Establishment Card: What It Is and How to Renew It
The establishment card is the document that gives your company a file with the immigration authority — and without that file the company cannot apply for a work permit or a residence visa for anybody. In Dubai it is issued and renewed by GDRFA; federally it is ICP. The two publish different rules, and a third document with a similar name belongs to MOHRE.
Most of what goes wrong here is naming. This guide separates the three documents first, because getting them confused is how a company ends up quoting the wrong validity period and the wrong fine.
Three documents, similar names
| Document | Issued by | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment card (labour) | MOHRE | Registers the company as an employer for labour purposes. MOHRE publishes a permit duration of two years for it. |
| Establishment card (immigration) | GDRFA in Dubai; ICP federally | Creates the company’s immigration file. This is the one that enables visas. |
| “Firm card” | — | The name u.ae uses for the GDRFA immigration card. Same document. |
MOHRE’s two-year duration belongs to MOHRE’s card and nothing else. It is not the validity of the immigration establishment card, and we have seen it repeated as though it were.
No official page uses “immigration card” or “company card” for this document, though both are in common use.
What it is for
u.ae puts the point directly: once the card is obtained, “the employer/company will have a file with the immigration authorities which will entitle it to apply and obtain work permits”. The same page describes the sequence as MOHRE’s eSignature card first, then “the employer must request a firm card also from the respective General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs”.
ICP describes its own version as “the issuance of the electronic establishment card, which includes the registered establishment data”. GDRFA Dubai runs one service covering “private sector businesses or free zones” together.
Free zones are handled differently by each authority
ICP routes free zone establishments through their own authority: “the service request must be submitted through the respective Free Zone Authority”. GDRFA Dubai serves free zone entities directly through the same service as private sector companies. If your company is in a Dubai free zone, that difference decides who you file with.
Renewing it in Dubai
GDRFA Dubai’s renewal service is available through its digital channels and its customer happiness centres, and it gives an expected completion time of 48 hours.
The fee
GDRFA’s renewal page states “establishment card renewal fee: AED200” together with “the value-added tax (5%)”, alongside a AED 10 knowledge dirham, a AED 10 innovation dirham and a AED 50 service fee. An urgent fee of AED 100 is listed, and a further AED 100 applies where the application is made through an Amer centre.
The same page also carries the line “the issuance or renewal fee is AED100 per year”. GDRFA does not reconcile the two statements on the page, so we are not going to reconcile them for you: budget from the structure — a base fee, three small statutory dirhams, VAT, and a channel surcharge if you use one — and confirm the total with GDRFA on the day you renew.
The fine for being late
GDRFA Dubai’s own wording is “avoid AED 100 fine monthly for not renewing your establishment card” — a monthly fine, with no cap published and no grace period published.
ICP publishes different terms, and they are not Dubai’s. ICP’s service card gives a fine of “more than 30 days from its expiry date: AED 100 for each month of delay, up to a maximum of AED 1,000”. That 30-day figure is the point at which ICP’s fine begins — it is not a grace period, it is not a recommended lead time, and it is not published by GDRFA at all. If your card is a Dubai card, do not assume you have thirty days and do not assume the fine stops at AED 1,000.
Conditions ICP attaches to renewal
ICP states that “the service is granted only if a valid trade license is available” and that “payment of the fines due on the establishment is required”. So a lapsed trade licence blocks the card, which makes the two renewals a sequence rather than two separate errands — our guide to trade licence renewal in Dubai covers the licence side.
What is not published anywhere official
This is the part that matters most, because the missing facts are the ones most confidently stated elsewhere.
- The card’s validity period. Neither GDRFA nor ICP publishes it. “Valid for one year” is the standard claim online and we could not source it. What is official is that fees are described per year and that renewal is required before expiry.
- Any renewal window before expiry. ICP’s thirty days is an after-expiry fine threshold. No authority publishes how early you may or should renew.
- That visa or work permit transactions are blocked while the card is expired. Nothing official says this. The nearest published statement is that ICP requires outstanding fines to be paid before renewal or cancellation.
- Whether GDRFA Dubai’s monthly fine is capped. Only ICP publishes a cap, and ICP’s rules are not Dubai’s.
Our advice — practical guidance, not a rule
Marked as advice because no official page prescribes it.
- Diarise the establishment card against the trade licence rather than on its own. ICP will not renew the card without a valid licence, and the licence is the date companies actually remember.
- Renew before expiry rather than inside any assumed grace period. Dubai publishes no grace period, and the fine GDRFA publishes is monthly with no stated ceiling.
- Clear outstanding immigration fines before filing rather than during. Unpaid fines stop the transaction rather than delay it.
- Keep the MOHRE card and the immigration card on separate reminders. They are different documents with different authorities, and only one of them has a published duration.
Fees on this page were checked in September 2026. GDRFA pages carry no content date at all, and ICP’s establishment card service cards are dated December 2024 while its site footer is current — so confirm any figure before you rely on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is an establishment card?
The immigration establishment card creates your company’s file with the immigration authority. u.ae states that with it the company has a file that entitles it to apply for and obtain work permits. In Dubai it is issued by GDRFA; federally by ICP.
How long is an establishment card valid?
No official GDRFA or ICP page publishes a validity period. Fees are described per year and renewal is required before expiry, but the commonly repeated “valid for one year” is not something we could source officially.
What does it cost to renew in Dubai?
GDRFA Dubai gives a renewal fee of AED 200 plus 5 per cent VAT, with a AED 10 knowledge dirham, a AED 10 innovation dirham and a AED 50 service fee; an urgent fee of AED 100 and a further AED 100 for Amer centre submission are also listed. The same page separately states that the issuance or renewal fee is AED 100 per year, and does not reconcile the two.
What is the fine for not renewing on time?
GDRFA Dubai states AED 100 monthly and publishes no cap. ICP, which is the federal authority and not Dubai’s, publishes AED 100 per month starting more than 30 days after expiry, capped at AED 1,000.
Is the MOHRE establishment card the same thing?
No. MOHRE’s card is the labour registration and carries a published permit duration of two years. The immigration establishment card is a separate document from GDRFA or ICP, and MOHRE’s two-year duration does not apply to it.
Do free zone companies need one?
Yes, and the route differs by authority. ICP requires free zone requests to be submitted through the respective free zone authority; GDRFA Dubai serves private sector and free zone establishments through the same service.
Can I renew the card if my trade licence has expired?
ICP states that the service is granted only if a valid trade licence is available, and that fines due on the establishment must be paid. Renew the licence first.