Freelance work permit
Applied for through the licensed agency and tracked to issue, with the agreement behind it prepared and registered.
Notice: GoFreelanceVisa.com is a private document clearing consultancy and not a government body.
Freelance work permit & residency visa · Dubai
A UAE freelance work permit, and the residency that comes with it.
Often advertised as a “freelance visa”, and worth being precise about. A recruitment agency licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation holds your freelance work permit and sponsors your residence visa, and your client work is contracted and invoiced through that agency rather than in your own name. We prepare the file and run it through to your Emirates ID — typically 10–12 working days.
- Residency & Emirates ID
- Medical insurance included
- 10–12 working days
- Instalments via Tabby & Tamara
12,000+clients assisted in the UAE
4.9 / 5average client rating
10–12working days, typical
1 or 2year residency options
What you get
Everything between the form and your Emirates ID.
What we prepare and file. The permit and the visa are granted by the authorities that issue them.
UAE residence visa
One or two years, sponsored by the agency. It stays active for the term of your package and is renewed at the end of it.
Medical & Emirates ID
Both appointments booked and tracked. The Emirates ID is what unlocks everything else.
Medical insurance
A standard policy is included on the residency packages. Upgrades are priced by the insurer.
Bank account assistance
A salary certificate on request, and help with the pack a bank asks for. The bank makes its own decision.
Family sponsorship
Sponsoring a spouse and children is possible once your residency is issued, subject to the salary criteria the authority sets.
Packages
Three packages. Pick the one that fits.
Fixed fees, stated up front. Our professional fee is included; government charges are itemised separately in your written quote.
Freelance Work Permit Only
For people who already hold UAE residency — dependants, Golden Visa holders and GCC nationals — and need the permit that makes freelance work legal.
AED6,500/ First year
No residence visa included
- Freelance work permit application through the licensed agency
- Agency agreement prepared and registered
- Labour approval tracked to issue
- Salary certificate on request
- Bank account opening assistance
Most enquired
Freelance Work Permit & 1-Year Residency
The full route: freelance work permit, residence visa and Emirates ID, held and sponsored through the licensed agency.
AED10,500/ First year
- Freelance work permit application through the licensed agency
- One-year residence visa application
- Entry permit or in-country status change
- Medical test and Emirates ID biometrics booked
- Standard medical insurance included
- Bank account opening assistance
Freelance Work Permit & 2-Year Residency
The same route on a two-year visa, so the renewal comes round half as often.
AED14,500/ Two years
- Freelance work permit application through the licensed agency
- Two-year residence visa application
- Entry permit or in-country status change
- Medical test and Emirates ID biometrics booked
- Standard medical insurance included
- Bank account opening assistance
Prices exclude VAT and the charges the authorities set, which are itemised in your written quote before anything is filed. Renewal is quoted at the time, because those charges change. Instalment plans are available through Tabby & Tamara.
Read this before you choose
What this is, and what it is not.
The market sells this route under the word “freelance”, and the word does real damage. Here is the arrangement, in plain terms, so you can tell whether it is the one you want.
What you get
- Legal UAE residency and an Emirates ID
- A freelance work permit issued through MOHRE, in your name
- The right to work legally in the UAE
- A salary certificate, for a bank account or a tenancy
- Medical insurance, on the residency packages
- A route to sponsoring family, subject to salary criteria
What it is not
- Not a freelance licence or a trade licence
- No trade name, and no list of business activities
- Invoicing runs through the agency, not in your own name
- The permit is held through the agency, not your own establishment
- No visa quota of your own, and no shareholding
If what you actually need is a licence in your own name — because clients ask for a trade licence number, or because you intend to build your own brand — the freelance permit route is the one you want, and it is a different page. Say so on the form and a consultant will point you at it rather than sell you this.
What clients say
The part people remember is how it felt.
4.9 out of 5 average client rating
Extremely cooperative staff, very happy with the customer service. Loved my experience with them.
VincentE-commerce freelancer · December 2024
Very helpful, professional, and fast. Got my licence the same day. I am very pleased.
MonicaFreelance beautician · March 2024
The overall experience was excellent from start to finish.
MasonLifestyle coach · June 2024
Is this you?
Four reasons people choose this route.
If none of these fits, say so on the form — there are other routes, and we will tell you which.
You want residency, not a business
No licence to run, no renewals of your own, no activity list to maintain. Just legal status and the right to work.
On an employer’s visa, and leaving
Your status changes in country, no exit run. Call before you resign — the sequencing matters.
Arriving, and want to start legally
The permit is applied for first, then you fly in on the entry permit it produces.
Already working on a visit visa
Same process to regularise. Check your remaining days first — overstay fines accrue daily.
How it runs
Four stages. You attend two.
- 01
Day 1
Documents and offer
Passport copy and one photograph. The agreement with the agency is drawn up and the profession on your permit is agreed.
