Ajman Free Zone Authority (AFZA)
Meshairef, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum St, adjacent to Ajman Port (PO Box 932) · Est. 1988 · Ajman Free Zone Authority (est. 1988 by Ruler's decree; autonomous 1996; under Free Zones Authority of Ajman umbrella since 2021)
Cost-sensitive traders, e-commerce sellers, freelancers and SMEs wanting a genuine UAE free-zone license with warehouse/logistics options near Ajman Port, without Dubai overheads.
Businesses needing a prestigious Dubai address, large visa quotas without leasing warehouses/offices, or direct mainland retail without a distributor.
01Capability profile
02Where Ajman Free Zone sits
Ajman Free Zone: 89th percentile (AED 5,000) · Licence + registration, AED.
Ajman Free Zone: 92th percentile (3 days) · Total estimated days from application to operational.
Ajman Free Zone: 40th percentile (50 visas) · Absolute maximum visa allocation. Values above 500 clipped to the right edge so the bulk of the distribution stays readable.
Ajman Free Zone: Moderate · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.
03Costs
- Base licence
- AED 5,000
- Registration
- AED 0
- Renewal (year 2+)
- AED 5,000
- 3-year total
- AED 15,000
- 2-year visa cost
- AED 3,200
- Establishment card
- AED 750
- Cancellation fee
- AED 3,000
- Visa renewal
- AED 3,200
- Visa cancellation
- AED 500
- Emirates ID (per visa)
- AED 500
- Dependent / spouse visa
- AED 3,000
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04Visas & workspace
- Maximum visas
- 50
- Flexi-desk cap
- 10
- Office cap
- 10
- Warehouse cap
- 14
- Family sponsorship
- Available
- Freelancer permit
- Available
- Medical required
- Yes
- Processing time
- ~5 days
- Virtual office
- Yes
- Flexi-desk
- Yes
- Coworking
- Yes
- Dedicated office
- Yes
- Executive office
- Yes
- Warehouse
- Yes
- Industrial unit
- Yes
- Land plot
- Yes
- Ejari issued
- Yes
- Parking
- Yes
- Dedicated office cost
- AED 12,000/yr
05Banking & setup
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to account
- ~14 days
- Minimum deposit
- AED 10,000
- Corp tax rate
- 0%
- Audit cost (est)
- AED 3,500
- UBO filing
- Required
- AML / KYC
- standard
- Registration modeFully online — no in-person visit required
- Documents & applicationPassport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
- Licence issued~1 business day after submission
- Bank account activeAdditional ~14 days · Moderate banking
- OperationalTypically ~3 days, up to ~15 days
06Permitted activities
General trading
Freight & logistics
Food & beverage
Automotive
Health & beauty
Jewellery & precious stones e-trading
Petroleum products trading (import/export)
Media entertainment e-trading
Some activities require additional approval from the zone authority.
07Jurisdiction & ecosystem
This zone is Tier-1 with dedicated office and warehouse options under regulator supervision — substance is straightforward to demonstrate but the bar is high (regulator-grade evidence).
Focus: Trading, Logistics, Industrial/Manufacturing, E-commerce, Services, Food & Beverage, Automotive, Health & Beauty
Royal Apex Industries, Golden Falcon General Trading LLC, Emirates Snack Foods Manufacturing, Technoplast Industries*
QFZP, audit, mainland-permit and substance values are sourced where the zone authority or FTA publishes them, and inferred from published zone characteristics otherwise. How we determine these values.
08Strengths & limitations
- ["Among the UAE's cheapest setups: official all-inclusive license + co-working packages from AED 5
- 555/yr (0 visa) and 1-visa bundles at AED 13
- 131 (official calculator
- Jul 2026)"
- 'Designated-zone VAT status for goods plus 0% corporate tax on qualifying income'
- 'Fast digital setup: license in 1-3 working days
- fully remote incorporation
- installment plans up to 6 months'
- 'Real logistics infrastructure beside Ajman Port: warehouses from 100 sqm with min 14-visa eligibility
- industrial land
- onsite accommodation'
- 'Breadth: 3
- 500+ activities
- freelance/pioneers/e-commerce tracks
- up to 10 shareholders (official calculator cap) and 5 activities per license']
- Banking still slower than premium Dubai zones despite partner banks; expect extra compliance questions on an Ajman address
- Headline 0-visa price excludes establishment card (~AED 750), e-channel (~AED 2,300) and visa bundle (~AED 3,200/person)
- Visa quotas tied to facility: co-working packages cap at 10 visas (Deca AED 63,898), OaaS offices at 10 visas (AED 78,942) - beyond that, warehouse leasing (min 14 visas) is the only scaling route
Not ideal for: Businesses needing a prestigious Dubai address, large visa quotas without leasing warehouses/offices, or direct mainland retail without a distributor.
09Tax considerations
Does your planned revenue qualify under the QFZP qualifying-income rules?
QFZP 0% only applies to qualifying income. Mainland trading or revenue from non-free-zone clients is generally non-qualifying and taxed at 9%.
Will you need audited accounts even if this zone doesn't require them?
FTA corporate-tax filing typically expects audited accounts for revenue above AED 50M, and banks often request them at much lower thresholds.
How much of your revenue will come from mainland UAE customers, and how does that affect QFZP and 5% VAT obligations?
Mainland revenue beyond ad-hoc levels can disqualify QFZP and triggers full 9% corporate tax plus standard VAT on supplies.
Do any of your customers, suppliers, or shareholders meet the FTA's related-party definition?
Related-party transactions need transfer-pricing documentation and may push otherwise-qualifying income into the 9% bracket.
These prompts are due-diligence questions, not tax advice. Confirm every answer with a UAE-licensed tax advisor before incorporating.
10Similar zones in Ajman
11About this data
Ajman Free Zone data is sourced from official zone authority publications, government fee schedules, and where available, verified against direct communications with the zone. All figures in AED.
- Location
- Meshairef, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum St, adjacent to Ajman Port (PO Box 932)
- Established
- 1988
- Authority
- Ajman Free Zone Authority (est. 1988 by Ruler's decree; autonomous 1996; under Free Zones Authority of Ajman umbrella since 2021)
- Last verified
- 2026-07-18
- Confidence
- high
- Methodology
- How we score →
- QFZP eligibility (0% corporate tax)Secondary · 2026-07-18Primary source ↗
- Audit requirementSecondary · 2026-07-18Primary source ↗
- Economic substanceSecondary · 2026-07-18Primary source ↗
- Mainland trading permitSecondary · 2026-07-18Primary source ↗
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