An establishment card, also called an immigration card, registers a company with the immigration authority, and the company can't sponsor a single visa without it. In Dubai, GDRFA issues and renews it for AED 200 before VAT. In the other emirates ICP does: AED 100 to apply, AED 100 for each year of validity, AED 100 for smart services and, for a new card, AED 2,000 for the subscription to its system for establishments. Free zone companies get theirs through the zone, which sets its own price.
It's a separate record from the trade licence, with its own expiry, and every immigration transaction the company files sits against it. MOHRE keeps a second establishment file for work permits, so a mainland company that hires has two, not one. Our PRO services page sets out how the two fit together.
Who issues it
- Dubai mainland companies: GDRFA Dubai, through its website, its app or an Amer centre.
- Companies in the other emirates: ICP, the federal authority. It takes the application only through authorised service providers.
- Free zone companies: the free zone. ICP says a free zone company must apply through its own free zone authority, which deals with immigration for it.
ICP's conditions are short. The trade licence must be valid, and one of the authorised signatories needs an Emirates ID, or a unified number if they haven't had one issued yet: the file can't start without it. Expect to supply the trade licence (for an LLC, the copy that shows the partners), the memorandum of association and a signature authorisation letter.
What it costs
| Where | New card | Renewal | Source, date read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai mainland (GDRFA) | AED 200 before VAT | AED 200 before VAT | GDRFA Dubai, 26 October 2026 |
| Other emirates (ICP) | AED 100 application, AED 100 a year, AED 100 smart services, AED 2,000 system subscription | AED 100 application, AED 100 a year, AED 100 smart services, AED 1,000 to renew the subscription | ICP's new card and renewal services, 29 October 2026 |
| DMCC, a Dubai free zone | AED 1,825 a year | AED 1,825 a year | DMCC's cost guide, 27 October 2026 |
| SPC Free Zone, Sharjah | AED 640 | About AED 640 every two years | SPC's price list and cost guide, 29 October 2026 |
| Other free zones | Commonly AED 1,500 to AED 2,500, often inside the setup package | Usually with the licence each year | Meydan Free Zone's guide, 29 October 2026 |
ICP's fee list for a new card also shows a AED 1,000 system subscription guarantee and a AED 20 guarantee deposit fee, and a tourism establishment lodges a AED 75,000 financial guarantee. Whoever files it for you, a typing centre or a PRO firm, charges for its own work on top of the government fees.
If you take DET's Instant Licence on the Dubai mainland, the establishment card comes with it: see business licence cost. The card is only the company's side; each person then has a visa of their own, priced in free zone visa cost and, for a hire on the mainland, employment visa cost.
Renewal, and what lateness costs
In Dubai, renewal costs the same as a new card, AED 200 before VAT. ICP renews only while the trade licence is valid and once any fines on the establishment are paid. Leave it late and the fines start: GDRFA charges AED 100 for each month the card isn't renewed, and ICP AED 100 a month once you're more than 30 days late, up to AED 1,000.
Renew it with the trade licence rather than after. Meydan Free Zone's guide puts the cost of forgetting plainly: a lapsed card blocks all visa-related activity, from staff permits to family sponsorships and Emirates ID renewals. ICP also expects you to report changes to the company's details, such as new partners or signatories, so the card is amended when the licence is.
Why an establishment card gets blocked
- Unpaid fines. ICP won't renew the card while fines on the establishment are outstanding.
- An expired trade licence. Issuing and renewing both need a valid one.
- Breaching the authority's rules. ICP fines AED 2,000 for breaching its instructions or the establishment's commitments to it.
- Visas for a company that doesn't trade. If entry permits are issued for an establishment with no business activity, ICP's fine is AED 20,000.
- Misusing smart services, which ICP fines AED 2,000.
The cause shows in the authority's system. Clear it first, whether that is the fine, the licence or a missing update, and the card can then be renewed.
Checking and downloading it
ICP issues the card electronically and runs it through its smart services website and app, so it lives in the company's account there rather than on paper. In Dubai, GDRFA's website and app do the same job, or an Amer centre can look it up for you.
How we handle it
We file the card as part of the company's setup, then keep it in date with the licence: the renewal, the amendment when partners or signatories change, and clearing a block when one appears. It sits inside our PRO services; the visas that follow it go through our Amer and immigration services, and a company short of visas starts at the visa quota.
Questions people ask
Establishment card questions
In Dubai, GDRFA charges AED 200 before VAT to issue or renew it. In the other emirates, ICP's new card is AED 100 to apply, AED 100 a year, AED 100 for smart services and AED 2,000 for its system subscription. Free zones set their own price: DMCC AED 1,825 a year, SPC AED 640.
Yes, for any company that will sponsor a visa, including the owner's own. Free zones usually issue it with the licence, often inside the setup package.
The usual causes are unpaid fines, an expired trade licence, or a breach of the immigration authority's rules. ICP won't renew while fines are outstanding, so the block lifts once the cause is cleared and the card renewed.
ICP issues it electronically through its smart services website and app, where the company's account holds it. In Dubai, use GDRFA's website or app, or ask an Amer centre.
ICP charges for each year of validity, so the card runs for the years you pay for. SPC Free Zone renews it every two years, and many free zones renew it with the licence each year. The expiry is on the card, separate from the licence's.
Yes, two names for the same immigration record. MOHRE's establishment file is a different thing: it covers work permits, and a mainland company that hires needs both.
Sources: GDRFA Dubai's establishment card renewal service (the fee read on 26 October 2026, the late fine on 12 September 2026), ICP's new card and renewal services (29 October 2026), DMCC's cost guide (27 October 2026), SPC Free Zone's price list and cost guide, and Meydan Free Zone's establishment card guide (29 October 2026). Government fees change, so a quote should restate them.