- 02
Day 2–3
Freelance work permit filed
Lodged with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation under the agency’s establishment. Approval usually returns within about 48 hours.
- 03
Day 3–9
Status change, then medical
Entry permit if you are abroad, in-country status change if you are here. Then the medical fitness test and the Emirates ID biometrics. These two you attend in person.
- 04
Day 10–12
Visa and Emirates ID
Your residence visa is stamped and the Emirates ID follows. A bank will now open an account.
Those are the days we typically see, not a promise. Every application is decided by the authority that issues it, and a file can wait on a medical slot or a public holiday.
Ready when you are.
WhatsApp usWhat you need
A passport and a photograph.
That is the whole starting kit for most people. Everything else happens on the way through.
Passport, six months valid
A colour scan of the photo page. Short validity is the commonest reason a file bounces.
One photo, white background
Phone cameras are fine. It is the wall behind you that fails — off-white counts as failing.
Your UAE status today
Visit stamp, employment or dependant visa. Being outside the country is an answer too.
Some professions require an attested degree certificate, attested in the country that issued it. Which ones depends on the profession recorded on the permit, and we tell you at the consultation rather than halfway through. A UAE number and address are needed for the Emirates ID registration.
Before you pay anybody
Three questions worth asking. Ours are answered here.
This market has a lot of confident websites in it. These are the questions that separate them.
- Who holds the permit, and who sponsors the visa?Ours: a recruitment agency licensed for it, named to you before you commit — not us, and not a company you never see. The permit sits with that agency and so does the sponsorship, which is the single most important fact about this route. Any provider that will not answer it plainly is the one to walk away from.
- Is that agency licensed, and are you a government agency?Ours: the agency holds a recruitment licence from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation — ask for the number and check it. Trivup Documents Clearing Services separately holds a Dubai documents-clearing licence, which is what permits a private company to lodge paperwork with government departments for a client. Neither is a government appointment, and nobody in this market has one: the UAE does not designate private firms as government agencies, whatever the advertising says.
- What does the fee cover, and what happens if it ends?Ours: the package price covers our professional service. Government charges are set by the authorities, itemised separately and paid to them, and you can apply direct without paying any service fee at all. Renewal is a separate quotation at the end of your term, because those charges change.
Straight answers
What people ask before they send the form.
Is this a freelance visa?
It is what a lot of the market advertises under that name, and it is worth being precise about. Your freelance work permit is issued through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation under a recruitment agency licensed by that ministry, and the same agency sponsors your residence visa. It gives you legal residency and the right to work. What it does not give you is a trade licence, a trade name, or invoicing in your own name — client work is contracted and invoiced through the agency. If you need a licence in your own name, that is the freelance permit route, and a different page on this site.
Who do I work for, and how do I get paid?
You do the work; the agency is the party that contracts for it. Client engagements are signed and invoiced through the agency rather than in your own name, and you are paid through it. What that allows in practice varies between agencies, so ask exactly how it works for the one you are being placed with — it is the question people most often skip, and the one that matters most day to day.
Can I do this without leaving the UAE?
Usually, yes. If you are inside the country on a visit or an employment visa, your status can normally be changed in country with no exit run. Whether it applies to you depends on your entry type and nationality, so it is confirmed at the consultation rather than assumed.
What happens when my term is up?
Your residency stays active for the term of the package you took and is renewed at the end of it — every year on the one-year package, every two on the two-year one. Renewal is quoted at the time rather than fixed now, because the charges behind it change. If you later want a licence in your own name instead, a consultant will map the move across.
What is not included in the package price?
Government charges, which are set by the authorities and itemised separately in your written quote; VAT; and any insurance upgrade beyond the standard policy. Nothing is payable until you have agreed the quote in writing.
Can you guarantee my application will be approved?
No, and no consultancy can — approval rests entirely with the issuing authority, which decides each application on its own merits. What we can do is prepare the file so the avoidable reasons for a refusal are not in it, and tell you before you commit if we think your case carries a risk.
Go Freelance is an independent consultancy operated by Trivup Documents Clearing Services, a licensed Dubai documents-clearing company. We are not a government department, and we are not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by any UAE government authority.
On this route your freelance work permit is held through a recruitment agency licensed by the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and that agency — not us — sponsors your residence visa. Client work is contracted and invoiced through the agency rather than in your own name.
Freelance work permits and residency visas are issued solely by the relevant UAE authorities, which decide every application on its own merits. We advise on and prepare applications and lodge them through official channels; we cannot and do not guarantee any outcome, and nothing on this page is legal or tax advice.
You may apply directly to the relevant authority yourself, without paying any service fee. The package prices above cover our consultancy and document preparation, are confirmed to you in writing before any work begins, and are separate from government charges, which are set by the authorities and paid to them.
Send it, and get a real answer.
One line about what you do and the visa you hold today is enough. A consultant comes back with the package that fits, the total, and a realistic timeline — or tells you the freelance permit route suits you better.