There is no single number, and the spread is wider than most pages admit: some free zones cap you at six, Shams allows up to 20, and SPC does not cap it at all. On the mainland there is no fixed ceiling — MoHRE approves a quota against your activity, staffing need and premises. In a free zone, your quota is set by the package you choose — some are zero-visa, while typical packages include a handful (often 1 to 6), with more available on higher tiers or by adding office space. On the mainland, your quota is driven mainly by your office size. You can usually increase it later, and Bizvisor confirms the exact number for your case.
In a free zone, the number of visas you can hold is fixed by the package you buy rather than by a UAE-wide rule. Zones design tiered packages, so the visa allowance is a choice you make up front.
The practical picture looks like this:
On the mainland (DED) the quota works differently — it is tied mainly to the size of the office you lease. As a broad rule of thumb, roughly one visa is allowed per nine square metres of office space, so a bigger office means more visas.
This is only a guide. The exact ratio varies by your business activity and the authority handling your application, so the same office can support different numbers of visas depending on what you do.
You are rarely locked in. In most cases you can raise your quota later by upgrading to a higher free-zone package, or by leasing more space on the mainland, then applying to increase the allocation.
Keep in mind that investor or partner visas for owners are handled separately from staff employment visas, so they don't usually eat into the same allowance. Because every zone and activity is different, treat all these numbers as general guidance — we confirm the exact quota for your setup before you commit.
Yes. Several free zones offer zero-visa packages, which are a good fit if you only need a licence to trade, invoice or hold a contract. You can add visa allocations later if your plans change.
In a free zone you upgrade to a higher package or add an allocation; on the mainland you lease more office space and apply to raise the quota. We handle the upgrade paperwork either way.
Generally no. Investor and partner visas for owners are processed separately from staff employment visas, so they don't usually reduce the number of team visas you can issue. We confirm this for your specific setup.
It's a common rule of thumb rather than a hard law. The actual ratio varies by activity and by the authority handling your file, so we check the exact figure for your licence rather than assume.
Tell us your activity, jurisdiction and how many people you plan to sponsor — AgentBiz or a human advisor will confirm exactly how many visas your setup allows.