A residency visa and a UAE freelance license – these documents permit you to work legally in the Emirates as a freelancer, a sole practitioner or an independent contractor.
And with more and more people setting up on their own, it’s becoming an increasingly attractive in the UAE and abroad.
UAE Freelance Permit Highlights
The Freelancer License enables businesses with flexibility to work remotely. Further, Freelancers are not required to lease any office space and they can avail residency visas for themselves and their dependents. To apply, applicants must provide relevant experience.
To work as a freelancer in the UAE you will need a residency visa and work permit, which is issued by a number of different free zones, i.e. Creative City, Dubai South, UAQ, Ajman, Dubai Media City etc.
Features of a Freelance permit
- You may work as an independent contractor.
- A Freelancer shall conduct business in his/her own birth name as opposed to a company name.
- Freelancers shall not be eligible to open a Corporate Bank Account
- No Memorandum of Association, Certificate of Incorporation or Partner list shall be issued under the Freelancer Permit
- The Freelancer can select only 1 activity per Permit and gets only 1 visa eligibility (employment visa)
- A Freelancer can hold only 1 permit– No additional permit allowed
- Freelancers shall not be eligible to appoint any staff or obtain additional visa under the permit.
Freelance Permit Eligible Categories
There are only specific categories that you’re allowed to freelance in such as;
| Actor |
| Aerial Shoot Photographer |
| Animator |
| Apparel Designer |
| Artist |
| Audio / Sound Engineer |
| Cameraman |
| Choreographer |
| Commentators |
| Composer |
| Content Provider |
| Copywriter |
| Costume Designer |
| Critics |
| Director: Film, Television, Music, Theatre |
| Editor: Publishing |
| Events Planner |
| Fashion Stylist |
| Fashion Artist |
| Fashion Designer |
| Furniture Designer |
| Graphic Designer |
| Jewellery Designer |
| Journalist |
| Lighting Technician |
| Makeup Artist |
| Music Director |
| Musician |
| New Media Specialist |
| Photographer |
| Photojournalist |
| Presenter (TV/Radio) |
| Print Media Specialist |
| Producer |
| PR Specialist |
| Scriptwriter |
| Set and Exhibit Designer |
| Special Effects Producer |
| Speech-language Pathologists |
| Translator |
| Writer |
| Web Designer |
| Wardrobe Stylist |
Interested in Getting a Freelance Permit?
Depending on what kind of licence you need, the timeframe from start to finish can vary. For a full freelance permit with a visa the whole process is likely to take a few weeks with variations between free zones.
There are more than 45 Free Trade Zones in the UAE. Therefore, each free zone has different trade licence types available, and not all of them have freelancer permits so it can be complicated finding the correct one for your activity.
So do not hesitate to contact us for more information and expert advice.
