Dubai Internet City (DIC)

The Dubai Internet City Free Zone welcomes a vast range of professional and financial business activities. Here are some of the options available for foreign investors and entrepreneurs:

• IT Services
• Internet and Network Services
• E-commerce
• Consultancy
• Software Development, Installation and Modification
• Multimedia Development and Distribution

The following legal entities can be legally registered with the DIC:

Free Zone Limited Liability Company (FZ-LLC)

Free Zone Limited Liability Companies can be owned by 1 to 50 individual shareholders or companies with a minimum share value of AED 1,000 and a minimum capital investment of AED 50,000.

Branch of a UAE Company

It refers to the candidate branch based in the UAE. No capitalization is required.

Branch of a Foreign Company

A branch of a foreign company in Dubai Internet City can be established by a foreign applicant and the company does not have a capitalization requirement.

DIC allows the establishment of all types of companies in the free zone, but these are the most popular licenses:

The software license at DIC applies to all activities related to the development, installation and/or modification of software products from companies or third parties.

This license must be obtained for any activity related to developing, installing, modifying and/or operating a network or providing related services to run network-based applications or services for yourself or third parties.

An e-commerce license is required for all activities related to certain third party services and products through electronic media such as search engines, portals, websites, social media and others to sell goods and services.

The IT service license covers all activities related to the development and/or provision of standardized and repeatable IT-based services, which may also include security solutions, localization, training and enterprise training.

This is a special permit granted by Dubai Economics Department (DED) to companies operating in private areas.

This license must be obtained for any activity related to the development and/or distribution of Internet or multimedia content. Other activities may include selling goods or services over the Internet, such as providing an online platform and mediating between several companies or several individuals.

To start a company in Dubai Internet City, all entrepreneurs and foreign investors need to follow the below-discussed steps:

• Submit an application for a business license to the Free Zone Authority along with the proposed business plan and photocopies of the passports of all shareholders, management and directors.
• The DIC office examines the application and issues the applicant with a pre-approval notice with a checklist of required legal documents.
• The cover letter of acceptance must be received by the applicant, signed, stamped and returned to DIC.
• Submit all legal documents within 15 working days of receiving the UAE or individual Interim Approval Letter).
• DIC checks legal documents, sends the applicant a confirmation letter to the client and checks whether the required office space is available.
• The applicant must return the confirmation letter that has been signed and properly stamped to the DIC customer.
• After receiving a confirmation letter from the customer, DIC will issue an invoice for the first payment (license and registration fee and 34% rent of the total annual rent).
• Upon receipt of the first payment, DIC issues a personnel sponsorship agreement and an office lease agreement.
• Upon receipt of a signed and stamped employment and sponsorship agreement, DIC will issue a commercial license that will allow the company to start trading.