VERIFIED 2026 · ALL-IN · FORMENZO
How long does it take to set up a UAE free-zone company?
A UAE free-zone licence is typically issued in 3–8 working days once your trade name and documents are approved. Residence visas follow after the licence — usually another 1–3 weeks per visa for the entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and stamping.
Every figure here is the real, all-in 2026 price — government/authority fee, our setup service and the residence-visa block — confirmed in writing, with no sales call. See the full Cost Index or the open price dataset (CC-BY).
Build your exact price →By the Formenzo Research Team · compare all 9 zones
Where the 3–8 working days actually go
The clock starts only once your trade name is reserved and your documents pass review; before that, the pace depends on how quickly you supply passport copies and settle on business activities. After approval, the zone issues the licence within the 3–8-working-day window, and each residence visa then runs its own 1–3-week cycle of entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID appointment and passport stamping.
Who gets through fastest
Licence-only founders finish quickest, since no visa stage follows — typical for non-resident e-commerce sellers and holding-company owners. Single consultants taking one visa come next, while three-person teams should expect the visa stages, not the licence itself, to set the overall timetable.
Two things founders ask
Does a more expensive zone move faster? No. Price reflects the emirate and the package, not queue position: the AED 4,888 Ajman NuVentures licence and the AED 35,484 DMCC package pass through the same sequence of approvals.
Do multiple visas stack up one after another? Not necessarily. Each person's 1–3-week block is independent, and applications can overlap once the licence exists, so three visas rarely take three times as long as one.