Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ) sits beside Dubai International Airport and has operated since 1996. Since 1 January 2022 it has been governed by the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. DAFZ publishes no setup, licence or visa figure on its public site, and Formenzo does not file there — so this page states no price.
Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ): a plain profile of the free zone beside DXB
A free zone built against the perimeter of Dubai International Airport, now governed by DIEZ. Facts from the authority's own published information — and no price, because Formenzo does not file here.
How Formenzo covers this zone ↓Dubai Airport Freezone sits immediately beside Dubai International Airport and has operated since 1996. Since 1 January 2022 it has been governed by the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, alongside Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity — which is why you will sometimes see it written as DAFZ, DAFZA or “DAFZ, part of DIEZ”. Formenzo does not file in this zone and publishes no price for it; this page is a reference profile built from what the authority itself puts in public.
Formenzo publishes verified prices for the 9 free zones we actually file: Ajman NuVentures, Fujairah Creative City, SRTIP, SPC, RAKEZ, Masdar, Meydan, IFZA and DMCC. That is not a list of every UAE free zone. DAFZ (Dubai Airport Freezone) is not one of the nine, so this page carries facts about the zone and no price — we only publish a price for a zone we can set up and confirm in writing before payment. DAFZ publishes no setup, licence or visa figure of its own that we could find, so there is nothing here for us to have withheld — there is simply no authority number to state.
- What DAFZ is, where it is and who it is built for
- Licence and activity types, the visa model and the facilities on offer
- Where it sits next to the nine zones we file, in plain terms
- The authority sources behind every fact, with the date we checked them
- Quote a setup price for DAFZ — we have not verified one
- Estimate, infer or "start from" a figure to fill the gap
- Repeat a package price we cannot confirm in writing before payment
- Ask you for a call, a form or your documents to see a number
No sales calls, ever. If you ask about DAFZ we will tell you plainly whether we can file there — and if we can't, we will say so rather than steer you.
What DAFZ is
Dubai Airport Freezone is a free zone on the edge of Dubai International Airport. DAFZ describes itself as established by the Government of Dubai in 1996, growing from two central buildings and a handful of warehouses at launch into a site of office buildings and light industrial units.
The defining feature is location. The zone is not a business park that happens to be in Dubai; it is built against the perimeter of Dubai International Airport, and much of what it offers — trade and industrial licences, warehousing, light industrial units — follows from that.
The naming, and the parent authority
DAFZ is no longer a standalone authority. Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021 created the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZA, commonly written DIEZ) and placed the Dubai International Airport Free Zone under it, together with Dubai Silicon Oasis. The law took effect on 1 January 2022. DIEZ's own published description of itself names three zones under the authority: Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity, and states that DIEZ is home to more than 5,000 registered companies across 20 industries.
This matters practically. A licence issued at DAFZ is a DAFZ licence, but the authority behind it, its rules and its senior structure now sit at DIEZ level. If you are comparing quotes or reading older guidance, “DAFZA”, “DAFZ” and “DAFZ, part of DIEZ” all refer to the same zone.
What DAFZ does not publish
DAFZ publishes no setup, licence or visa cost anywhere on its public site. Every commercial route — offices, industrial units, licence enquiries — ends at a contact form. Any figure for DAFZ you find elsewhere is a third party's, not the authority's.
DAFZ's own pages also carry inconsistent counts of how many companies are registered in the zone, so we do not state a number here. The one figure DAFZ states consistently is that its tenants come from more than 20 sectors.
Who DAFZ suits
DAFZ's published offering points at a fairly specific set of businesses. It is worth being blunt about which ones.
Who it is probably not for. If you are a consultant, agency or software business that needs a compliant Dubai licence, a small number of visas and no physical goods, DAFZ's airport adjacency buys you nothing you will use. You would be paying for a location advantage you do not need, on terms you cannot see in advance because the authority publishes no figures. That is not a criticism of the zone — it is a mismatch.
Licence and activity types at DAFZ
DAFZ's licence list is the most differentiated part of its offering, and the main reason a founder might choose it over a more general-purpose zone. These are the licence types DAFZ sets out on its own business setup pages.
| Licence type | What DAFZ says it covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence | Trading activities including import, export, re-export, distribution and storage of specified products | The core licence for a goods business |
| General trading licence | Trade in general activities including import, export, re-export, storage and distribution | Broader than a trade licence, which is tied to specified products |
| Service licence | Provision of the services specified in the licence | For service-oriented businesses |
| Industrial licence | Light manufacturing, packaging and assembly | Pairs with the light industrial units |
| E-commerce licence | Trade of goods and services online | Separate from the trade licence |
| Single-Family Office (SFO) | A private organisation managing the finances, investments and personal affairs of one family, including estate planning and tax management | Uncommon as a published licence category in UAE free zones |
| Multi-Family Office (MFO) | The same services provided to several families, sharing resources and costs | Published alongside the SFO licence |
| Dual licence with DET | A DAFZ company applying for a Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism licence without taking physical office space on the mainland; the business continues to operate out of DAFZ | DAFZ states it was the first free zone to arrange dual licensing with Dubai's economic department |
| Talent Pass | An individual working in a personal capacity from DAFZ as an individual professional, in fields including media, education, technology, art, marketing and consultancy | Presented separately from the company licences; carries its own visa entitlement |
The dual licence, in plain terms
A free zone licence normally limits you to trading within the zone and outside the UAE. The DET dual licence is DAFZ's published answer to that: it lets a DAFZ company hold a mainland licence as well, without renting mainland premises. If serving Dubai customers directly is central to your model, this is the specific thing DAFZ publishes that most free zones do not.
