Dubai Healthcare City License Cost: DHCC Fees, Bundles and DHA

Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) is Dubai’s healthcare free zone. Two regulators share the work there: the Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) issues the commercial licence, and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) licenses every clinical facility and every doctor, nurse and other healthcare professional. DHCA publishes a full price list, effective 1 September 2026, so DHCC is one of the few zones where the first-year cost can be worked out from official figures. This page sets them out as checked on 4 October 2026.

DHCC commercial licence fees

From the DHCA Service Price List effective 1 September 2026, in AED:

On top come a one-time initial application fee of AED 1,550 and a one-time registration fee of AED 3,500, plus government fees such as the Knowledge Dirham, Innovation and Commercial Register fees, which DHCA does not quantify. Each licence covers one primary activity and is renewed every year; late renewal costs AED 500 a month after a 30-day grace period. Share capital minimums come from DHCA Rule No. 1 of 2025, and DHCA may waive proof of payment.

Commercial licence bundles

Each standard total is the annual licence fee (15,000, 30,000 or 45,000), the 3,500 registration, the 1,550 application and the additional activities (2,000, 4,000 or 6,000). The offer prices apply to the first year only, standard fees apply on renewal, and DHCC gives no end date for the offer.

Zawel: starting without an office

The Zawel licence is for start-ups and SMEs in non-clinical segments: an FZ-LLC with individual shareholders only, issued instantly, with eligibility for two visas and no office lease or Ejari required in the first year. It costs AED 16,550 on the current offer. From the second year standard fees and an office lease apply, and visa and immigration charges are always extra. A standard licence, by contrast, needs a lease reservation, lease, purchase agreement or title deed before you apply.

DHA licences for clinics and practitioners

Under Dubai Law No. 16 of 2024, no healthcare activity may be carried out in DHCC without DHA licences and permits, in addition to DHCA approvals. DHA’s own Dubai-wide fees, as listed on its Sheryan services:

• Facility licence: initial approval AED 1,000 for a clinic (AED 2,000 for day surgery); annual licence AED 5,000 for a general clinic, AED 6,000 for a specialty clinic, AED 20,000 for day surgery; inspection AED 2,000 for a clinic.
• Professional licence, full time: physician or dentist AED 3,000 for one year, 5,000 for two and 7,500 for three; nurse, allied health or traditional and complementary medicine AED 1,000, 1,500 and 2,500. Knowledge and Innovation fees are added.

For the steps to a DHA professional licence, see our DHA licence guide.

Establishment card and visas

• Establishment card: AED 1,935 new, AED 1,733 renewal (express 2,065 and 1,863).
• Two-year employment visa package: AED 4,947.63 for a new employee inside the UAE, AED 3,226.73 from outside, AED 2,678.76 to renew.
• One-year package: AED 4,836.92 inside, AED 2,822.32 outside, AED 2,276.50 to renew.
• Refundable bank guarantee: AED 2,500 per employee.
• Golden visa employee package: AED 8,110, or 8,687 express.

DHCA notes that these tariffs may change with the fees of the service providers. Specialists in medical, scientific, research and technical fields can apply for ten-year residency.

How to set up in DHCC

1. Sign up as an investor on DHCA’s Masaar e-services system and submit the initial application.
2. Pay the initial application fee and get provisional approval; DHCA states 3 to 10 working days for initial approval.
3. For clinical, education and research activities, obtain the prior approvals, including DHA’s.
4. Secure the premises, submit the documents and pay the registration and licence fees.
5. Apply for the establishment card and visas.

The legal forms are an FZ-LLC, which needs at least one shareholder and one director, a branch of a UAE company or establishment, and a branch of a foreign company.

Working on the Dubai mainland

Under Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, a DHCC company can get a DET permit at AED 5,000 for up to six months, or a branch licence at AED 10,000 a year. In the other direction, a mainland company operating inside DHCC pays DHCA AED 15,000 a year for the permit.

What DHCC does not publish

• Office, clinic and desk rents; only unit sizes are listed.
• The visa quota for a standard licence.
• The end date of the bundle and Zawel offers.
• The amounts of the Knowledge Dirham, Innovation and Commercial Register fees.
• A timeline from application to licence beyond initial approval.

For other Dubai free zones, see the free zone comparison table.

Other Dubai free zones we cover: JAFZA, DMCC, DIFC, IFZA, Meydan Free Zone, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai South, DWTC, Dubai Development Authority zones, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Design District.