Free Zone & SEZ Advisory
Which UAE free zone, which licence, what substance, what it costs over five years. Written before the entity is set up.
What this service is
The UAE has more than forty free zones. Most of the choice between them comes down to factors the marketing brochures do not put on the front page: substance requirements, banking acceptability, intercompany flow treatment, license renewal economics, and exit dynamics if the business needs to migrate later. Kaelo Advisory runs the diligence before the entity is registered, then handles set-up and the first-year compliance.
“There are forty-plus free zones in the UAE. Most groups choose the wrong one because the marketing brochure answered a different question than the operating reality will.”
— An Operating Council principal, Kaelo Advisory
What we are accountable for
Where the work lands.
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01
Free-zone selection
A written shortlist of two or three free zones, with the trade-offs scored on substance, license cost, banking, treaty access and exit terms.
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02
Licence design
The right licence category for the activity, with conservative scope wording that survives renewal scrutiny.
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03
Substance & banking
The directors, premises, payroll, and banking arrangements the entity actually needs to be defensible — not the minimum to register.
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04
Exit planning
How the entity unwinds, migrates, or restructures if the operating thesis changes. Built into the setup design.
How we engage
From first email to standing review.
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01
Activity & jurisdiction diagnostic
Two-week review of the intended business activity, the substance requirements that will apply, the banking landscape, and the exit dynamics. Output: a written shortlist of two or three free zones with scored trade-offs.
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02
Free-zone selection & licence design
Selection signed off in writing; licence category designed with conservative scope wording that survives renewal scrutiny. Pre-clearance with the chosen zone’s authority where useful.
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03
Substance, banking & setup
Directors, premises, payroll arrangements and banking documented. We design what is actually needed for defensibility, not the legal minimum to register.
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04
Year-one compliance and review
First-year compliance handled with the zone authority. Renewal, license-scope and substance reviewed annually under a standing engagement.
Where this applies
The sectors this service is shaped for.
When to call us
The shape of the moment this work usually arrives in.
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01
You are setting up a new UAE entity and want the free-zone choice diligenced in writing before incorporation.
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02
Your existing free-zone entity faces renewal and the substance regime has tightened since the last cycle.
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03
You need to relocate or migrate a UAE entity between free zones — or out of a free zone into the mainland.
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04
You are entering a regulated UAE activity (financial services, fintech, fund management) where zone choice is constrained by licensing.
Engagement profile
Free-zone selection and licence build-out for a holding entity.
Two of forty zones shortlisted on documented criteria. One selected, licensed, banked, and audit-ready within ninety days.
Recent mandate, anonymised
Migrated a UAE operating entity between free zones ahead of a license-scope tightening.
The original zone’s rule change would have invalidated the licence scope at renewal. Migration completed within two months; operations were uninterrupted.
For clarity
What we will not do here.
- We do not recommend free zones for which the substance economics will not support a year-three renewal.
- We do not act as a registered agent or company-formation provider. That work is delivered by locally licensed providers under our recommendation.
- We do not promote free-zone choices based on commissions or referral fees — we do not accept either.
- We do not provide ongoing PRO services. Day-to-day administration is delivered by partners.
Frequently asked
The questions that arrive first.
- 01 Which UAE free zones do you typically work with?
- The recommendation depends on the activity. For regulated financial-services work, DIFC and ADGM are the usual answers. For trade, technology, media and consumer activity, the choice ranges across more than thirty other zones, each with its own substance, licence and banking profile. The shortlist is written, scored, and signed off.
- 02 Do you handle the licence application itself?
- Design and oversight: yes. Submission, registered agent and ongoing administration: delivered by locally licensed providers under our recommendation. The boundary is set in the engagement letter.
- 03 Can you advise on mainland vs free-zone choice?
- Yes. Sometimes the right answer is not a free zone at all — the mainland framework, post-2023 reforms, is competitive for the right activity. The diagnostic includes that comparison.
- 04 Are you a regulated UAE corporate services provider?
- No. Kaelo Advisory provides advisory work. Where formal corporate-services or licensed activities are required, they are delivered by partners. Full position on Regulatory Disclosures.
- 05 How long does setup take?
- A standard free-zone holding entity: 60-90 days from engagement to operational. A regulated free-zone licence (financial services etc.): 6-12 months depending on the regulator. Timelines are documented before work begins.
- 06 What about the corporate-tax regime that came into effect in the UAE?
- The 2023 corporate-tax regime, administered by the UAE Federal Tax Authority, changes the calculus for free-zone choice materially. We work within the qualifying-free-zone-person rules and the wider regime; the structure we recommend is the one that holds up in the regulated environment, not the pre-2023 one.
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Written, considered replies within two working days. Initial conversations off-record, no fee, no commitment.
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