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Candidate · Dhofar

Al Mazunah FZ

Al Mazunah Free Zone

Al Mazunah · Est. 1999 · OPAZ / Madayn

AED 6,206/ yr
high confidenceVerified 18 Jul 2026official ↗
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Best for

Traders, logistics operators and light manufacturers with real Yemen or East-Africa demand - vehicle/spare-parts exporters, food and fish processors, and border logistics providers who can run a remote site.

Not ideal for

Consultants, e-commerce or service businesses targeting Omani/UAE consumers, and anyone seeking a cheap residency-only vehicle - the zone expects genuine operations and cancels leases that miss implementation schedules.

01Capability profile
?
Banking10/15
?
Visa scale3/15
?
Cost (lower=better)18/20
?
Activity breadth4/25
?
Workspace options0/15
?
Location6/10
02Where Al Mazunah FZ sits
Year 1 cost← lower is better

Al Mazunah FZ: 77th percentile (AED 6,206) · Licence + registration, AED.

Setup time← lower is better

Al Mazunah FZ: 13th percentile (20 days) · Total estimated days from application to operational.

Visa caphigher is better →

Absolute maximum visa allocation. Values above 500 clipped to the right edge so the bulk of the distribution stays readable.

Banking ease← better
Easy
4
Moderate
73
Difficult
15
Very difficult
1

Al Mazunah FZ: Moderate · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.

03Costs
6,206
Year 1 minimum · AED
AED 23,099 less than DMCC
budget tier
Show in
Base licence
AED 3,816
Registration
AED 2,390
2-year visa cost
AED 1,910
Hidden & one-off costs
Establishment card
AED 1,000
Visa renewal
AED 191
Visa cancellation
AED 980
Dependent / spouse visa
AED 2,385
Year-on-year fee tracking begins 2026 — changes appear here as they accrue.
Indicative, from published ratesOfficial fee schedule ↗Verified 2026-07high confidence

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04Visas & workspace
Visa allocation
Family sponsorship
Not available
Freelancer permit
Not available
Processing time
~7 days
Workspace options
Virtual office
No
Flexi-desk
No
Dedicated office
No
Warehouse
No
Industrial unit
No
05Banking & setup
Banking
Difficulty
Moderate
Time to account
~14 days
Minimum deposit
AED 25,000
UBO filing
Required
AML / KYC
enhanced - Yemen-corridor trade draws enhanced due diligence from banks and customs
Partner banks
Bank DhofarBank MuscatNational Bank of OmanSohar International
Setup timeline
  1. Documents & application
    Passport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
  2. Licence issued
    ~7 business days after submission
  3. Bank account active
    Additional ~14 days · Moderate banking
  4. Operational
    Typically ~20 days, up to ~45 days
06Jurisdiction & ecosystem
Common lawNo
VAT designated zoneNo
QFZP eligible (0% tax)No
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Mainland permitNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Audit requiredNo
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Economic substancestandard
Inferred · 2026-07-18

This zone offers physical-office options sufficient for a standard QFZP substance posture, though the bar still applies at the entity level (CTGFZP1).

70+ investments (official Madayn page, 2026-07-17); supporting official data: workforce ~550, cumulative investment RO 140.7M, leased area 1,402,714 sqm (ONA/Zawya 2026-03); Jan-2025 Madayn data cited 102 operational projects and 185 lease agreements companies
Notable companies

Al Madina Logistics Services (customs-area/dry-port operator), Shumookh Investment and Services (facility building developer), Fish processing factory investor (RO 1.6M, 2,000 t/yr), Al Najd Farms (MoU to market agricultural products, 2026 pipeline)

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.

07Strengths & limitations
Strengths
  • 30-year corporate income-tax exemption with no income-declaration requirement, plus full customs-duty exemption
  • 100% foreign ownership with no minimum capital requirement - one of the lowest entry bars in the GCC
  • Only Gulf free zone on the Yemen land border: approved dry port, Yemeni customs data accepted, Yemeni staff can work without Omani visas
  • Very low occupancy costs: industrial land ~OMR 1.25/sqm/yr (AED ~12), Madayn OMR 1/sqm first-5-years incentive, and 50% rental reduction for 5 years under the Jan-2025 package
  • Reduced 20% Omanisation quota and one-stop-shop (Masar Centre) hosting all government services on site
Caveats
  • ["Extremely remote: ~250 km from Salalah and 1
  • 000+ km from Muscat
  • far from Oman's main consumer market and talent pool"
  • 'Commercial case rises and falls with the Yemen corridor - destination-market
  • border and security risks are real'
  • 'Zone-operator (Madayn) license/administrative tariff is not published; only the OPAZ regulator fee schedule is public - confirm all-in costs with Madayn'
  • 'Corporate banking involves enhanced due diligence on Yemen-linked trade; account approval is not guaranteed']

Not ideal for: Consultants, e-commerce or service businesses targeting Omani/UAE consumers, and anyone seeking a cheap residency-only vehicle - the zone expects genuine operations and cancels leases that miss implementation schedules.

08Tax considerations
Questions to raise with your tax advisor
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

09Similar zones in Dhofar
10About this data

Al Mazunah FZ 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
Al Mazunah
Established
1999
Authority
OPAZ / Madayn
Last verified
2026-07-18
Confidence
high
Methodology
How we score →
Cited source
Fee data sourced from the official fee schedule, fetched 2026-07-18. View source ↗
Per-field citations
How we verify every zone →
11Founder reviews
4.2★20 reviewsGoogle

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12Take the next step

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