Ajman Free Zone is one of the oldest and best-known free zones within the UAE. It’s situated in the Emirate of Ajman about 40 minutes drive from Dubai.
This zone is located adjacent to a sea port and welcomes any businesses: starting from freelancers, ending with light manufacturing and trading companies.
As opposed to business setup in Dubai, Ajman Free Zone company setup is attractive to those who start a new business from scratch due to its competitive fees for young entrepreneurs and multiple installment payment plans.
Ajman Free Zone Authority always has the following facilities on the list:
Flexi-desks and offices can be either located within the free zone headquarters or in a separate tower nearby.
The warehouses complex has significantly grown and covers all the area around Ajman Sea Port.
Customs and Immigration office are just across the road from Ajman Free Zone.
The free zone activities are grouped by industry sector categories:
Ajman Free Zone offers the following license types:
The Freelancer permit category was introduced in AFZA in 2019 and it allows having a license and a 3-year visa for the most reasonable costs. This license supports the following activity categories:
The Offshore license is intended for companies operating in a jurisdiction different from that of their incorporation. It includes activities such as Property Owning, Investments, Consulting & Advisory Service, Shipping, Individual Property, and others.
AFZA allows having either 1 service activity or 3 trading activities in the license. For certain packages, additional activities can be added for AED 1,600.
AFZA supports the usual free zone company formation types:
Business setup in Ajman starts from as low as 6,100 AED per license. Other packages’ fees depend on visa allocations and business activities. The lowest cost is 13,735 AED for a Commercial license in the Business Center Co-Working Package eligible for 2 visas.
Lowest business setup cost in Ajman, per license (AED):
Type of licence | Cost, AED |
---|---|
Freelancer package | 6,100 |
Business Center Package with Commercial license | 13,735 |
Business Center Package with Service license | 16,335 |
If you are planning to open resident visas under the company, extra fees for immigration will apply:
You can also add shareholders to your company for 600 AED each.
AFZA is the only free zone in the UAE that officially offers multiple installment payment option. You can pay for the company in 2, 3, or 6 installments.
There are certain conditions set by Ajman Free Zone Authority to be met. The most important one is that the payment should be provided by post-dated checks from a UAE bank. So, if you go for 3 installments for Ajman Free Zone license, you can pay the initial one by cash and provide the remaining payments by 2 checks on the day of application for the company.
If you come from abroad, of course, you won’t have any checks from a UAE bank. In this case, you can use the checks of a friend or a relative, for example. But AFZA will ask him to sign a no objection letter to use his checkbook. Apart from that, you need to provide past 3 months bank statement as proof of funds.
Ajman company formation can be done within 1 working day.
The following documents and information will be required:
You can hire business setup consultants in Dubai for your Ajman Free Zone company registration. It can be done without your visit to the free zone.
After the company is registered, you will receive your set of corporate documents:
These documents will enable you to apply for a corporate bank account in Dubai.
The procedure of getting a resident visa under your own free zone company is almost the same as in all other free zones:
If you have processed your resident visa while being in the UAE as a tourist, you will need to change your status from tourist to resident after the entry visa is issued.
Ajman visa costs 3,600 AED including Medical checkup and Emirates ID. They need to be done only in the Emirate of Ajman.
Company renewal cost will be exactly the same as registration fees.
Renewal can be done without a personal visit of the owner. Upon renewal, you will receive:
Audit report is not required.
Amendments usually need to be done personally by company owners, but there is an option to authorize their representative too.
AFZA has very reasonable fees for any amendments, ranging around 500 AED to 2000 AED.
Company closure in AFZA is also rather low cost and easy to perform. You will need to get a few clearances first:
You also have to close all resident visas in the company prior to its cancellation.
Liquidation can be done by the owner or his representative holding a Power of Attorney. All original company documents need to be given back to Ajman Free Zone. If you lose them, you need to go to the Police and get a report about that.
Liquidation takes about 1 month, after which you receive an official deregistration letter.
If any deposits were made under the company, you will get a refund after the liquidation is finished.
Ajman Free Zone is suitable for any business indeed and there is no reason not to recommend it.
It’s a great hub for small startups due to the lowest incorporation costs for them.
Larger businesses will enjoy the facilities and close distance to Dubai and Sharjah.
If you are checking any alternative solutions, have a look at Sharjah Airport Free Zone or Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi.
