Built for Outsourcing
A free zone dedicated to BPO, call centres, HR / IT outsourcing and shared services — the licensing and infrastructure are designed for it, not adapted from a trading licence.
Dubai Outsource City (DOC)
Company Formation
Set up a BPO, call-centre or shared-services operation in the region's free zone built for outsourcing — purpose-fitted offices, resilient telecom infrastructure and the licensing that back-office and customer-service businesses actually need.
- 100% Ownership
- TECOM Group
- BPO & Outsourcing
- Call Centres
- Shared Services
The Region's Outsourcing Free Zone
Dubai Outsource City (DOC), formerly Dubai Outsource Zone, is TECOM Group's free zone for the outsourcing industry, licensed by the Dubai Development Authority. It is dedicated to business-process outsourcing, HR and IT outsourcing, back-office processing and call-centre and shared-services operations, offering ready office space, resilient telecom infrastructure, facilities management and round-the-clock security as standard.
Dubai Outsource City — formerly Dubai Outsource Zone — is TECOM Group's free zone for the outsourcing industry, licensed by the Dubai Development Authority. It exists for one kind of business: companies that deliver business-process outsourcing, HR and IT outsourcing, back-office processing and call-centre or shared-services operations to clients across the region and beyond.
The district is fitted for that work. It offers ready office space, resilient telecom infrastructure, facilities management and round-the-clock security — the operational basics a contact centre or processing operation depends on, provided as standard rather than built from scratch. For an outsourcing business, DOC pairs those facilities with a recognised sector address and the wider TECOM knowledge cluster next door for talent.
The region's dedicated free zone for outsourcing and shared services
Why Dubai Outsource City
DOC is built for the operational realities of outsourcing — connectivity, fitted floor space and round-the-clock running — in a way a general office free zone is not. For a BPO or contact-centre business, those basics are the whole game.
Resilient Telecom Infrastructure
High-capacity, resilient connectivity is the foundation of any contact centre or processing operation — DOC provides it as standard, so uptime is the landlord's problem, not yours.
Fitted, Operations-Ready Offices
Office space sized and fitted for back-office and customer-service teams, with facilities management and 24-hour security — quick to occupy and scale.
Access to the TECOM Talent Cluster
DOC sits within the wider TECOM / knowledge cluster, alongside the internet, media and academic districts — useful for hiring multilingual and technical outsourcing talent.
A Recognised Sector Address
An established home for the outsourcing industry — credibility that matters when a global client is choosing where to place its back-office or contact-centre operation.
Full Ownership, UAE Free-Zone Status
100% foreign ownership with no local-shareholder requirement, and eligibility for the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person Corporate Tax rate on qualifying income.
Ideal for
- Business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms
- Call centres and customer-experience operations
- Shared-services and back-office centres
- HR and payroll outsourcing providers
- IT and finance / accounting outsourcing
- Data processing and managed-operations businesses
Dubai Outsource City Licence Types
DOC licences are organised around outsourcing and the services around it.
Outsourcing & BPO Licence
For business-process outsourcing, call centres, customer experience and shared-services operations serving regional and global clients.
- Business-process outsourcing (BPO)
- Call centres & customer experience
- Shared-services centres
- Back-office & data processing
- Managed operations
Functional Outsourcing Licence
For HR, payroll, finance / accounting and IT outsourcing providers delivering specific functions to client businesses.
- HR & payroll outsourcing
- Finance & accounting outsourcing
- IT & helpdesk outsourcing
- Procurement & supply-chain support
- Document & records processing
Service / Professional Licence
For consultancy, technology and professional services that support the outsourcing businesses in the district.
- Outsourcing & operations consultancy
- Technology & automation services
- Quality & training services
- Professional & corporate services
- Specialist B2B services
Legal Structures Under Dubai Outsource City
DOC recognises the standard TECOM / free-zone legal forms — the right one depends on shareholder count and whether you are incorporating fresh or extending a company.
Free Zone LLC (Single Shareholder)
A limited-liability entity with one shareholder, individual or corporate — for a founder or wholly-owned outsourcing business.
Free Zone LLC (Multiple Shareholders)
A limited-liability entity with two or more shareholders, used for joint ventures and multi-owner operations.
Branch of a Company
A branch of an existing UAE or foreign outsourcing company, operating under the parent's name and balance sheet.
