The short answer
To start a travel and visa agency in Dubai, choose a mainland company if you will serve residents across the UAE, or a free zone if your clients are mostly abroad, then get the tourism approval for each activity from the Department of Economy and Tourism. Dubai's rules ask for a qualified manager, good conduct certificates and separate office space per activity.
Key takeaways
- Dubai's travel agency regulation counts processing residency and visa applications as part of a travel and tourism agent's work, which needs a tourism licence.
- A mainland company can serve clients anywhere in the UAE; a free zone company needs a mainland distributor, branch or approval to sell to residents.
- The published Dubai rules ask for a qualified manager, good conduct certificates, insurance and at least 30 square metres of office per activity.
- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman license tourism businesses through their own authorities, each with its own papers and office rules.
- Fees and the bank guarantee are the figures most often misquoted online, so get them from the authority in writing.
If you are working out how to start a travel agency in Dubai that also handles visa files, the first decision is the licence, not the office or the logo: which authority signs off on the work you plan to sell, and whether your company may serve clients across the UAE. This guide sets out the two routes, what Dubai's travel agency regulation asks for, how Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman handle it, and the order to do things in.
We used official sources only: the UAE government portal, Dubai's legislation portal, the tourism authorities' own service pages and free zone authority pages, all read in November 2026. Where no official page confirmed a requirement or a fee, we left it out and tell you what to ask instead.
Do you need a tourism licence to sell visa services in the UAE?
In Dubai, yes, if visa work sits alongside tickets, hotels or tours. Dubai's Regulation No. 6 of 2006 defines a travel and tourism agent as a business that sells air tickets and related services, and it names the processing of residency and visa applications among those services. Article 4 bars any tourist activity in the emirate without a licence from the tourism authority.
The regulation names that authority as the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. Since November 2021 the role has sat with the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), which Dubai formed by merging its economy and tourism departments (WAM).
A business that only prepares visa files for residents travelling abroad, with no tickets or tours, is less clear cut. Free zone activity lists fold visa work into the travel agency activity: Meydan Free Zone describes its activity 7911 as covering air ticketing, hotel bookings and visa facilitation, and IFZA lists issuance of visas under its travel agency licence. Which activity your exact service needs is the authority's call. Put your service list in writing and ask before you apply.
Mainland or free zone: which suits a visa agency?
Choose the mainland if most of your clients will be UAE residents who walk in or call from anywhere in the country. Choose a free zone if your clients are mostly abroad or are other businesses. The UAE government portal says free zone companies are treated as outside mainland jurisdiction, and that direct sales on the mainland are generally not permitted without the required mainland licences or approvals (u.ae).
To sell locally, the portal says, a free zone company works through a licensed mainland distributor or opens a mainland branch or company. A visa agency's customers are mostly residents living on the mainland, so this rule weighs more on you than on a consultancy that sells abroad. Dubai has also issued Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, which regulates free zone establishments' activities within the emirate; ask DET and your free zone whether it covers the services you plan to sell before you build on it.
| Question | Mainland company | Free zone company |
|---|---|---|
| Who issues the business licence | The emirate's economic department, which in Dubai is DET | The free zone's own authority |
| Who you can serve | Clients anywhere in the UAE | Clients abroad and businesses; mainland clients through a distributor, branch or approval |
| Tourism approval | Dubai's regulation requires a tourism licence for tourist activities | Ask the zone which outside approvals apply; IFZA lists a civil aviation no objection letter for travel agencies |
| Office | Dubai's rule: separate space of at least 30 square metres per activity | Desks and offices by package; check the tourism approval accepts yours |
| Suits | Walk-in residents, families, local corporate clients | Online sales, corporate travel, clients outside the UAE |
What does Dubai's travel agency regulation ask for?
Dubai's regulation, as amended by Regulation No. 1 of 2009, sets general conditions for every tourist activity and adds conditions per activity in a schedule. The published English texts, where the Arabic version prevails, ask for:
- Separate office space for each activity, of at least 30 square metres.
- A qualified manager: at least three years of work in tourism with a university degree or a tourism and travel certificate, or five years with a secondary school certificate. Qualifications must be attested.
- Recent good conduct certificates for the owner and the managing director.
- Written undertakings: complete and correct information on your programmes, a reply within one week to any complaint the authority forwards, and documents or statistics when asked.
- A signboard showing your working hours and weekends in Arabic and English.