Freelance licence
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
Freelance package | no visas | AED 9,950 $2,750 | download breakdown |
Freelance package | 1 visa | AED 19,390 $5,350 | download breakdown |
for young entrepreneurs of the age 20-30
Up to 1 visas company
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
Pioneer package | no visas | AED 8,950 $2,500 | download breakdown |
Pioneer package | 1 visa | AED 18,390 $5,050 | download breakdown |
Up to 2 visas company
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
Trading license, 1 Activity | no visas | AED 19,835 $5,450 | download breakdown |
Trading license, 1 Activity | 1 visa | AED 29,109 $8,000 | download breakdown |
Trading license, 1 Activity | 2 visas | AED 33,683 $9,250 | download breakdown |
Up to 2 visas company
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
Service license + Flexi desk | no visas | AED 22,435 $6,150 | download breakdown |
Service license + Flexi desk | 1 visa | AED 31,709 $8,700 | download breakdown |
Service license + Flexi desk | 2 visas | AED 36,283 $9,950 | download breakdown |
Up to 2 visas company
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
General Trading + Flexi Desk | no visas | AED 25,035 $6,900 | download breakdown |
General Trading + Flexi Desk | 1 visa | AED 34,309 $9,400 | download breakdown |
General Trading + Flexi Desk | 2 visas | AED 38,883 $10,650 | download breakdown |
Up to 2 visas company
LICENSE TYPE | VISAS INCLUDED | TOTAL COST | |
---|---|---|---|
E-Commerce | no visas | AED 25,935 $7,150 | download breakdown |
E-Commerce | 1 visa | AED 35,709 $9,800 | download breakdown |
E-Commerce | 2 visas | AED 39,783 $10,900 | download breakdown |
INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDER
Top 10 questions about Ajman Free Zone company
Ajman free zone just like the rest of the UAE is exempted from any income or corporate tax. The only taxes which may occur are:
There are no other taxes, which may apply to your Ajman free zone company.
Yes, you can have a company registered outside Dubai, but reside in Dubai or any other Emirate. You do not have to live in the same Emirate where your visa belongs to. You can also have a bank account in a Dubai branch of any UAE bank of your choice.
If you found a company which you want to buy, first of all you need to agree about terms and conditions of the sale-purchase deal with the current shareholder(s).
After that both of you need to come to AFZA with the original documents of the company and apply for the procedure "Shares transfer". It usually takes about 3 weeks. Upon completion, you will get amended company documents with new shareholding details. You will also need to change the Establishment card of the company after the shares transfer if the company is eligible for resident visas.
Yes, Ajman free zone is a designated one from the point of view of VAT. It means that if a company registered in such a free zone sells the goods to a company in another designated free zone, such transaction is going to be free of VAT.
If your visa status is Investor, you are allowed to stay out of UAE 12 months and enter UAE every 365 days in order to maintain your visa.
If your visa status is other than Investor, you have to enter UAE every 6 months to keep the visa valid.
In case you fail to come or overstay abroad, your visa will be cancelled automatically and you will need to apply for a new one.
Ajman free zone company liquidation can be done only after a personal application of a shareholder or a person having power of attorney from company owners.
The process takes about 3 weeks. It consists of these major steps:
Visa cancellation (7-10 working days) - if there was a visa in the company.
Establishment card cancellation (7-10 working days) - if it was a visa eligible company
License cancellation
The original documents of the company need to be returned to AFZA when you apply for company liquidation. They include:
If you had a corporate bank account, it should be closed before applying for company liquidation. You should obtain a letter proof from the bank confirming that.
After the company is dissolved, you will get an official deregistration letter from the free zone as a formal confirmation of the liquidation.
The official office of the free zone company must be located within the premises of AFZA. You will not be able to rent a Dubai office under the license issued in Ajman.
If you need to have a workspace or a meeting facility in Dubai, the best way would be to use a business center. You will be able to have flexible options starting from meeting room usage ending with executive serviced office of any required size.
The company in Ajman needs to be renewed annually. The cost of the renewal is exactly the same as the cost of license registration.
If your company is eligible for visas, you will also need to renew E-channel.
Renewal can be done without the presence of the shareholder, but you have to authorize someone to come to the free zone on your behalf to make the application. Original trade license will be required.
Time-frame of the renewal is 1-2 days.
Visa renewal is similar to the new visa process, but costs cheaper and processing is slightly easier. In order to renew the visa you need to do new Medical check and re-apply for new Emirates ID. It should be done with your original passport and copy of the old visa, which should still be valid. Once the medical report is issued, just apply for new visa to the free zone counter and pay the fees for visa stamping only.
It’s recommended to start visa renewal about 2 weeks before the old visa expires.
The visa validity is written on the visa itself. If you are a company owner, your visa would be valid for 3 years. If you are an employee, the validity is 2 years.
Flexi-desk always comes as a part of company setup package even if you are not planning to use it. It is mandatory that any company has at least a small physical space from where it can conduct the activities. The free zone is obliged to provide such a space regardless of your intentions of using it or not.
If you are processing your resident visa and want to check the status, you may either call AFZA customer care line or check the updates on the free zone portal.
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