Company Visa Quota and Establishment Card in the UAE: How Many Visas Can Your Company Sponsor?
Last checked: 24 October 2026. We re-check fees, deadlines and rules every quarter.
Two things decide how many people your UAE company can bring in on visas: the establishment card and the visa quota. The card gives the company permission to sponsor visas at all, and the quota sets the number.
Founders usually learn about both when an application stalls. This guide explains how each one works, what changes between a free zone and the mainland, and how to plan your space and paperwork so that the first hire is not delayed.
Key takeaways
- The establishment card lets your company sponsor visas at all, and the quota sets how many it can hold at one time.
- In a free zone the quota usually follows the space you rent, and a flexi-desk commonly gives one to three visas.
- Mainland companies also hold a MOHRE labour card, and their allocation depends on premises and activity.
- Confirm the quota, the issuing body and the renewal date in writing before you sign a lease.
The short answer
Your quota depends on where you are licensed and how much space you hold. A flexi-desk company usually gets a small quota, often between one and three visas, while a company with a larger dedicated office gets more.
The establishment card has to exist before any visa application can start. If the card has expired, new visas and renewals can be blocked until it is fixed.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What lets the company sponsor visas? | The establishment card, often called the company immigration card |
| What sets the number of visas? | The visa quota, tied to office space and licence type |
| Who issues the card in Dubai mainland? | GDRFA |
| Who issues it in other emirates? | ICP |
| Who issues it in a free zone? | Usually the free zone authority |
| Does the mainland need a second card? | Mainland companies also hold a labour card from MOHRE |
What is an establishment card?
The establishment card records your company in the immigration system. It links the trade licence to the database that processes entry permits, residence visas and Emirates IDs.
Advisers also call it the company establishment card or the company immigration card. These names point to the same company-level registration, which sits behind every employee visa you sponsor.
The card is not a labour contract and not a trade licence. A licence lets you operate, and the card lets you hire, so the two have different expiry dates and different renewal steps.
Who issues it, and why that matters
The issuing body depends on your licence. In mainland Dubai the immigration authority is GDRFA, in the other emirates it is ICP, and in most free zones the zone authority issues the card through the immigration system.
That affects speed and cost. A free zone often builds the card into the licence process and may issue it within days, while a mainland company applies through an authority’s online service or a typing centre.
Ask your licensing authority which body issues your card and whether the quote includes it. Do not assume an adviser’s headline price covers it.
Our sister site explains the immigration card in more detail in its guide to the UAE establishment card, and the wider group is at companyformationinuae.com.
For the official position, see the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.
The mainland labour card
A mainland company holds a second record with MOHRE, the labour ministry. This labour card lets the company register employees for work permits and labour contracts.
The MOHRE card is generally applied for after the immigration card exists. Typical documents include the trade licence, the Ejari tenancy registration, the immigration card, and the passports and Emirates IDs of the partners.
Free zone companies normally do not need a separate MOHRE card for staff inside the zone, because the zone authority handles labour matters. If you are unsure which route applies to you, our PRO services team can confirm it before you apply.
What a visa quota is
The quota is the maximum number of residence visas your company can hold at one time. It covers owners, investors and employees who are sponsored by the company.
It is not a promise that you will get that many visas. Each application still goes through its own checks, including medical tests, Emirates ID registration and fees.
How many visas does a free zone company get?
In a free zone the quota is usually tied to the space you rent. The more space the lease covers, the larger the quota.
Zones publish their own numbers. DMCC, for example, lists up to three visas for a flexi-desk and four or five for a serviced office, depending on size.
Many advisers quote a rule of thumb of about one visa for every nine square metres of dedicated office. Treat that as a guide, because each zone sets its own rule and some enforce it more strictly than others.
| Space type | Typical result |
|---|---|
| Flexi-desk or virtual address | Small quota, commonly one to three visas |
| Serviced office | Mid-size quota, set by the zone and the office size |
| Larger dedicated office | Higher quota, roughly linked to square metres |
Our guide to the difference between a serviced office and a flexi-desk shows how that choice changes the number of people you can sponsor.
How does the visa quota work on the mainland?
A mainland company has two limits to think about. The first is the office, because the Ejari tenancy registration and the size of the premises feed into the visa allocation.
The second is the company’s labour category with MOHRE, which depends on the activity and the structure. Advisers report that service firms tend to receive smaller allocations than trading or construction businesses, and that sole establishments receive less than companies with several partners.
I could not find a public MOHRE table that sets out these categories, so check the allocation with MOHRE or your adviser before you promise jobs to anyone. Our mainland setup page explains the licence side of this route.
How much do the card and visas cost?
