What to Know About Dubai’s One Freezone Passport

Dubai’s One Freezone Passport delivers significant operational efficiency by eliminating the need for separate licensing in each free zone, enabling companies to enter new markets faster and at a lower cost.

On July 22, 2025, the Dubai Free Zones Council (DFZC) launched the One Freezone Passport initiative: a unifying regulatory reform enabling a single license to be used across multiple free zones in Dubai, eliminating the need for separate trade licenses or full re-incorporation in secondary zones.

This reform aligns with the strategic Dubai Economic Agenda D33, aimed at doubling the emirate’s GDP by 2033.

In this article, we examine the One Freezone Passport in detail, exploring its objectives, regulatory framework, and sectoral restrictions, as well as its legal and operational implications. We also assess its strategic benefits for businesses, review real-world applications such as the early adoption by global brands, and consider its potential future developments within Dubai’s evolving economic landscape.

Dubai’s One Freezone Passport: An overview

Objectives and strategic rationale

The One Freezone Passport is designed as a catalyst for business expansion, investment attraction, and operational synergy across Dubai’s free zones. Specifically, it aims to:

• Improve ease of doing business and bolster investor confidence: By allowing companies to expand into additional free zones without duplicating licensing or incorporation procedures, Dubai reduces administrative barriers and increases predictability for investors.
• Accelerate launch and expansion timelines: Traditional cross-zone expansion could take weeks or months due to separate licensing requirements, multiple due diligence checks, and facility lease negotiations. Under the new system, many of these processes are consolidated, significantly reducing time to market.
• Encourage cross-sector synergy and innovation: By removing geographic and administrative barriers between zones, the initiative enables companies in technology, logistics, manufacturing, and services to collaborate more effectively. This can lead to innovation clusters that combine different industry strengths present in various free zones.
• Support Dubai’s economic growth agenda under D33: The initiative serves as a practical step toward achieving D33’s GDP-doubling target by creating a more fluid business environment that supports foreign direct investment (FDI) and diversification of the economy.

Regulatory framework and procedures of Dubai’s One Freezone Passport

Single license, multiple zones

The cornerstone of the initiative is the concept that a license issued in one Dubai free zone (the “primary” zone) can be used to operate in one or more “secondary” participating free zones.

This applies only when the business activities in the secondary zone match those on the primary license exactly. This approach preserves regulatory consistency and reduces duplication of compliance checks (Mondaq, KPMG).

Application process

Expansion begins with the submission of an application to the primary free zone authority. Businesses must provide:

• Details of the current licensed activities;
• A description of the intended operations in the secondary zone; and
• Facility requirements such as office, warehouse, or industrial space.

Once the application is approved, the secondary zone adopts much of the existing due diligence and corporate documentation, streamlining onboarding.

Legal structure options

Companies can choose between:

• Branch setup: Grants the right to carry out operational activities in the secondary zone, including leasing physical premises, hiring staff, and engaging directly with clients.
• Permit: More limited in scope, intended for non-operational activities such as storage, warehousing, or holding inventory without full commercial activity.

This flexibility allows businesses to tailor their expansion structure based on operational needs and cost considerations.

Information and compliance

The initiative also standardizes compliance requirements across participating zones:

• Secure information exchange: Regulatory data on licensing, corporate ownership, and beneficial owners is shared securely between zones.
• Aligned due diligence: Anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), and other risk assessments completed in the primary zone are recognized in the secondary zone, reducing redundancy.
• Ongoing Monitoring – Both zones retain the authority to monitor compliance, ensuring ongoing adherence to Dubai’s regulatory standards.

Also read: A Guide to AML/CFT Compliance and Reporting in the UAE

Exclusions and restrictions

To maintain the integrity of the free zone regulatory ecosystem, the initiative excludes certain activities and business models:

Legal and operational implications

Geographical expansion

The One Freezone Passport initiative removes one of the most significant barriers to intra-Dubai business expansion: the need for separate legal entities or complete re-licensing in each free zone. Traditionally, businesses wishing to operate in multiple free zones had to establish subsidiary companies or branches in each jurisdiction, leading to added incorporation costs, multiple regulatory filings, and complex corporate structures.