How a Dubai Outsource City Company Is Formed
Five steps from activity selection to a banked, visa-ready entity.
- 01
Confirm Activity & Licence
Pick the activities and matching licence — outsourcing / BPO, functional outsourcing, or service — and the office footprint the operation needs.
- 02
Reserve the Name & Apply
Reserve the company name and file the licence application with shareholder and activity documents through TECOM's portal.
- 03
Choose Premises
Select operations-ready office space sized for the back-office or contact-centre team, with the connectivity the work needs.
- 04
Licence & Establishment Card
On approval, the trade licence and establishment card are issued, which unlocks visa allocation for the operations team.
- 05
Bank Account & Visas
Open the corporate bank account and process investor and employee visas with Emirates ID and medicals.
Documents Required for Dubai Outsource City Setup
A standard services free-zone document set — corporate shareholders add a few group documents.
- Passport copies of all shareholders and directors (valid at least 6 months)
- UAE residence visa copy for residents in the country
- Emirates ID for UAE residents
- Passport-sized photographs of shareholders
- Proposed company names and the planned outsourcing activities
- Personal information / KYC form
- For corporate shareholders: parent licence, MoA, board resolution and UBO list
Why Choose Dubai Outsource City
DOC pairs free-zone basics with infrastructure tuned to outsourcing operations.
100% foreign ownership with no local-shareholder requirement
A free zone dedicated to outsourcing and shared services
Resilient telecom infrastructure for contact centres and processing
Operations-ready offices with facilities management and 24-hour security
Licensing tuned to BPO, call centres and functional outsourcing
0% Corporate Tax on qualifying income under the QFZP regime
Access to the wider TECOM cluster for multilingual and technical talent
An established, recognised outsourcing address
Tax & Compliance Position — Dubai Outsource City
DOC entities follow UAE Federal Corporate Tax and can qualify for the 0% QFZP rate. VAT applies in the standard way — DOC is a services free zone, not a goods Designated Zone.
UAE Corporate Tax
9% Headline · 0% QFZP on Qualifying Income
DOC entities follow UAE Federal Corporate Tax under Decree-Law 47/2022 — 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000. Most can elect the Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) regime and pay 0% on Qualifying Income.
QFZP eligibilityQFZP eligibility needs Qualifying Income, adequate Free Zone substance, arm's-length transfer pricing and audited financials. Outsourcing-services income — particularly to UAE-mainland clients — needs careful qualifying / non-qualifying analysis, which we do per business.
UAE VAT
5% Standard Rate · Standard VAT Regime
DOC entities follow standard UAE VAT — 5% on taxable supplies, AED 375,000 mandatory registration threshold, with input-tax recovery on business costs. Outsourcing services exported outside the UAE are frequently zero-rated; we confirm the treatment per engagement.
Not a Designated ZoneDOC is a services free zone, not a Designated Zone for goods under Cabinet 59/2017 — Designated-Zone treatment is not relevant to its outsourcing tenant base.
Ongoing Compliance Obligations
- Annual Corporate Tax return (9 months from FY-end)
- VAT returns per FTA assignment
- Audited financial statements (free zone requirement; mandatory for QFZP)
- Trade-licence renewal with the free zone authority
- Data-protection obligations for businesses processing client / customer data
- ESR notification + report where a Relevant Activity is carried on
- UBO register with the free zone authority
Sources & official references: Federal Decree-Law 47/2022 (Corporate Tax) · Cabinet Decision 100/2023 (QFZP) · Federal Decree-Law 8/2017 (VAT)
Sectors Active in Dubai Outsource City
DOC's tenant base is the outsourcing and shared-services industry.
BPO & Call Centres
HR & Payroll Outsourcing
Finance & Accounting Outsourcing
IT & Helpdesk Outsourcing
Back-Office & Processing
Customer Experience
Shared Services
Managed Operations
The Avyanco Advantage
Avyanco runs Dubai Outsource City setups end-to-end — from activity scoping through to a banked, visa-ready entity registered for Corporate Tax and VAT.
Outsourcing-Activity Fluency
We map BPO, call-centre, HR and IT outsourcing activities to the right DOC licence and the office footprint the operation needs.
QFZP for Services Income
Qualifying Free Zone Person assessment for outsourcing-services income, including the export and mainland-client split.
Corporate Bank Account
Introductions to UAE banks that onboard outsourcing firms, with the compliance file they ask for.
