JAFZA License Cost: Licence Fees, Offshore Company and Visas

Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) is the free zone next to Jebel Ali Port, run by DP World. Unlike most free zones, JAFZA publishes its own fee tables: the licence fee by type, the one-off registration fee, renewal, the offshore company, the immigration card and employment visas. What it does not publish is the rent for offices, workstations and warehouses, and every company needs a lease. This page sets out each official figure with the date of the JAFZA document it comes from, as checked on 4 October 2026, and marks what you will only get from a JAFZA quote.

JAFZA licence fees by type

JAFZA states that its business licences start at AED 5,000. The full table in its company formation guide (dated 4 April 2024) is the same for a new licence and for renewal:

Each activity above the number included costs AED 500 a year. JAFZA adds that all costs are subject to change and that changes will be communicated by JAFZA, and its fee pages were last edited in 2024, so ask for the current figure in writing before you sign. The JAFZA rules also list an E-Commerce licence and an Innovation licence, but no fee for either appears in the published tables.

What the first year costs

The licence fee is only one line. For a new company, the official charges stack up like this:

So a one-group trading FZE with one two-year visa comes to AED 14,653 in official JAFZA fees in the first year (5,000 registration, 5,000 licence, 1,975 immigration card and 2,678 for the visa) before the lease. JAFZA’s visa fee table does not list the medical test, Emirates ID or health insurance, so budget for those separately. JAFZA has a cost calculator on its website, but it shows figures only after you submit your details.

You must lease space: what JAFZA says

JAFZA states that every company formation requires a leased facility, and its rules require a valid lease and a valid licence to operate in the zone. The options and what is published about each:

• Workstations and co-working: allowed for Trading and Service licences only. Rent not published.
• Offices and business centres: rent not published.
• Warehouses and light industrial units: office-fitted units of 313 to 670 square metres. Rent not published.
• Plots of land: from AED 40 per square metre a year, with a minimum plot of 5,000 square metres.

An Industrial licence needs a production facility and a warehouse, so it cannot run from a desk. This is the main reason JAFZA costs more in practice than a desk-based free zone, even though its licence fee is similar.

Visas and the immigration card

The number of visas depends on what you lease. JAFZA’s visa guide gives these quotas:

• A workstation: 2 visas per workstation.
• A showroom: 5 visas, whatever its size.
• A plot of land: 20 visas to start, which can be increased after approval.
• An office or a warehouse: depends on the size, with no formula published.

Extra visa quota is free of charge. A shareholder can take a visa through the company if their share is at least AED 50,000. Each employment visa needs a bank or cash guarantee unless the company is covered by JAFZA’s guarantee insurance scheme. The faster packages cost more: AED 2,748 or 3,048 urgent, AED 3,778 or 4,118 VIP, for one or two years. Applying from inside the UAE adds AED 780, a sponsorship transfer AED 920, a partner or investor job title AED 250, and an applicant over 60 AED 5,000.

JAFZA offshore company cost

A JAFZA offshore company is a separate product. It costs AED 10,000 to register, plus AED 50 for each specimen signature, and AED 2,500 a year to renew, with a late fee of AED 120 for every 30 days. It can be registered only through a JAFZA registered agent and takes 5 to 7 working days. JAFZA says an offshore company receives a certificate of incorporation, not a business licence, so it cannot trade with people inside the UAE. It is used to hold shares, assets and property; for how offshore compares with a free zone company, see offshore companies in the UAE.

Legal forms and share capital

• FZE: one shareholder, a person or a company.
• FZCO: 2 to 50 shareholders.
• Branch: 100% owned by the parent company, under the same name and with the same activities.
• PLC: public limited company, AED 20,000 registration.
• Offshore company: see above.

JAFZA no longer sets a minimum share capital. Before 2017 an FZE needed AED 1,000,000 and an FZCO AED 500,000 per shareholder; now the capital only has to be sufficient for the licensed activities.

How to set up a company in JAFZA

1. Choose the licence type and activities. JAFZA uses the Dubai activity list published by the Department of Economy and Tourism; see our Dubai activity list guide.
2. Apply online. Every application goes through an evaluation for qualification and security screening.
3. Choose a facility and pay the booking fee against the sales offer.
4. Sign the lease, pay the registration and licence fees and receive the incorporation documents.
5. Register on the Dubai Trade portal with UAE PASS, apply for the immigration card and then the visas.

JAFZA estimates 3 to 14 business days from the moment all documents are submitted.

Renewal, changes and closing

• The licence is valid for one year and can be renewed in the three months before it expires, at the same fee as the table above.
• Late renewal is fined AED 1,000.
• Companies with a plot or a sublease valid for more than three years can renew for three years, at AED 1,500 per licence type, with three years of rent paid upfront.
• Changing activities during the year costs the full licence fee; changing them at renewal costs the licence fee plus AED 500.
• Closing an FZE or FZCO costs AED 5,000 for deregistration plus AED 1,500 for the notice.

For the wider renewal process in Dubai, see trade licence renewal in Dubai. To check whether a JAFZA company and its licence are genuine, use the steps in how to verify a UAE business licence.

Can a JAFZA company work on the Dubai mainland?

A JAFZA licence covers operations inside the free zone. Under Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, a free zone company can get a permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism to work on the mainland: AED 5,000 for a permit valid six months and renewable for the same fee, or AED 10,000 a year for a branch operating outside the free zone. The first phase covers non-regulated activities such as technology, consultancy, design, professional services and trading. Revenue from mainland activities is subject to 9% corporate tax and must be recorded separately.

Corporate tax

JAFZA describes itself as a qualified free zone under the UAE Corporate Tax Law, where a company that meets the conditions pays 0% on qualifying income and 9% on the rest. The conditions are explained in our guide to the qualifying free zone person.

JAFZA against other Dubai free zones

JAFZA suits companies that need a warehouse, a plot or space next to Jebel Ali Port. For a consultancy or a small trading company that only needs a licence and a desk, a desk-based zone is usually cheaper: compare Dubai South, DMCC and the free zone comparison table, or the full UAE free zone company setup cost census.

What JAFZA does not publish

• A package price for licence, space and visas together.
• Rent for workstations, offices, warehouses and showrooms, and the booking fee.
• The visa quota per square metre for offices and warehouses.
• Fees for the E-Commerce and Innovation licences.
• What the third tier of the Industrial (AED 12,000) and National Industries (AED 12,500) licences covers.
• A fee schedule newer than its 2023 rules and 2024 guides.

Ask JAFZA or a consultant for a written quote that names each of these items before you commit.

Other Dubai free zones we cover: DIFC, IFZA, Meydan Free Zone, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silicon Oasis, DWTC, Dubai Development Authority zones, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Design District and Dubai Healthcare City.