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Tier 3 · Fujairah

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone

Port of Fujairah zone (zone flanks the port north & west); admin office: 31st Floor, Al Hilal Towers, P.O. Box 9900, Fujairah city · Est. 2011 · Fujairah Oil Industry Zone Authority (own board; Director General H.E. Capt. Salem Al Afkham)

AED 11,000/ yr
high confidenceVerified 18 Jul 2026official ↗
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Best for

Established oil traders, storage/terminal operators, bunker suppliers, refiners and energy-service firms that need deep-water port access, large-scale tank storage and a government-regulated hydrocarbon ecosystem outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Not ideal for

Startups, freelancers, SMEs, e-commerce or any non-energy business seeking cheap packages, flexi desks, fast online setup or easy banking — those should look at Fujairah Creative City, FFZA or Dubai zones instead.

01Capability profile

Six independent dimensions, scored from official zone data.

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Banking7/15
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Visa scale3/15
?
Cost (lower=better)16/20
?
Activity breadth12/25
?
Workspace options15/15
?
Location6/10
02Where FOIZ sits

Tick marks for every zone, FOIZ highlighted. The shape of the field, not just the rank.

Year 1 cost← lower is better

FOIZ: 52th percentile (AED 11,000) · Licence + registration, AED.

Setup time← lower is better

FOIZ: 40th percentile (10 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

FOIZ: Difficult · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.

03Costs

Year-one license, renewals, and 5-year totals in AED.

11,000
Year 1 minimum · AED
AED 18,305 less than DMCC
mid tier
Show in
Base licence
AED 10,000
Registration
AED 1,000
Renewal (year 2+)
AED 20,000
3-year total
AED 51,000
2-year visa cost
AED 3,000
Hidden & one-off costs
Establishment card
AED 650
Minimum share capital
AED 150,000
Cancellation fee
AED 2,500
Visa renewal
AED 3,000
Visa cancellation
AED 1,200
Emirates ID (per visa)
AED 370
Dependent / spouse visa
AED 2,500
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 caps, workspace options, and family-sponsorship rules.

Visa allocation
Flexi-desk cap
1
Warehouse cap
25
Family sponsorship
Available
Freelancer permit
Not available
Golden visa
Available
Medical required
Yes
Processing time
~5 days
Workspace options
Virtual office
Yes
Flexi-desk
Yes
Coworking
Yes
Dedicated office
Yes
Executive office
Yes
Warehouse
Yes
Industrial unit
Yes
Land plot
Yes
Ejari issued
No
Parking
Yes
Dedicated office cost
AED 20,000/yr
05Banking & setup

Banking difficulty, partner banks, and setup timeline.

Banking
Difficulty
Difficult
Time to account
~14 days
Minimum deposit
AED 10,000
Corp tax rate
0%
Audit cost (est)
AED 15,000
UBO filing
Required
AML / KYC
enhanced
Partner banks
Contact zone authority for banking guidanceRAKBankEmirates NBD
Setup timeline
  1. Registration mode
    In-person visit required at some stage
  2. Documents & application
    Passport, visa, business plan — ~3–5 days
  3. Licence issued
    ~5 business days after submission
  4. Bank account active
    Additional ~14 days · Difficult banking
  5. Operational
    Typically ~10 days, up to ~40 days
06Package pricing

3 packages from official fee schedules.

All figures in AED, from official fee schedules. Visa and health-insurance costs are additional.

PackageVisasYear 1Renewal
Oil Industry License – StandardBest value4AED 35,000AED 28,000
Oil Industry License – Storage & Trading6AED 50,000AED 40,000
Industrial Warehouse Unit5AED 42,000AED 34,000
07Permitted activities

Activity categories, restrictions, and approval flags.

Specialized activities

Trading petroleum products, lubricants, and chemicals

Refining, blending, or manufacturing

Consultancy, maintenance, or logistics services

Fuel terminals, oil tanks, and related operations

Categories
Oil refiningbunkering and tradingpetrochemical industriesstorage and logistics operatorsenergy servicesconsultancy firms*
Matched industry clusters
consultingtradinglogistics
Restricted
Highly regulatedrequires HSE approvals and environmental impact assessments. Exclusively caters to the oil and gas sector*

Some activities require additional approval from the zone authority.

08Jurisdiction & ecosystem

Legal framework, tax status, audit requirements, and zone focus — every value sourced.

Common lawNo
VAT designated zoneNo
QFZP eligible (0% tax)Yes
Inferred · 2026-07-18
Mainland permitYes
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).

Focus: Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Energy, Maritime, Storage, Logistics

18 oil terminals hosted (official figure); total licensed companies not published companiessmall community
Notable companies

ADNOC, Vopak Horizon Fujairah, JSW Middle East Liquid Terminal Corp., Emarat, Horizon Terminals, MENA Terminals

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.

09Strengths & limitations

9 strengths · 4 caveats.

Strengths
  • ["Middle East's largest commercial refined-products storage hub: ~70M bbl capacity across 18 terminals on 12.8M sqm"
  • 'Direct deep-water/Indian Ocean access at Port of Fujairah — bypasses the Strait of Hormuz; world #3-4 bunkering hub (7.40M m3 bunker sales 2025)'
  • 'VAT Designated Zone + QFZP 0% corporate tax potential on qualifying income'
  • 'Government-run regulator with real pricing/transparency infrastructure (FEDCom weekly Platts inventory data since 2017)'
  • 'Blue-chip tenant base (ADNOC
  • Vopak
  • VTTI
  • ENOC/Horizon
  • Emarat) and 100% foreign ownership']
Caveats
  • Exclusively hydrocarbon-focused — non-oil/energy activities are not accepted
  • No published fees, visa quotas or activity list; everything is negotiated via direct inquiry (low pricing transparency)
  • Difficult banking: oil trading/storage triggers enhanced AML/sanctions due diligence at UAE banks
  • Industrial approvals (HSEQ, environmental, civil defence) make terminal projects slow and capital-heavy; not suitable for quick low-cost setups

Not ideal for: Startups, freelancers, SMEs, e-commerce or any non-energy business seeking cheap packages, flexi desks, fast online setup or easy banking — those should look at Fujairah Creative City, FFZA or Dubai zones instead.

10Recent developments

2 policy and pricing updates on record.

  1. 2025-Q1FOIZ announced a capacity expansion of its tank farm facilities to accommodate growing demand from oil traders using Fujairah as a regional storage and blending hub.
  2. 2024-Q3FOIZ introduced new environmental compliance requirements for tenant operations in line with UAE's sustainability commitments and international maritime fuel standards.
11Tax considerations

4 tax questions relevant to this zone.

Questions to raise with your tax advisor

  1. 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%.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

12Frequently asked

3 common questions specific to FOIZ.

13Similar zones in Fujairah

2 comparable zones in the same emirate.

14About this data

Last verified 2026-07-18 · high confidence.

FOIZ 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
Port of Fujairah zone (zone flanks the port north & west); admin office: 31st Floor, Al Hilal Towers, P.O. Box 9900, Fujairah city
Established
2011
Authority
Fujairah Oil Industry Zone Authority (own board; Director General H.E. Capt. Salem Al Afkham)
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 →
15Founder reviews

What founders who've registered here say.

4.1★15 reviewsGoogle

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16Take the next step

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