- Insurance covering tourists and travellers against risks from your tours, valid for the licence term plus one month.
- For travel agents: a no objection letter from the civil aviation department, an international reservations system or an undertaking to have one within three months, and air tickets bought only from an appointed general agent or another agent in the emirate.
The 2009 text also sets a bank guarantee in the tourism authority's favour, and many setup guides quote a figure for it. In 2026 those guides disagree on whether the guarantee still applies, and no official page we could read settled it. Ask DET for the current position, in writing, before you put a number in your budget.
Both texts are old, and DET's procedures today may ask for more or less. Use the list to prepare your papers, then confirm each item with DET for your activity.
How do Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman license travel agencies?
Each emirate runs its own tourism licensing, so the Dubai list does not carry over. In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Culture and Tourism's service catalogue routes a new tourism company's licence through the Department of Economic Development's Business Centre: you apply there, DCT's licensing unit checks the requirements, its inspectors visit, and the licence follows payment of the fees.
The same catalogue sets a minimum of 35 square metres for tourism offices and lists the papers, among them a tenancy contract certified by the municipality, the trade name reservation certificate from the Department of Economic Development, a civil defence safety certificate and Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce membership.
Sharjah's Commerce and Tourism Development Authority gives initial approval to tourism companies that prepare tourism programmes, and asks for the trade licence plus the general manager's passport with academic qualifications or a certificate of at least three years in tourism. Ajman's tourism licence covers travel and tourism agencies and offices, asks for the manager's good conduct certificate and the commercial licence, and includes on-site classification visits. In Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain, start with the emirate's economic department and ask which body approves tourism work.
How to start a travel agency in Dubai, step by step
The UAE portal's mainland steps give the skeleton. For a travel and visa agency, add the tourism approval and the people papers at the right points.
- 1
List exactly what you will sell
Tickets, hotels, tours, visa files for residents travelling abroad, visit visas for people coming in. Each can be a separate activity with its own conditions, and Dubai's rule asks for separate office space per activity.
- 2
Pick the emirate and the jurisdiction
Mainland if your clients are residents across the UAE, a free zone if they are mostly abroad or other businesses. Read the free zone's own activity list and ask in writing which outside approvals it needs.
- 3
Choose the legal form, reserve the name, get initial approval
The portal lists the legal forms and the trade name check. Initial approval means the government has no objection to the business; it does not let you start trading.
- 4
Get the tourism conditions before you sign a lease
Ask the tourism authority for its current list for your activity, then pick an office that meets its size rule. In Dubai the lease is registered with Ejari.
- 5
Prepare the people papers
The manager's attested qualifications and experience letters, good conduct certificates for the owner and manager, and the civil aviation no objection letter if you will sell tickets.
- 6
Submit, pay and collect the licence
Pay the trade licence within 30 days of receiving the payment voucher; the portal says the application is cancelled otherwise.
- 7
Set the business up around the licence
Open the company bank account, register for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority, which applies to businesses under a commercial licence including free zone ones, sponsor staff visas, and write down how you will hold clients' papers.
What does it cost to open a travel agency in Dubai?
It depends on the emirate, the zone and the number of activities, and we are not going to print a total. Published figures for the same item conflict with each other, and the guarantee is disputed. Treat any all-in number you see online as a sales estimate, and build your budget line by line from the authorities' own answers.
| Cost line | What sets it | Confirm with |
|---|---|---|
| Trade licence and initial approval | Emirate, legal form, number of activities | The economic department or the free zone authority |
| Tourism licence or approval | Activity (travel agent, tour operator) and emirate | DET, DCT Abu Dhabi, Sharjah's SCTDA or Ajman's tourism department |
| Office lease | Size rules: 30 square metres per activity in Dubai, 35 in Abu Dhabi | The tourism authority, before you sign |
| Manager and staff | The manager's experience rule, staff visas and salaries | The tourism authority and the labour or free zone authority |
| Insurance and any guarantee | The tourism regulation for your activity | DET or the emirate's authority, then your insurer and bank |
| Systems | A reservation system for ticketing, file software for visa work | Your suppliers |
| Tax | Corporate tax registration and returns | The Federal Tax Authority |
What changes when your clients are UAE residents?
Most of your visa clients will be expatriates applying where they live, and embassies check that they really live here. The US State Department, for example, tells visa applicants to book in their country of nationality or residence and to be able to prove residence when that is the basis (State Department). Our guide to the US visa for UAE residents walks through that route.
