Meydan Free Zone Company Setup Cost 2026: Fees and Tax

Meydan free zone company setup cost in 2026 starts at AED 12,500 for a Regular licence and AED 15,000 for the instant Fawri licence, both with a flexi-desk included, according to Meydan Free Zone's own website. With one residence visa, setup consultants put the first-year package at about AED 20,670 (Avyanco, September 2026), and a realistic all-in figure for one founder with one visa at about AED 21,050 (Business Dubai, August 2026). Bookkeeping, tax filings and health insurance come on top.

Meydan Free Zone sits in the Meydan district of Nad Al Sheba in central Dubai and has become one of the main low-cost choices for consultants, agencies, IT firms and e-commerce founders. Unlike many zones, it publishes its headline licence prices. This guide sets out what those prices include, what visas and the establishment card add, a worked budget, and the VAT, corporate tax and ownership questions that decide whether Meydan is the right home. If you are building a Dubai front office for an Indian services firm, our India to UAE services team works on exactly this decision.

Key points

• Meydan publishes two licence prices: Regular from AED 12,500, issued in 1 to 3 working days, and Fawri at AED 15,000, issued in under an hour.
• Every licence includes a flexi-desk, up to three activity groups and the option of up to six visas, according to Meydan.
• Consultant-published 2026 prices with visas: about AED 20,670 with one visa, AED 26,820 with two and AED 32,970 with three (Avyanco, September 2026).
• Meydan is not a VAT Designated Zone, so normal 5% UAE VAT rules apply.
• Most consultancy and IT companies in Meydan will pay corporate tax at the standard 0% and 9% rates, or use Small Business Relief, now extended to 31 December 2029. They generally cannot rely on the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate.

How much does Meydan free zone company setup cost in 2026?

Meydan's licence price is published; most of the other costs are reported by setup consultants. The table puts both together. Where sources disagree, both are shown so you know what to ask about.

Business Dubai notes that Meydan's own site has shown inconsistent figures for the investor or partner visa, from about AED 4,000 to about AED 7,850. Ask for the visa cost per person in writing, broken down into allocation, entry permit, status change, medical and Emirates ID, before you pay.

What does the Meydan licence include, and what costs extra?

According to Meydan, each licence includes a free zone LLC with 100% foreign ownership, three business activity groups, a flexi-desk with a business address, the option to allocate between zero and six visas, banking support, and compliance help with the UBO declaration, corporate tax registration and KYC. Meydan says more than 2,500 business activities are available, which lets most service businesses combine related activities on one licence.

What you still pay for:

• Each visa: allocation, issuance, medical, Emirates ID and health insurance, per person.
• The establishment card, which is needed before any visa can be issued and is renewed every year.
• Physical space, if you need more than the flexi-desk.
• External approvals for regulated activities.
• Bookkeeping, corporate tax returns, VAT registration and returns, and any audit. Meydan helps with corporate tax registration, but the annual return and the accounts behind it are your responsibility.

Regular or Fawri licence: is the instant licence worth AED 2,500?

The Fawri licence costs AED 2,500 more than the Regular licence and is issued in under an hour instead of 1 to 3 working days, with the same inclusions, according to Meydan. That speed rarely changes when you can actually trade. You still need the establishment card, visas and, above all, a bank account, which consultants report takes 3 to 8 weeks (Business Dubai, August 2026). Fawri makes sense when a client contract or tender needs a licence number this week. For most founders, the Regular licence and an early start on the bank application is the better use of AED 2,500.

A worked example: a Mumbai consultant's first two years

Take a hypothetical Mumbai marketing consultant who wants a Dubai company to sign retainers with Gulf clients. The founder takes one visa and works from Dubai for part of the year; two analysts stay in India on the Indian company's payroll.

Health insurance, bookkeeping and tax filing ranges are Osome's September 2026 figures for a small IFZA company, a comparable Dubai free zone setup; Meydan does not publish these. The visa is normally valid for two years, so the visa renewal cost falls in year three.

Now the tax, which is where planning pays. In year one the company bills AED 1.4 million and makes taxable income of AED 600,000. With revenue under AED 3 million, it can elect Small Business Relief and pay no corporate tax for the period. Under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026, announced by the Ministry of Finance on 7 August 2026 (reported by The National), the relief now applies to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029, instead of the original 31 December 2026 end date. In year three, revenue reaches AED 4 million and taxable income AED 1.2 million. Relief is no longer available, and tax is 9% of the AED 825,000 above the AED 375,000 threshold: AED 74,250. Plan for that step before you cross AED 3 million, not after.