Activities under the Talent Pass
DAFZ publishes a Talent Pass Activity List as a downloadable document, last dated July 2024. It sets out 62 numbered activities. They are overwhelmingly creative and production roles — the list includes actor, animator, audio and sound engineer, cameraman, choreographer, content provider, copywriter, photographer, aerial shoot photographer, producer, scriptwriter, wedding planner and writer.
For the company licences, DAFZ states that more than 2,000 business activities can be selected against a trade licence. It does not publish that full list openly, so we do not reproduce or summarise it here.
How the visa quota works at DAFZ
Visa quota at DAFZ is tied to the premises you take, which is the normal free zone model. DAFZ publishes indicative allocations in its FAQ rather than a full quota table, and states that additional quota can be applied for above the standard allocation.
| Facility | Employment visas DAFZ states | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Office of approximately 25 sqm | 2 | Additional quota available on application |
| Office of 50 sqm | 6 | Additional quota available on application |
| Industrial space of 350 sqm and below | 20 | Applies to the light industrial units |
| Industrial space above 350 sqm | 30 | Applies to the light industrial units |
| Talent Pass | Carries a residence visa entitlement | DAFZ states the Talent Pass qualifies its holder for a three-year residence visa |
- › These are the allocations DAFZ publishes in its FAQ. They are not a complete quota schedule, and DAFZ does not publish one — confirm your allocation with the authority against the exact unit you intend to lease.
- › DAFZ does not publish a general rule converting square metres to visas beyond these examples, so do not assume a ratio between the office figures and the industrial ones.
- › The Talent Pass is the only licence type for which DAFZ states a visa term. For the company licences it publishes allocation counts, not durations.
Facilities and premises at DAFZ
DAFZ publishes a range of premises spanning serviced desks through to industrial units, across the main airport site and a separate industrial park.
DAFZ Industrial Park
DAFZ Industrial Park was launched in 2017 as the zone's first expansion outside its original boundaries. It is in the Al Qusais Industrial Area, around 5 km from Dubai International Airport, and holds the light industrial units. If you are looking at DAFZ for manufacturing or storage rather than for an office, this is the site you are actually being pointed at — it is a short distance from the main airport zone, not inside it.
DAFZ publishes no rent, service charge or fit-out figure for any of these. Every premises page routes to an enquiry.
How DAFZ compares to the nine zones we file
Formenzo files nine free zones and publishes a verified licence-only price for each of them. DAFZ is not one of the nine, so what follows compares what each zone is built to do — never what each costs. Prices for the nine are published on their own pages — we keep every figure in one place so it can only ever say one thing.
| Free zone | Emirate | Best known for | Formenzo files here |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAFZ (Dubai Airport Freezone) (this page) | Dubai | Air-cargo trade, light industry, DET dual licence and family offices | No — information only, no price |
| Ajman NuVentures Centre | Ajman | Lowest-cost lean licence | Yes — price published |
| Fujairah Creative City | Fujairah | Media and creative permits | Yes — price published |
| SRTIP | Sharjah | Research, tech and industry | Yes — price published |
| SPC Free Zone | Sharjah | Wide activity lists | Yes — price published |
| RAKEZ | Ras Al Khaimah | Warehousing and industrial space | Yes — price published |
| Masdar City | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi address, sustainability cluster | Yes — price published |
| Meydan | Dubai | Dubai address for service companies | Yes — price published |
| IFZA | Dubai | Dubai licence with broad activities | Yes — price published |
| DMCC | Dubai | Commodities and flagship Dubai presence | Yes — price published |
Formenzo publishes a verified licence-only price for nine free zones — Ajman NuVentures, Fujairah Creative City, SRTIP, SPC, RAKEZ, Masdar City, Meydan, IFZA and DMCC — because those are the nine it files and can confirm in writing before payment. DAFZ is not one of them, and this page carries no figure for it. Here is the honest comparison.
Where DAFZ is genuinely different
Three things on DAFZ's published list have no equivalent among the nine. The first is physical adjacency to Dubai International Airport, which is a real operational asset if your goods move by air and worth nothing at all if they do not. The second is the DET dual licence, which lets a free zone company hold a Dubai mainland licence without mainland premises — none of the nine publishes that arrangement. The third is the pair of Single-Family Office and Multi-Family Office licences, which are rare as published categories anywhere in the UAE.
