Abu Dhabi licences 2026: what a foreigner can get

Abu Dhabi has eight types of business licence, and Russian-language round-ups list four of them while leaving out the main thing — who is actually eligible. We break it down by the applicant's status, because everything follows from it.

Businesses in the emirate are registered by the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, a body under the Department of Economic Development announced in January 2025. Some services in the government catalogue are still listed under the department itself.

Who can get what

If you have not moved yet, the virtual licence is the one for you. If you are already a UAE resident, it is the freelance licence.

Mobdea: why a foreigner should not look for it

The licence was created for creative projects and businesses built on personal skills: design, handmade jewellery, digital content, education, consulting. Around 50 activities, with up to two similar ones combined in a single licence.

The base price on the ADRA site is AED 860 for two activities, with each additional one at 100. In the TAMM catalogue the same licence is split into four payments: 790 registration fee, 10 for the registry entry, 300 for chamber of commerce membership and 10 for issuing the licence — AED 1,110 together. No office is required.

The restrictions decide everything: the licence is available only to Emirati women from Abu Dhabi, and it cannot be used to employ or sponsor workers.

Channels quote the Mobdea statistics readily: up by a third over 2025. In absolute numbers it looks like this — figures from the regulator's annual release.

Tajer: a simplified format with a caveat

A format for trade and services without an office: no premises need to be leased for the first three years. There are more than a thousand activities — on the same page the regulator says both “over 1,000” and “1,200”.

The base price is AED 790 and covers six activities, with the range across configurations running from AED 790 to 5,500 and each extra activity at 100.

The TAMM catalogue shows what the payment is made of: 790 registration fee, 10 for the economic registry entry, 315 for the establishment card at the federal identity authority, 300 for Abu Dhabi chamber membership and 10 for issuing the commercial licence. Together — AED 1,425.

Who Tajer is really open to

The main restriction: the regulator describes Tajer as open to UAE citizens, residents and GCC citizens, then immediately qualifies the structure. The single-owner company is for Emiratis and GCC citizens. A foreign resident enters through a limited liability company in partnership with an Emirati. In the service catalogue the service is marked as Emirati.

The freelance licence: what round-ups miss

It is open to UAE citizens and residents, including those in full-time employment. More than a hundred activities and no office needed. ADRA gives a base price of AED 1,200 for six activities, with each extra one at 100.

The TAMM catalogue sets the registration fee for the same service at 790 and adds 10, 315, 300 and 10 — AED 1,425 together. Two government sources give different figures, so budget on the higher one and confirm the amount when filing.

A licence and a visa are different things

An emirate's economic licence does not grant residency. The right to live in the UAE comes from a visa, and for an independent professional that is the federal five-year Green Visa with its own requirements: a labour ministry permit, a degree and income of AED 360,000 in each of the two preceding years. The full breakdown is in the piece on the UAE visa for freelancers.

On the freelance licence ADRA says it plainly: the holder arranges Abu Dhabi residency for themselves and their family. It is the first item in the list of benefits on the service page.

Opening a bank account does not follow from a licence either — that is a decision for the individual bank.

Abu Dhabi or Dubai

If the goal is residency plus work with international clients, compare more than the licence price. In Dubai free zones sell packages where the licence, the visa and a corporate card come together.

Abu Dhabi wins where the business is tied to the emirate itself: government contracts, energy, local retail. For remote work with foreign clients the choice of jurisdiction within the UAE usually matters little.

What to do before paying for any licence: establish your status — non-resident, resident or citizen — and calculate the full budget including fees. The shop window shows the base price; the total is always something else.