looking at roughly AED 20,350 before medical and Emirates ID assistance, which is priced separately again. Both figures are the zone’s own published numbers, not a quote.

What is Fawri?

Meydan’s instant licence, advertised from AED 15,000 and issued in under 60 minutes, with a money-back guarantee if delayed. It is the same licence with a speed premium rather than a different set of rights.