Just like business licences, office spaces and commercial facilities too are available within Free Zones as well as the Mainland. The nature of the activity on the licence will determine whether a business can operate from an office space or requires a commercial facility; whether the facility must be located inside the free zone or on the mainland; the infrastructure and utility requirements of the space; the square footage; and subsequently the approvals and permits required to operate within such spaces.

For instance, several free zones in the UAE allow certain types of business activities to work out of a ‘Shared-Desk’ in designated buildings within the free zone (ex: Management Consultancy). Similarly, certain mainland authorities offer ‘Instant licences’ to select ‘low-risk’ business activities where the business does not require a physical office space for a duration of 1-year from the date of issue of the licence (ex: Marketing Services).

These desks are also referred to as a ‘Flexi-Desk’ because it allows the Free Zone to allocate a limited amount of seats to multiple businesses based on the assumption that not all businesses would utilise their allocated spaces at the exact same time. This makes their allocation ‘flexible’ as most such businesses choose to operate from home while having a legitimate address within the free zone.