Costs differ by zone and by year. As a published example, Meydan lists a licence with a flexi-desk from AED 12,500, an investor visa from AED 4,000, an employee visa from AED 3,500 and an immigration establishment card at AED 2,000.
Those are Meydan’s own published figures, not government fees. Our Meydan page shows how a package is built.
The card also renews. Advisers report ICP renewal fees and a late fee that grows by the month, so confirm the current schedule with your authority before you budget.
How can you raise your visa quota?
There are three practical ways. You can move from a flexi-desk to a serviced or larger office, you can add space to your lease, or you can switch to a zone that allows more visas for the same rent.
Each option changes your lease and your licence, so price the whole change before you commit. A larger office may cost more than the visas it unlocks.
If you only need one or two visas, a flexi-desk is often enough. If you plan a team of ten, build the space in from the start.
Mistakes that delay hires
- Letting the establishment card expire while the licence is still valid.
- Choosing a flexi-desk and then planning five hires.
- Assuming the setup package includes the card, the labour card and every visa fee.
- Applying for a visa before the card exists.
- Changing office address without updating the card and the lease record.
Most of these are cheap to avoid if you plan them early. Our annual compliance checklist puts the card renewal next to your licence and tax dates.
A step-by-step plan
- Decide how many people you will sponsor in the first year, including yourself.
- Choose the space type that supports that number.
- Confirm in writing who issues the card and what it costs.
- Get the trade licence and tenancy in place.
- Apply for the establishment card, and the MOHRE card if you are on the mainland.
- Start visa applications once the card is active.
- Diary the renewal dates for the card and each visa.
Our guide to hiring your first employee and the guide to residence visas for company owners cover the steps after the card.
What the first hire costs at Meydan
Adding up the price lines published on our Meydan page gives a starting budget for an owner and one employee. These are “from” prices, not government fees, and they exclude medicals, Emirates ID fees and insurance.
| Line | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Licence with a flexi-desk | AED 12,500 |
| Immigration establishment card | AED 2,000 |
| Investor visa for the owner | AED 4,000 |
| Employee visa for the first hire | AED 3,500 |
| Total before extras | AED 22,000 |
Three worked examples
A solo consultant with a flexi-desk needs a visa for the owner and perhaps one assistant. A quota of one to three covers this, so there is no reason to pay for a bigger office.
A small agency plans eight staff within a year. A flexi-desk will not support that, so the founder should price a serviced office or a dedicated unit from the start and ask the zone for the written quota.
A trading company has two owners and four staff on the mainland. Here the Ejari record, the premises size and the MOHRE allocation all matter, so the owners should confirm each before they sign.
In every case the question is the same: how many people will I sponsor in twelve months, and which space supports that number? Answer it first and the licence quote becomes easier to compare.
Dependants and family visas
The quota covers staff and owners sponsored by the company. Family members are sponsored by the individual resident, not by the company, so they sit outside the company’s allocation.
Each resident still needs to meet the salary or income conditions set by the immigration authority. Confirm the current conditions before you promise a family move, because they change.
Who to ask, and what to ask for
Ask your licensing authority or adviser for three things in writing: the quota for your space, the issuing body for the card, and the renewal date and fee. A verbal answer is not enough, because the figure can differ between zones and between years.
Keep the reply with your licence file. If a visa application is later refused for quota reasons, that note is the first thing your adviser will need.
What it costs to get it wrong
A missed card renewal does not usually cost much in fees. The real cost is delay: an employee waits outside the country, a start date slips, or a visa renewal cannot be filed.
Check the quota before you sign the lease, not after. Changing space later means a new lease record and sometimes a new licence amendment, as our trade licence cost guide explains.
How EZONE helps
EZONE matches your hiring plan to a zone and a space type, confirms the quota in writing, and handles the establishment card and the first visas. We also set reminders for card and visa renewals.
Tell us how many people you plan to sponsor and we will recommend a licence and workspace that supports it. The quote lists each government line separately, so you can see what is included.
Frequently Asked Questions
The card lets your company sponsor visas at all. The quota is the maximum number of visas the company can hold at one time.
It depends on the zone. DMCC publishes up to three visas for a flexi-desk, and advisers commonly quote one to three, so confirm the figure for your zone.
Companies working inside a free zone normally deal with the zone authority for labour matters. Mainland companies hold a MOHRE card, so confirm which applies to your licence.
Yes, usually by taking more space or moving to a different office type. Price the lease change before you decide, because it can cost more than the visas it adds.
New visa applications and renewals can be blocked until the card is renewed. Renew it before the date, and keep it in your compliance calendar next to the licence.
Many packages include it, but not all. Ask for a written line that shows the card, the labour card if you need one, and each visa fee.