A resident's file mixes papers from two countries: the home passport and civil records, and UAE papers such as the residence visa, Emirates ID, salary certificate, local bank statements and tenancy contract. Names spelled one way on the passport and another on the Emirates ID, or a salary certificate that splits basic pay from allowances while the form gives one figure, are exactly what officers stop on. That is why a visa file check before submission belongs in your process from the first week.
You will also hold passports, IDs and bank statements for hundreds of people. The UAE's personal data protection law, Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, has been in force since 2 January 2022 and generally requires the owner's consent before their data is processed (u.ae). Write down who on your team sees which papers and how long you keep them.
Choosing tools for a new agency
A new agency needs one place for each client's papers, a check that the papers agree with each other and with the form, and a clean way to send the finished file to the visa centre. Our checklist for choosing visa agency software lists the questions to ask any vendor, and the buyer's guide to visa agency software explains how an AI caseworker fits in.
Visolv's checks were built on files from Bangladesh first, so if your clients are residents of many nationalities, ask in the demo which of your routes are covered today. Visolv is sold after a short demo call with free files to try on real clients, and each agency's price is agreed on that call; the pricing section explains how.
Keep every file honest from the first client
Clients will ask for shortcuts: a flight reservation made for the application and cancelled the next day, a salary certificate with a rounder number, a statement someone offers to tidy up. Say no every time. A UK refusal for deception brings a 10-year ban under Part Suitability, and the US treats fraud or a material misrepresentation as a permanent bar under INA section 212(a)(6)(C)(i).
An agency in Dubai lives on referrals from the same communities, and word of one client's ban travels faster than any advert. Get the licence right, learn two or three routes properly, and keep every paper in every file genuine. That is the business that is still standing in year five.
Frequently asked questions
Can a free zone travel agency serve clients in Dubai?
Not directly, in most cases. The UAE government portal says free zone companies are treated as outside mainland jurisdiction and that direct sales on the mainland are generally not permitted without the required mainland licences or approvals. A free zone company can use a licensed mainland distributor or open a mainland branch. Dubai's Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025 regulates free zone activity in the emirate, so ask DET what it allows.
Can a foreigner own 100% of a travel agency in the UAE?
Often, yes. Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 opened most mainland activities to full foreign ownership and removed the need for a majority Emirati shareholder, according to the UAE government portal. Activities the Cabinet lists as having a strategic impact follow separate rules and need the approval of their regulator. Ask the economic department whether your exact activities are on any restricted list before you choose a legal form.
What experience does a travel agency manager need in Dubai?
Dubai's regulation, as amended in 2009, asks for a manager with at least three years of work experience in tourism if they hold a university degree or a certificate in tourism and travel, or five years if they hold a general secondary school certificate. Academic qualifications must be attested. Collect experience letters from past employers early, because they take time and DET may ask for more than the published text lists.
How big does a travel agency office need to be in the UAE?
It depends on the emirate. Dubai's published regulation asks for independent space of at least 30 square metres for each tourist activity, so two activities mean two spaces. Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism lists a minimum of 35 square metres for tourism offices. Free zones offer desks and small offices by package, so confirm the tourism approval accepts your space before you sign a lease.
Do I need a bank guarantee to open a travel agency in Dubai?
Ask DET, because the answer online is unreliable. Dubai's 2009 regulation set an irrevocable bank guarantee in the tourism authority's favour for travel agents and tour organisers, and many setup guides still quote it. Other 2026 guides say it no longer applies. We could not confirm the current position on an official page, so get DET's answer for your activity in writing before you arrange anything with a bank.
Do I need a civil aviation approval to sell air tickets in Dubai?
Dubai's 2006 regulation lists a no objection letter from the civil aviation department among the special requirements for travel agents, along with an international reservations system or an undertaking to provide one within three months. IFZA's travel agency page also lists a civil aviation no objection letter among its documents. If you will only prepare visa files and never sell tickets, ask whether the requirement applies to your activity.
The Visolv team
Editorial team, PackMyCode Limited (Dhaka)
Visolv is software for visa agencies, made in Dhaka by PackMyCode Limited: an AI caseworker that reads and checks every paper in a client's file, writes the drafts and builds the upload pack under the agency's own brand. We write about what we see in real visa files from Bangladesh.
