Two registrations nobody warns you about, both called an establishment card, both required, and each one blocking a different half of your company.
Getting them in the wrong order is the most common reason a new company cannot hire in its first month.
Two cards, two authorities
| GDRFA establishment card | MoHRE establishment card | |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | GDRFA Dubai (residency) | Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation |
| Also called | Immigration card, federal establishment card | Labour card, labour file |
| Purpose | Registers the establishment with the emirate's residency directorate | Registers the employer with MoHRE and opens the labour file |
| Prerequisite for | Entry permits, residence visas, Emirates ID for staff | Work permits and labour contracts |
| Applies to | Mainland and free zone establishments | Mainland private-sector employers |
| Published cost | AED 280 standard | AED 406 Ta'qeem, free via digital channels |
| Published time | 48 hours | 2 working days |
The clean way to remember it: GDRFA lets people live here. MoHRE lets people work for you. You need both, and you need them in that order.
The GDRFA establishment card
GDRFA Dubai publishes the fee lines for the private sector and free zone establishment card:
| Line item | AED |
|---|---|
| Base issuance fee | 200 |
| VAT (5%) on the base fee | 10 |
| Knowledge Dirham | 10 |
| Innovation Dirham | 10 |
| Service fee | 50 |
| Standard total | 280 |
| Urgent processing (optional) | +100 |
| Amer centre submission (optional) | +100 |
| Annual renewal component | 100 per year |
Documents: a copy of the partners’ names appendix, passport copies of the authorised signatories, and a notary-certified authorisation where someone is acting on the company’s behalf. Airlines, farms, hotels and consulates carry additional requirements.
The AED 100 urgent option is one of the few express fees we routinely recommend, because this card sits upstream of every single visa. Buying back a day here buys back a day on every downstream file.
The MoHRE establishment card and labour file
The MoHRE side registers you as an employer and opens the labour file. Without it there are no work permits and no registered labour contracts.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ta'qeem fee | AED 406 |
| Business centre commission | Maximum AED 72 |
| Website and mobile app | Free (government fees only) |
| Service completion time | 2 working days |
| Channels | Service centre, website, mobile app, Tawseel |
| Prerequisite | A Ministry-issued personal identification number for owners, partners, agents and signatories |
| Eligibility | Applicant must be 18 or over. GCC citizens are treated as UAE nationals |
Required documents, per MoHRE: both sides of the Emirates ID or residence visa; a valid trade licence showing activity, address and contacts; the partners addendum if applicable; a copy of the establishment card from the Federal Authority; and a valid rental contract, waived for instant licences.
One eligibility note that catches companies out: MoHRE states the authorised signatory in the Ministry "must also be authorized to sign in the Federal Authority." If the person who signed at GDRFA is not the person you are naming at MoHRE, sort that before applying rather than at the counter.
Tawseel is worth knowing about: mobile service vehicles fitted out like a physical centre, delivering MoHRE services to elderly people, pregnant women and people of determination.
The correct order, and why guides get it wrong
Look again at the MoHRE document list. It asks for the federal establishment card.
That single requirement settles the order, and it is the opposite of what most published guides say. You cannot open a MoHRE labour file using a document you have not obtained yet.
- Trade licence issuedMainland via DET, or by the free zone authority.
- Ejari or tenancy contract registeredMoHRE lists a valid rental contract among its required documents, waived for instant licences. See Ejari and the office requirement.
- GDRFA establishment (immigration) card48 hours, AED 280 standard, +AED 100 urgent.
- MoHRE establishment card and labour file2 working days, AED 406 Ta'qeem, free through the digital channels.
- Per employee: work permit → entry permit → status change or entry → medical → Emirates ID → residence visaTwo to four weeks per intake. See the employment visa process.
What each card lets you do
| What you want to do | Which card you need |
|---|---|
| Apply for a staff entry permit | GDRFA |
| Issue a residence visa | GDRFA |
| Apply for an Emirates ID for staff | GDRFA |
| Sponsor an investor or partner visa | GDRFA |
| Issue a MoHRE work permit | MoHRE (which needs GDRFA first) |
| Register a labour contract | MoHRE |
| Register for wage protection (WPS) | MoHRE |
| Respond to a labour complaint | MoHRE |
Neither card lets you trade. That is the trade licence. These two connect the company to the immigration and labour systems, which is why a company can be perfectly licensed and still completely unable to hire.
Free zone companies
Free zone companies need the GDRFA establishment card too. It is what connects the entity to residency, and free zone staff hold residence visas like anyone else.
Most zones handle it as part of their package and charge their own fee for doing so:
| Free zone | Establishment / immigration card |
|---|---|
| DMCC | AED 1,825 issuance, AED 2,205 renewal |
| Meydan | AED 2,000 one-time immigration card |
| GDRFA direct (for comparison) | AED 280 standard |
The gap between AED 280 and AED 1,825 is service, not government fee. That is not a criticism, and in a zone like DMCC the package buys you a genuinely integrated process. But you should know which part of the number is which, and you are entitled to ask.
The MoHRE labour file applies to mainland private-sector employers. Free zone companies operate under their own employment framework administered by the zone, which is one of the practical differences covered in mainland versus free zone.
Renewal, and what lapses when you forget
The GDRFA card carries an annual renewal component of AED 100 per year. The MoHRE file renews on its own cycle.
What happens when one lapses is worth spelling out, because the failure is silent until you need something.
Immigration card expired. No new entry permits, no new residence visas, no Emirates ID applications. Existing visas keep running, but renewals stall, and any employee whose visa expires during the gap starts accruing overstay at AED 50 per day.
Labour file lapsed. No new work permits, no new labour contracts. Existing staff remain employed, but you cannot legally onboard anyone.
Trade licence expired. Both cards stop renewing, which stops everything above. This is the cascade described in trade licence renewal, and it is why the renewal date on the licence matters more than any other date in the company.
The AED 500 figure that does not exist
Search for the cost of opening a labour file and you will find "AED 500" repeated across dozens of sites.
It does not match anything MoHRE publishes. The ministry’s own service page gives a Ta’qeem fee of AED 406, a business-centre commission capped at AED 72, and states that the website and mobile app are free apart from government fees. Similarly, "AED 300 to 500 for a new establishment card" does not match GDRFA’s published AED 280 breakdown.
This is a small thing that tells you something useful. If a provider quotes a round number as a government fee, ask which published line it corresponds to. The real fees are oddly specific, because they are built from base fees plus knowledge and innovation dirhams plus VAT. Round numbers are almost always someone’s margin, described as a government charge.
MSM opens both registrations as a single sequenced job, GDRFA first and MoHRE straight behind it, so the labour file is live the week the immigration card issues. See labour and immigration card or what comes after the trade licence.