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Dubai Free Zone Company Formation

DMCC VISA PROCESS

A company’s workforce is one of the company’s greatest assets. It is an investment that will serve as a key to the company’s stability and standing in the market.

Setting up a new business in one of UAE’s free zones can become an overwhelming task as one must understand the visa process, eligibility, legalities and expenses. Information from various sources can become confusing specially if you are not certain with its accuracy and credibility. However with proper guidance, growing your business with a new team by hiring within UAE or a foreign workforce is relatively straightforward.

The material below will help guide you to make that informed decision on what type of visa to apply for based on the eligibility requirements and associated procedures for each type.

Four Types of Dubai Residence Visas at DMCC:

  • Employment Visa
  • Dependent’s Resident Visa
  • Partner/Investor Visa (including Business Visit Visa)
  • Student Visit Visa (university and institution)

DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) visa application in principle is simple and straightforward. Free zone visas do not deal with the UAE Ministry of Labour. Each free zone authority has its employment law and the terms mandated in the employment contract are in accordance with UAE Labour Law. Free zone visas strictly do not allow individuals to work outside the free zone as they don’t have UAE labour contract.

The visa quota set by DMCC depends on the size of the office you have selected. For example:

  • Flexi desk: Up to 3 visas
  • Serviced Office: 4 or 5 visas depending on the size of the office
  • Physical Space: 1 visa for every 9 square meters
  1. Employment Visa

The employees of a DMCC licensed company must be authorized to work in free zone by either having an Employment Residence Visa, Identity Card or Access Approval. Identity cards and access approvals are alternative methods for a company to authorize and employee to work without directly being sponsored directly by the company.

  1. Employment Residence Visa

This is the most common visa by any free zone business through an issued employment contact. A free zone authority, and not the employer, sponsors the free zone employee’s visa. An employee needs an appointment letter from their company in a free zone to begin their application. This type of visa is valid for one, two and three years. The application process differs for employees based outside of the UAE and for employees based within the UAE.

  1. Identity Cards

A free zone company can hire an individual having spouse or father sponsorship through an Identity Card. This is valid for a period of one year and each electronically-issued Identity Card is counted against the company’s allocated visa quota.

  1. Access Approvals

Access Approvals are normally used to allow someone who is not an employee of the company to come to your office for temporary work. This typically applies to consultants, contract workers and employees of sister/parent companies that need to work on-site in DMCC temporarily. An Access Approval is valid for up to 1, 3 or 12 months. Access Approvals are limited to not more than 30% of the current workers.

  1. Dependent’s Resident Visa

Below are instances where Dependent’s Resident Visa may be applied:

  • Employees who receive a minimum salary of AED 4,000/month and live in a minimum one-bedroom accommodation can sponsor their immediate dependents – wife and children
  • Employees who receive a minimum salary of AED 20,000 with accommodation can sponsor their parents and parents-in-law
  • Valid health insurance for dependents
  • If the employee holds designations such as a clerk, sales, executive, admin, assistant, etc., then that employee is to submit a three-month bank statement
  • The sponsor’s job should not be workers or any position equivalent to housemaids to be eligible for the sponsorship
  • If you are only a shareholder of a DMCC licensed company holding a Dubai residence visa and not an employee residence visa issued by a free zone authority (DMCC, in this case), you can still apply for a dependents’ resident visa with DMCC
  1. Partner/Investor Visa (including Business Visit Visa)
  2. Partner/Investor Visa
  • If you have multiple shareholders holding a minimum of 50,000 share capital within your DMCC licensed company, you can obtain a partner visa for them
  • If you are the sole shareholder of your DMCC licensed company, you can obtain an investor visa
  1. Business Visit Visa
  • Each company can apply for up to 3 such visas at any one time
  • This type of visa is non-renewable and non-refundable
  • The associated costs are non-refundable in case of rejection
  1. Student Visa

This type of visa requires a minimum passport validity of six months and application letter from the university or institute.

Hassle-Free Visa Services with DMCC

The DMCC Member Portal facilitates a wide range of company services such as licensing, company amendments, and NOCs for you. The portal allows you to efficiently manage your business activities in one convenient location, so you have more time to focus on what’s most important to your company.