Visas at Scale
Investor and employee visas processed alongside Emirates ID and medicals — built for a large operations headcount.
Data-Protection Alignment
Guidance on the data-protection obligations that come with processing client and customer data.
Corporate Tax & VAT
FTA registrations and ongoing filings, including zero-rating review for exported outsourcing services.
Meet Our Specialists
Partner-level advisors covering every leg of a Dubai Outsource City setup — formation, structuring, tax and ongoing compliance.
Why Founders Choose Avyanco for Dubai Outsource City
Three things that come up in every DOC engagement once the licence is issued.
Operations-Aware Setup
We set up BPO and shared-services operations and understand the connectivity, floor space and headcount they run on.
End-to-End Delivery
Licence, premises, bank, visas and tax — handled by one team on one engagement letter.
Built to Scale
Structured for a fast-growing operations headcount, with the visa and facility planning that implies.
Compare Other UAE Free Zones
Dubai Outsource City suits BPO, call-centre and shared-services businesses. Other zones serve different sectors — compare here.
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Read moreWhat Clients Say
A slice of recent feedback from founders who set up their UAE companies through Avyanco.
In so far as the emigration process can ever be made easy, Avyanco achieves exactly this.
Read more — Sheru George's review on GoogleS
Sheru George12 May 2026
We are very satisfied with Avyanco's support for Nanasu Realty — especially across AML compliance, accounting, and company setup.
Read more — Purushottam Mukkundi's review on GoogleP
Purushottam Mukkundi6 May 2026
I've used the services of Avyanco twice over the past 3 years for visa processing, and they have never failed to impress me.
Read more — Dominic Pinto's review on GoogleD
Dominic Pinto11 May 2026
I had an excellent experience with Avyanco Business Setup Consultancy for both my company formation and family dependent visa process in the UAE.
Read more — Eder Schaphauser Ziomek's review on GoogleE
Eder Schaphauser Ziomek29 April 2026
We had an excellent experience working with this company for our ADGM company setup in Abu Dhabi.
Read more — Nikhil Nadanga's review on GoogleN
Nikhil Nadanga25 May 2026
I have been dealing with Akshta for more than a year now and she has been very professional.
Read more — Sherif Ayub's review on GoogleS
Sherif Ayub24 May 2026
Dubai Outsource City — Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about setting up in Dubai Outsource City.
What is Dubai Outsource City?
Dubai Outsource City (DOC), formerly Dubai Outsource Zone, is TECOM Group's free zone for the outsourcing industry, licensed by the Dubai Development Authority. It is dedicated to BPO, HR and IT outsourcing, back-office processing and call-centre and shared-services operations, with the offices, connectivity and security those operations need.
What kinds of business is DOC best for?
Business-process outsourcing firms, call centres and customer-experience operations, shared-services and back-office centres, HR and payroll outsourcing, and IT and finance / accounting outsourcing providers.
Why choose DOC over a general office free zone?
Outsourcing operations live and die on connectivity, fit-out and uptime. DOC provides resilient telecom infrastructure, operations-ready offices, facilities management and 24-hour security as standard, in a free zone built for the sector — which a general office zone does not.
Can a foreign founder own 100% of a DOC company?
Yes. As a free zone, DOC permits full foreign ownership with no UAE-national shareholder requirement.
Does DOC qualify for the 0% UAE Corporate Tax rate?
DOC is a UAE free zone for Corporate Tax purposes. The 0% rate applies to qualifying income earned by a Qualifying Free Zone Person; non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%. Outsourcing-services income — especially to UAE-mainland clients — needs careful qualifying / non-qualifying analysis, which we do at the planning stage.
What about data protection for outsourcing operations?
Outsourcing businesses process large volumes of client and customer data, so data-protection obligations are central. Avyanco advises on the relevant UAE data-protection requirements and aligns the setup with them.
Verification & independence
Content verified against the Dubai Development Authority / TECOM Group sources as of June 2026. Avyanco Business Consultancy LLC is independent of Dubai Outsource City, TECOM Group, the Dubai Development Authority and all UAE government authorities, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Free zone licence categories, infrastructure, data-protection rules and Corporate Tax Qualifying Free Zone Person eligibility evolve, and the legacy 'tax-free' free-zone incentives have been superseded by the UAE Corporate Tax regime. Always confirm the current rules for your specific activity directly with the authority and the Federal Tax Authority before acting on any fact on this page.
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