You already hold UAE residency
Sponsored by a spouse or parent, on a Golden Visa, or resident through your own property. Your right to live here is settled; what you are missing is the right to invoice. A permit on its own is usually all you need.
Freelance permit & licence
The licence that lets you invoice in your own name.
A UAE freelance permit is a trade licence issued to one person rather than a company. It is what makes you a legal business here: able to sign contracts, issue invoices, and be paid directly, under your own name instead of an employer's. This page covers what it allows, who it suits, what the authorities require, and how an application is put together.
What the permit actually gives you.
Working for UAE clients without a licence is not a grey area — invoicing without one puts both you and the client at risk, which is why serious clients ask for a trade licence number before they raise a purchase order. The permit closes that gap. It names you as the licensee, lists the activities you are permitted to carry out, and gives you the licence number that goes on your invoices.
It also unlocks the things that follow from being a business: a corporate bank account, a registered address, and, on the routes that include residency, the ability to sponsor family. What it is not is a residence visa. Those are two separate instruments from two different processes, and conflating them is the single most common misunderstanding we correct at consultations.
Permits are issued by free zones in several emirates, and a permit issued in one emirate is valid for working with clients across the UAE. Which zone suits you depends on your activity, not on which zone a consultancy happens to represent.
Who it suits
The permit on its own is right for some people, not everyone.
The honest version, including the case where you need more than this.
You are a GCC national
Citizens of the GCC states do not need a residence visa to live and work in the UAE, so the licence is the only piece of the puzzle. The activity list and the free zone still matter, and they are where a consultation earns its keep.
You have no UAE residency yet
A permit alone will not let you live here. You need the licence and a residence visa together, which is a different route and a single combined application. We will point you to it rather than sell you half of what you need.
See the combined licence and residency routeWhat the authorities require
The documents, before you start gathering them.
Nothing here is unusual, but the authorities are unforgiving about detail. A passport with five months left, or a photograph taken against a cream wall, will bounce a file that is otherwise perfect.
- A passport valid for at least six more months, scanned in colour
- A recent passport photograph on a white background, to the authority’s specification
- Your Emirates ID and residence visa copy, if you already hold UAE residency
- A no-objection certificate from your sponsor or employer, where your status requires one
- The business activities you want licensed, chosen from the free zone’s own list
- A completed application form for the issuing free zone
What we handle for you.
- Consultation on the right activity list and issuing free zone
- Preparation and review of the full application file
- Submission through official government and free-zone channels
- Up to 10 business activities under a single licence
- P.O. Box and registered office address
- Establishment card where the licence requires one
- Bank account opening assistance and introductions
- A renewal reminder before the licence lapses
How it works
Four stages, and where each one usually goes wrong.
Free consultation
Tell us your residency status, what work you do, and who your clients are. We explain which route fits, which free zones license your activity, and what the authorities will ask for. No charge, and no obligation to proceed.
Activity and zone selection
The activity list is the decision people get wrong most often. Pick too narrowly and you cannot invoice for half of what you do; pick a zone that does not license your activity and the file stalls. We match the two before anything is submitted.
Document preparation and submission
We review every document against the issuing authority’s requirements, correct what will not pass, and lodge the application through official channels. Initial approval usually lands within 48 hours.
Licence issue and what follows
Once the authority issues your permit you can invoice legally and open a business bank account. We stay with the file through establishment card and bank introductions, and we diarise the renewal.
What this route does not cover.
A residence visa is not included. If you do not already hold UAE residency, the permit alone will not let you live here, and you should look at the combined route instead.
We do not issue permits or licences. Those decisions rest with the UAE authorities, who assess every application on its own merits, and no consultancy can promise you an approval. We prepare and submit your file, and we tell you before you start if we think it will struggle. We are not lawyers or tax advisers, and health insurance is arranged separately.
Before you apply
What people ask about eligibility.
01What is a UAE freelance visa?
A UAE freelance visa is two things bought together: a freelance permit or licence issued by a free-zone authority, which makes you a legal business and lets you invoice clients, and a residency visa, which lets you live in the country, open a bank account, and sponsor family. You can hold the permit alone if you already have residency, but you cannot legally freelance on residency alone.
02What is the difference between a company-sponsored visa and a freelance visa?
A visa issued under a private company is an employment visa: your employer sponsors it and pays for it, and your status depends on that job continuing. A freelance visa is applied for through a UAE government authority or an authorised service provider, and you sponsor yourself. You pay for it, and it does not end when a client relationship does.
03Can I work anywhere in the UAE, or outside it, with a freelance visa?
Yes. With a legal freelance permit or licence from a UAE free zone you can work anywhere in the UAE, and take on clients outside the country as well. The emirate that issued your permit does not restrict where you live or work.
04Can I work with any company in the UAE as a freelancer?
Yes. Your freelance permit allows you to work with companies across the UAE under a legal contract, and to invoice them in your own business name.
05Is a freelance licence the same as a business setup?
It is a form of business setup, yes. Any entity created in the mainland or a free zone counts. The practical difference: free-zone licences usually do not require office space or a tenancy contract, while mainland setups typically do.
06Do I need a degree to get a UAE freelance permit?
Not for most activities. Education, training, and certain technical or advisory activities do require a degree certificate, and where the activity is regulated it must be attested in the country that issued it. Whether it applies depends on the activity you select, not on the free zone.
See all frequently asked questions, or compare what each route covers on the pricing page.
Find out whether the permit alone is enough.
The consultation is free and carries no obligation. Tell us your residency status and what you do, and a consultant will explain which route fits, what the authorities require, and what it costs — quoted in writing before anything begins.
Easy Freelance Visa is an independent consultancy operated by Global Entity FZC LLC, a licensed Dubai documents-clearing company. We are not a government department, and we are not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by any UAE government authority.
Permits, licences and residency visas are issued solely by the relevant UAE authorities, which decide every application on its own merits. We advise on and prepare applications; we cannot and do not guarantee any outcome.
You may apply directly to the relevant authority yourself. Our fee covers consultancy and document preparation only, is quoted in writing before any work begins, and is separate from government charges, which are set by the authorities and paid to them.