Dubai Silicon Oasis free zone company setup in Dubai

Dubai Silicon Oasis free zone license and company types

DSO offers three operating licenses: service, trade and industrial. Each license is assigned a number of business activities, so we check that every activity you plan sits under the right license before you apply.

Under the DIEZA Regulations 2023, a new business registers as a Free Zone Company (FZCO), a limited liability company with its own legal personality. The Free Zone Establishment (FZE) form is no longer in use, and DSO says existing FZEs are now treated as FZCOs.

• Service license: carry out only the services specified on the license
• Trade license: import, export and distribute the goods named on the license
• Industrial license: import raw materials, then manufacture, process, assemble, package and export finished products
• Branch: no separate legal personality or share capital, and the parent company remains fully liable
• A branch can only conduct activities within its parent company's activities

Workspace, Dtec and visas in the DSO free zone

DSO ties visa eligibility to your workspace. It states that a flexi desk package gives the option of up to two residency visas per flexi desk and a fixed desk package up to three visas per desk, while for furnished private offices DSO says the visa allowance depends on the space taken.

Coworking plans run from three campuses: DSO HQ Building, Dtec Technohub and Dtec A5 Dubai Digital Park. The Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus (Dtec) covers 108,000 square feet across Technohub 1 and A5 Dubai Digital Park, and DSO says it is home to over a thousand startups from 90 countries.

• Flexi desk: a free desk in shared areas, with company setup included
• Fixed desk: your own desk in the coworking space, with company setup included
• Private office: furnished or unfurnished, 12 to 50 square metres
• Dtec short-term desks: no contract, but not part of a company setup or visa package
• Larger needs: Plug&Play offices at DSO from 160 sq ft, plus warehouses, light industrial units, retail space and land

DSO and IFZA: same district, different setup offerings

IFZA and DSO both sit in Dubai Silicon Oasis but run different setup offerings. IFZA describes itself as a business setup community in Dubai, with its headquarters and IFZA Business Park (reception in Building A2) in Dubai Silicon Oasis, and it offers business licenses through the incorporation of FZCOs under its own commercial and professional license types.

DSO's own licenses are the service, trade and industrial licenses above, governed by the DIEZA Regulations 2023. The practical rule: the setup offering you choose decides your activity list, workspace options and visa allowance, whatever the street address says.

• IFZA: commercial and professional licenses, its own activity list and IFZA Business Park workspace
• DSO: service, trade and industrial licenses, FZCO or branch, DSO and Dtec workspace
• Each sells its own workspace and visa packages, so compare them side by side
• We check your activity on the list of the zone you choose, not the district you sit in

Mainland work and who regulates what in DSO

A DSO free zone company needs a license or permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) to work on the Dubai mainland. Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, which DSO also publishes on its legislation page, sets three routes, each needing the approval of the authority that licensed you.

DSO also has an Administrative Zone: areas within the district run by private developers. A company working from a private freehold or leasehold property there applies to the Freehold Licensing Section of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) for a business permit that DSO says is based on a Dubai mainland license.

• Branch within the emirate, licensed by DET
• Branch operating out of the free zone, licensed by DET
• Temporary permit for specific activities, valid for up to six months
• Other regulators' approvals still apply where your activity needs them
• Administrative Zone: a Business Operation Permit linked to a Dubai mainland license, with no share capital required

DSO vs IFZA vs Dubai Internet City for tech companies

All three put you in a Dubai technology setting, but they differ in setup offering, the company forms on offer and how workspace converts into visas. Here is what each zone's own pages say.

• DSO: operates under DIEZ, FZCO or branch, service, trade or industrial license, up to two visas per flexi desk
• IFZA: business park in Dubai Silicon Oasis, licenses through FZCO incorporation, commercial and professional licenses
• Dubai Internet City: licensed by the Dubai Development Authority (DDA), FZ-LLC or branch, one visa per 60 sq ft of commercial space
• Startup support: Dtec in DSO, and in5 Tech in Dubai Internet City
• Industrial work: DSO offers an industrial license, while Dubai Internet City refers manufacturing plants to Dubai Industrial City

Questions to answer before you choose Dubai Silicon Oasis

Headline offers rarely tell the whole story. We answer these for your activity before you decide.

• Is your exact activity on Dubai Silicon Oasis's official list, or only something close to it?
• Does the activity need approval from another regulator first?
• Which workspace options are available, and how many visas does each allow?
• What does renewal involve each year, and which costs recur?
• Will most of your customers be in the zone, abroad or on the mainland?