Read a quote line by line before you look at its total. A good one names the licensing authority, lists the licence, each visa and its quota separately, prices the medical test and Emirates ID per person, gives the renewal price, and shows the consultant's own fee on its own line. For a founder plus one employee at Meydan Free Zone, the published lines alone come to AED 23,700.
General information about fees, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Confirm the amount with the authority before you pay.
Why do two quotes for the same company look so different?
Mostly because they cover different things. One proposal prices a licence and one visa. Another adds a second visa, an extra activity and the medical and identity paperwork. Both can be honest. Side by side without the detail, the first looks cheap and the second looks marked up.
Show the numbers as a table
| Item | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|
| Licence | AED 12,500 |
| Owner visa, investor rate (approx.) | AED 4,000 |
| One employment visa | AED 3,500 |
| Two visa allocations | AED 3,700 |
Source: Meydan Free Zone setup cost breakdown, checked 16 September 2026
Those four lines are the skeleton of a founder-plus-one quote, and they add up to AED 23,700. A proposal for the same shape that comes in well under that has left something out. One that comes in well over it should say what the difference pays for.
The checklist
- Mainland or free zone, and which authority. Every other line depends on this. A free zone quote should name the zone; a mainland quote should say which department issues the licence.
- The licence and its activities. At Meydan the licence is AED 12,500◆ for up to three◆ activity groups, then AED 1,000 per activity◆. Check the quote lists your activities by name as well as by number.
- The visa quota, apart from the visas. Meydan charges a visa allocation of AED 1,850 per visa◆, and a licence can hold up to six◆ of them.
- Each visa, by type. An employment visa at Meydan is AED 3,500◆; an investor visa is around AED 4,000◆. A quote that says "visa" without a type is incomplete.
- A work permit only if the company is on the mainland. MoHRE's fee of AED 250 to AED 3,450◆ applies to companies registered with the ministry. In a free zone, hiring and visas are handled by the free zone authority◆, so that line should not appear.
- Medical test and Emirates ID, per person. Meydan estimates them at AED 2,000 to AED 2,500◆ for one person. Check how many people the quote covers.
- Family visas. A dependent visa at Meydan is around AED 6,000 per person◆. If family members are moving with you and the quote has no line for them, it is not your budget.
- Workspace. Is it the flexi-desk in the package, or a shared office from AED 15,000 a year◆? Ask whether the visa count in the quote works with that workspace.
- The renewal price, in writing. Meydan's licence renews at AED 12,500 a year◆, and visa costs apply again at renewal◆. Ask for year two in a second column.
- Bookkeeping and tax registration. Is corporate tax registration included? Who files VAT once sales pass AED 375,000◆? If the quote is silent, those costs arrive later.
- The consultant's own fee, on its own line. Paying for the paperwork is normal. The problem is a service fee folded into lines labelled as government charges.
- What happens if an application is refused. Ask which fees are refundable, which are not, and who carries the loss if a visa or licence is rejected.
The same checks for Qatar and Kuwait
The list works outside the UAE too, with different figures to test against. For a Qatar Financial Centre company doing non-regulated activities, the setting-up guide gives an application fee of USD 500◆, including one business activity, USD 50 per activity◆ for each additional activity, and an annual fee of USD 500 or USD 5,000◆ from the second year. A QFC firm also needs a registered office in QFC designated premises◆, so check the quote includes rent.
In Kuwait, KDIPA's schedule sets a licence application at KWD 300◆ and issuing the investment licence at KWD 150◆. A Kuwaiti quote should also price the commercial licence and registration at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry◆, which are separate from KDIPA's fees.
When is a quote fine to accept?
When you can name every line in it, when the renewal price is written down, and when the total is close to the published fees plus a stated fee for the work. Meydan's own first-year estimate for a solo founder, AED 21,000 to AED 23,000◆, is a floor for the simplest case rather than a full budget; the hidden costs guide explains why.
Signs a quote needs a second look
- A single "all-inclusive" figure with no lines under it.
- A licence price well under the zone's published starting price, with no mention of which year it covers.
- A MoHRE work permit on a free zone quote.
- Government fees and the consultant's fee merged into one number.
- No renewal figure at all.
None of these proves a quote is wrong. Each is a reason to ask one more question before paying a deposit.
If you are a consultant, the list works the other way round too: fees shown line by line on your own site are easier for a founder to check before the first call. We build and host websites for business setup consultants on a single monthly plan.
Common questions
How many quotes should I get?
Enough to see the same lines priced more than once. Two itemised quotes tell you more than five single totals, because you can hold each line against the published figures.
What if a consultant will not itemise?
Ask for at least three parts: government or free zone fees, third-party charges such as the medical test and Emirates ID, and their own fee. A firm that cannot separate those has not shown you what you are paying for.
Is a quote below the zone's published price a warning sign?
Not always. It may be a first-year promotion or a different package. Ask which year it covers and what the renewal will be. At Meydan, for example, the licence renews at AED 12,500 a year◆.
Can government fees appear as one number?
They can be grouped, as long as you can see what is inside. For a golden visa, ICP's service card alone has several separate lines, from AED 100◆ for the application to AED 100 per year◆ for issuance.