Under the new framework, companies can extend their operations seamlessly across participating zones under their existing legal identity, reducing structural complexity, administrative overheads, and associated legal costs.

This model is particularly beneficial for logistics, manufacturing, and distribution firms that require multiple points of presence, such as proximity to Jebel Ali Port, Al Maktoum International Airport, and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), without the legal fragmentation that previously complicated such strategies.

Aligned activities

The requirement that all activities in the secondary free zone must exactly match those authorized under the primary license ensures regulatory coherence. This rule prevents “scope creep” where businesses might otherwise attempt to introduce new, unlicensed activities in a different free zone.

Such alignment reduces the risk of unauthorized operations, minimizes compliance disputes, and reassures regulators that oversight remains consistent across all participating zones. For companies, it provides a clear operational framework and avoids the uncertainty of divergent licensing conditions.

Customs and tax considerations

While Dubai’s free zones are generally known for their 0 percent corporate tax, 100 percent foreign ownership rights, and unrestricted profit repatriation, cross-zone operations under the One Freezone Passport require careful planning to address customs and tax implications.

Have a look at our guide: How to Set Up a Company in UAE Free Trade Zones

For example:

• VAT: Although goods and services supplied within the same designated free zone are generally outside the UAE VAT scope, certain cross-zone transactions, especially those involving non-designated free zones, can trigger VAT obligations.
• Customs: The movement of goods between free zones can still require customs documentation, particularly when goods leave one designated zone and re-enter another.
• Re-exports: Companies engaged in re-export activities must assess whether goods moving between zones qualify for duty exemptions.

Firms operating in manufacturing, wholesale trade, and logistics should conduct a tax impact assessment before expanding under the initiative.

Integration with Dual Licensing

One of the most strategically significant aspects of the One Freezone Passport is its potential to integrate with Dubai’s Dual License Initiative (DLI). Under the DLI, certain free zone companies, such as those in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) or Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), can obtain a license to operate directly in the Dubai mainland without relocating or re-incorporating.

If combined, the One Freezone Passport and DLI could create a three-tier operational reach:

• Primary free zone;
• Secondary participating free zones via the One Passport; or
• Direct access to the Dubai mainland via the DLI.

This layered structure would enable unprecedented operational flexibility—allowing a business to operate seamlessly across free zones and the mainland under a unified regulatory approach.

Here’s an expanded, in-depth version of your Strategic Benefits and Future Outlook sections, keeping the tone aligned with your earlier parts and integrating credible references.

Future outlook

The One Freezone Passport is still in its early stages, but its potential impact is significant. In the coming years, several developments may shape its evolution.

Broader sector inclusion

Currently, certain professional services, DNFBPs, and regulated financial entities are excluded. Over time, authorities may expand the scope to include additional sectors—particularly those aligned with strategic growth areas under Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33, such as advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, and healthtech..

Integration with the DLI

Linking the One Freezone Passport with the DLI could allow companies to seamlessly operate in both free zones and the Dubai mainland under a harmonized framework.

Customs, VAT, and logistics coordination

As cross-zone activity increases, authorities may enhance coordination between customs authorities, VAT procedures, and inter-zone logistics. This could include unified VAT reporting for multi-zone entities and more efficient customs clearance for goods moving between free zones, critical for sectors such as re-export, manufacturing, and e-commerce fulfillment.

Alignment with innovation and sustainability goals

In line with D33’s emphasis on making Dubai a global leader in technology, green energy, and future-focused industries, we can expect targeted measures to attract and retain high-tech and environmentally sustainable businesses.

Free zones specializing in artificial intelligence, fintech, or renewable energy could be among the first to fully leverage the One Freezone Passport for international expansion.

• Previous Article The UAE’s Healthcare Market: Business and Investment Opportunities
• Next Article