If any of those three is the reason you are here, none of the nine substitutes for it. Go to DAFZ.
Where one of the nine is likely the better answer
If you are a creative or media freelancer looking at the Talent Pass — the activity list is actors, animators, photographers, producers, writers — then Fujairah Creative City covers substantially the same ground as an individual media permit, and Formenzo publishes its price. You can see the number before you decide. At DAFZ you cannot, because the authority publishes none.
If you need warehousing or light industrial space, compare DAFZ Industrial Park against RAKEZ, which is built around industrial and warehouse space and is one of the nine. The trade is straightforward: DAFZ gives you proximity to air cargo, RAKEZ gives you a published price and a longer road haul.
If what you actually want is a Dubai address for a service company, DAFZ's airport location is not doing anything for you. Meydan and IFZA are Dubai zones aimed squarely at that, both priced in the open.
If a flagship Dubai presence is the point, DMCC is the comparison, and it is the most expensive of the nine — we say so on its own page rather than burying it.
The one difference that is not about the zone
DAFZ publishes no price. That is the authority's choice and it is a legitimate one — it is a zone that leases real premises, and real premises get quoted individually. But it does mean that if you approach DAFZ you will not know your cost until someone tells you, and you will have no published figure to check that against. With the nine, the figure is on the page before you speak to anyone. That is the only claim Formenzo makes here, and it is not a claim about DAFZ being worse.
If DAFZ is right for you, go there directly through dafz.ae. Formenzo cannot file it and will not pretend otherwise.
- DAFZ — corporate profile and history — dafz.ae/en/corporate checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — business setup and sectors — dafz.ae/en/business-setup-dubai checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — licence types and setup process — dafz.ae/en/business-setup/process checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — Talent Pass — dafz.ae/en/talent-pass checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — Talent Pass Activity List (PDF, July 2024) — dafz.ae — Talent Pass Activity List PDF checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — FAQs, including visa allocations — dafz.ae/en/faqs checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — business space — dafz.ae/en/business-space checked 4 Sep 2026
- DAFZ — Industrial Park — dafz.ae/en/business-space/dafz-industrial-park checked 4 Sep 2026
- Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021 (creating DIEZA) — dlp.dubai.gov.ae — Law No. 16 of 2021 checked 4 Sep 2026
- DIEZ — the three zones under the authority — dso.ae/dubai-integrated-economic-zones checked 4 Sep 2026
dafz.ae is behind bot protection and served a challenge we did not attempt to pass, so most DAFZ lines above were read as public search-index summaries of those exact DAFZ pages rather than by opening them directly. The Talent Pass PDF, the Dubai law and the DIEZ page were read in full. Company counts are omitted because DAFZ's own pages disagree. Free-zone rules change. If anything here has moved on, tell us and we will correct the page.
DAFZ — frequently asked questions
Is DAFZ the same as DAFZA, and what is DIEZ?
Yes — DAFZ and DAFZA both refer to Dubai Airport Freezone. DIEZ is its parent: Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021 created the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority and placed the Dubai International Airport Free Zone under it, with effect from 1 January 2022. DIEZ's published description of itself names three zones under the authority: Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity. A licence issued at DAFZ is still a DAFZ licence.
How much does a DAFZ licence cost?
DAFZ does not publish a setup, licence or visa figure anywhere on its public site. Every commercial route ends at an enquiry form. Formenzo does not file in DAFZ and will not print an estimate, a range or a 'starting from' number for a zone whose authority publishes none. Any DAFZ figure you find on a third-party site is that third party's, not the authority's. Ask DAFZ directly.
What is the DAFZ dual licence with DET?
DAFZ publishes an arrangement under which a DAFZ company can apply for a Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism licence without taking physical office space on the mainland, while the business continues to operate out of DAFZ. DAFZ states it was the first free zone to collaborate with Dubai's economic department on dual licensing. It is the clearest thing DAFZ offers that the nine zones Formenzo files do not.
Who can get a DAFZ Talent Pass, and how many visas does it carry?
The Talent Pass is a licence for an individual working in a personal capacity rather than for a company, in fields DAFZ names as media, education, technology, art, marketing and consultancy. Its published activity list, last dated July 2024, sets out 62 activities — largely creative and production roles such as actor, animator, photographer, producer and writer. DAFZ states the Talent Pass qualifies its holder for a three-year residence visa and allows the holder to lease a smart office.
How many visas does a DAFZ company get?
Quota follows the premises. DAFZ's FAQ gives indicative allocations: approximately 2 employment visas with an office of around 25 sqm, 6 with an office of 50 sqm, 20 for industrial space of 350 sqm and below, and 30 for industrial space above that, with additional quota available on application. DAFZ does not publish a complete quota schedule or a general square-metre-to-visa ratio, so confirm your allocation with the authority against the exact unit you intend to lease.
Related
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