The Indian side matters as much. The analysts in India are doing work for the Dubai company, so the Indian company should invoice it at an arm's length price, and that invoice is an export of services for GST if the conditions are met. See export of services under GST and transfer pricing in the UAE. If the founder takes the Dubai company's key decisions while living in Mumbai, the company risks Indian tax residence under the place of effective management test.

Is a Meydan free zone company tax free?

No. A Meydan company is within UAE corporate tax under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. It can pay 0% on qualifying income only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, which requires adequate substance, audited accounts, arm's length pricing and non-qualifying revenue within the lower of 5% of total revenue or AED 5 million.

The list of qualifying activities in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 (Ministry of Finance, 3 September 2025) covers activities such as manufacturing, trading qualifying commodities, holding shares, treasury and financing for related parties, and distribution from a Designated Zone. Consultancy, marketing, IT and similar services to mainland or overseas clients are generally not on it. Since that is what most Meydan companies do, they should budget for the standard rates or Small Business Relief. A Qualifying Free Zone Person cannot also elect Small Business Relief. Our explainer on corporate tax for free zone companies sets out the conditions.

On VAT, Meydan is not on the Federal Tax Authority's list of Designated Zones, so a Meydan company charges and accounts for VAT like any UAE business: 5% on taxable supplies, mandatory registration once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 in 12 months and voluntary registration from AED 187,500. Services exported to clients outside the UAE can be zero-rated if the FTA's conditions are met. Our note on the UAE e-invoicing deadline covers the next compliance change for VAT-registered businesses.

How long does Meydan company setup take?

1. Name check and activity selection: Meydan says a name can be reserved in about 20 minutes.
2. Application and shareholder KYC: passports, proof of address and, for a corporate shareholder, constitutional documents and a board resolution.
3. Licence issued: under an hour for Fawri, 1 to 3 working days for Regular, according to Meydan.
4. Establishment card, then visas: Avyanco (September 2026) places visa processing in weeks 2 to 4 of the overall timeline.
5. Bank account: typically 3 to 8 weeks (Business Dubai, August 2026). Meydan advertises banking support and a network of bank partners, but no zone can promise an account.
6. Corporate tax registration with the FTA, and VAT registration when the threshold is reached.

Indian-owned companies should expect detailed questions from banks about the group and the source of funds. Our guide to opening a UAE corporate bank account for an Indian-owned company lists the documents.

Who should own a Meydan company?

For an Indian resident founder, investing in a Meydan company is overseas direct investment under India's Overseas Investment Rules and Regulations of 2022, reported through an authorised dealer bank. A resident individual can generally invest only in an operating company that is not in financial services and has no subsidiaries, so if the Meydan company will hold other companies, an Indian company or a non-resident founder is usually the right owner. Read our explainers on ODI rules and who should own your Dubai company. A founder who moves to Dubai should also check when they stop being Indian tax resident; see moving to Dubai from India.

For a UK parent, the checks are UK controlled foreign company rules and whether the Meydan company is in practice managed from the UK. Our guide for UK businesses setting up in Dubai covers both.

Meydan vs IFZA, DMCC and RAKEZ

For a wider view, see the cheapest free zone company setup in the UAE, and if most clients are onshore, read Dubai free zone vs mainland first.

When Meydan is the wrong choice

• You trade physical goods and want them held outside VAT in a Designated Zone.
• Most of your revenue is from UAE mainland customers and you need to trade with them directly; a mainland licence may be simpler.
• The company will be a shell billing for work done in India with no decision-making in the UAE. That creates tax exposure in both countries whatever the zone.
• You need a regulated financial licence, which belongs in DIFC or ADGM.
• You expect more than six visas soon; you will need a physical office and should compare zones on that basis.

Meydan setup checklist

• Written quote with the licence, establishment card, per-visa costs and any agent fee on separate lines.
• Regular or Fawri decided on real timing needs.
• Activity groups chosen to cover the next two years.
• Owner decided and the ODI or UK route agreed before money moves.
• Bank KYC pack ready on the day the licence is issued.
• Corporate tax registration done, and a Small Business Relief decision made each year until 2029.
• Intercompany agreement with the Indian or UK company signed before the first invoice.
• Board decisions taken and minuted in the UAE.

How Greenwolf helps

Greenwolf Advisors helps founders and family businesses across the India, UAE, UK and US corridors decide whether a UAE company makes commercial sense, which zone fits, who should own it, how it is funded, how it charges the rest of the group and how it stays compliant. Commercial design comes first; the tax position follows functions, risks and substance. For the bigger picture, read expanding an Indian services business to Dubai, explore our corporate services or speak to our team.

This article is general information, not advice for a specific case. Meydan's prices and government fees change: confirm current figures with Meydan Free Zone, the Federal Tax Authority, your bank and your advisers before you act.