Key Takeaways
- Ajman Free Zone publishes a cost calculator and no tariff or package list, so the calculator output for your activity is AFZ's own price (afz.gov.ae, as of October 2026).
- AFZ issues business, industrial and sole professional (freelancer) licences to FZE, FZC and branch entities.
- AFZ's FAQ ties visas to the package and the location, and says extra visas need Immigration approval.
- Ajman Media City, under the same authority, publishes four annual packages from AED 4,999 to AED 22,999 (AMC package page, October 2026).
- AFZ's FAQ says goods reach the UAE market through authorised distributors; the freelancer licence is said to work on the mainland, and the conditions are worth getting in writing.
Search for an Ajman free zone license and every site shows a different price. The sections below set out what AFZ itself states, what only agents quote, and the written confirmations that make two quotes comparable.
What AFZ is and where it sits
Ajman Free Zone (AFZ, often searched as AFZA) is run by the Free Zones Authority of Ajman, which also runs Ajman Media City (AMC). The AFZ website is afz.gov.ae. Mainland licences in Ajman come from a different body, Ajman's Department of Economic Development (ajmanded.ae), so a free zone licence and an Ajman trade licence are separate documents.
Its listed sectors include food and beverage, automotive, health, construction, agriculture, education and textiles, and the sole professional licence is aimed at individuals.
Licence classes and legal forms
Three classes of licence are issued: business (commercial), industrial and sole professional (afz.gov.ae, types of business page). Legal forms are the free zone establishment (FZE), the free zone company (FZC), a branch of a local company and a branch of a foreign company. A branch of a local company needs an existing UAE licence.
Foreign groups can open a branch that the parent owns in full, and that branch sells in the UAE only through a registered agent or distributor, according to AFZ.
One licence cannot combine service and commercial activities, according to the AFZ FAQ. A business that sells goods and also bills services may therefore need two licences or a different structure, so check the activity list before any fee is paid.
The FAQ also lists an offshore category, but AFZ publishes no offshore rules or fees on its pages for types of business and regulations. Treat offshore as a question for AFZ and not as a product. The public pages state no minimum capital either, so ask AFZ whether your activity carries one.
Ajman free zone freelancer and sole professional licences
The sole professional licence is AFZ's freelancer route, with one shareholder and packages by profession. The licence page says members are eligible for a residence visa and family sponsorship. The licence page and the FAQ describe the freelancer visa allowance differently, so ask AFZ for the figure for your package in writing.
Mainland use is the second question. AFZ's FAQ states that a freelancer licence can be used on the mainland, in an undated answer that attaches no conditions. Before relying on it, ask AFZ and Ajman's Department of Economic Development for the conditions. Ask separately about any other emirate, because each emirate's own department licenses its mainland (Abu Dhabi's ADDED and Sharjah's SEDD are examples). The comparison of freelance routes is in the guide to the freelance visa and freelance permit.
The risk is starting to invoice mainland clients on the strength of one FAQ line and finding that the licence does not cover the work. A second licence or a distributor's margin could follow.
Visa allocation and Immigration approval
Quota follows the location, according to AFZ's FAQ. Each business package carries a different number of visas, and extra visas need approval from Immigration. Zones commonly tie the quota to the desk or leased area, so a package that lists visas can give fewer when the space does not carry them.
Before paying, ask four things: how many visas the package includes, how many more can be added, who pays the Immigration approval fee, and whether the visa count depends on the office you choose.
Ajman free zone cost, what AFZ publishes and what an agent adds
Pricing at AFZ runs through a calculator at afz.gov.ae/en/cost-calculator; AFZ does not publish a tariff or a list of packages. The calculator builds a figure from your activity, licence class and visas. That output is the only AFZ price for your case.
Two fixed items are mentioned in the FAQ, a licence cancellation fee and an e-channel renewal fee. The FAQ is undated, so ask AFZ for both amounts in writing.
Totals on agent websites and comparison pages are vendor-quoted. They are not an AFZ tariff, and they may include a service fee, VAT, a visa or bank support that AFZ does not list. Never set a vendor-quoted total beside a calculator result without asking what each contains. Where a package price is the only number a quote shows, ask which lines of the calculator it replaces.
Specific figures for a licence-only package and for a one-visa package circulate online. They are agent numbers and not AFZ prices, so treat them as a prompt to ask which lines they contain.
Selling in the UAE and tax status
Selling across the UAE needs more than an AFZ licence. AFZ's FAQ says goods are distributed in the UAE through authorised distributors, and a branch of a foreign company sells through a UAE-registered agent or distributor. The mainland routes are an Ajman licence of your own or a distributor. Dubai is different, and its rules are in the guide to a free zone company in Dubai.
Tax follows its own rules. The Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zones list names Ajman Free Zone, which matters for VAT on goods and applies only when the further conditions in the VAT law are also met. It does not decide Corporate Tax. The 0% rate applies only to a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) on qualifying income (Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025), and consulting or services sold to mainland customers are not qualifying activities. If the income mix is borderline, a corporate tax consultant will read the QFZP conditions against it before you file.
Bank account and renewal basics
Account opening has a named route: AFZ's FAQ mentions a partnership with Mashreq. That gives you a route to a bank and no promise of an account, because the bank applies its own checks to the owners, the activity and the source of funds.
Renewal is annual. The FAQ gives a one-month grace period after expiry, and the renewal fee depends on the licence class and package, so ask for the year-two figure before you pay for year one.
AFZ or Ajman Media City
Media-focused founders should look at Ajman Media City (amc.gov.ae), which publishes four annual packages that AFZ does not (AMC package page, as of October 2026). All four allow up to 10 activities and up to 10 shareholders and include co-working space.
| AMC package | Visas | Annual package | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Club | 0 | AED 4,999 | Same price. |
| Visionary | 1 | AED 12,999 | AED 8,999. |
| Pioneer | 2 | AED 17,999 | AED 10,999. |
| Innovator | 3 | AED 22,999 | AED 14,999. |
Zone packages are not a tariff, and renewal is cheaper than year one on the three visa packages, by AED 4,000, AED 7,000 and AED 8,000 (derived from the table). Plan year two from the renewal column. AMC lists media, technology, consultancy and e-commerce among its fields, and AFZ lists the sectors above, so compare the activity lists of the two before you compare prices. The wider list of zones is in the overview of free zones in the UAE, and DMCC is covered in the DMCC company setup guide.
How to read an Ajman quote
Quotes from Ajman become comparable only when they name the same items.
- The AFZ calculator output for your activity, with its date.
- The licence class, and whether your activities fit one licence.
- Visas included, the cost of each extra visa and the Immigration approval fee.
- The year-two renewal fee and the cancellation fee.
- The agent's own fee, VAT and any bank support charge, each on its own line.
A consultant who handles Ajman filings can put two quotes side by side on these items and tell you which line is AFZ's and which is not. Ask for the comparison in writing, line by line. For the trade licence side, see the guide to a trade licence in Dubai and the UAE.
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