KEZAD Free Zone License Cost: Packages, Tariff and Renewal

KEZAD (Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi), run by KEZAD Group as part of AD Ports Group, is Abu Dhabi’s large industrial and logistics zone, often searched as KIZAD. It operates both a free zone and a mainland economic zone. KEZAD publishes start-up package prices that include VAT and a tariff of service fees, which makes it one of the easier Abu Dhabi zones to budget. This page sets out those official figures as checked on 4 October 2026.

KEZAD free zone start-up packages

From KEZAD’s “Free Zone Business Start-Up Packages” table, VAT included, in AED:

Paying for longer lowers the yearly cost: the one-visa package works out at AED 9,450 for one year, AED 8,900 a year over two years and AED 7,525 a year over three (our arithmetic). KEZAD lists the package benefits as a free zone business licence, shared workstations or dedicated offices, company set-up in 24 hours, no security deposits on start-up packages and no deposits for visas. The table itself does not itemise which workspace or which visa fees each price covers, so ask KEZAD to confirm both in writing.

KEZAD service fees

KEZAD’s “Land Lease and Free Zone Services Tariff” lists, in AED:

• Licence renewal after two years: 5,000 (industrial, trading, service) or 15,000 (general trading).
• Licence cancellation: 2,500.
• New establishment card: 1,000; cancellation 500.
• Employment residence: 1,500; ID card 300; in-country visa 800; urgent entry permit 300; residence cancellation 500; initial approval 450.
• Incumbency letter: 2,500; share amendment: 3,000 per instrument.
• Serviced industrial plots: AED 32 to 38 per square metre a year.

The same tariff shows “0” against the new licence and registration fees, with an asterisk and no footnote. It is not clear whether that means a waiver or a missing figure, so do not assume a free licence; the package prices above are the published entry point.

Licence types and legal forms

KEZAD issues industrial, trading or general trading, and service licences. A general trading licence is needed once the products exceed 17 or the product groups exceed three. The legal forms are a limited liability company or a branch company. The free zone allows 100% foreign ownership and suits start-ups, wholesale distributors, re-exporters and companies that need warehousing.

Working outside the free zone

KEZAD free zone companies can obtain an additional licence from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to work outside the free zone without another office. Abu Dhabi’s TAMM service for this dual licence lists AED 50 for the chamber membership, AED 10 for licence issuance and AED 790 for the organisational entities fee, with other costs varying. KEZAD also runs a mainland economic zone of its own for companies that want an onshore licence from the start.

KEZAD against other Abu Dhabi free zones

KEZAD’s AED 9,450 includes VAT and one visa, which makes it hard to compare directly with zones that price the licence alone. For the full picture, see Abu Dhabi free zone licence cost, which sets KEZAD against ADGM, Masdar City, twofour54 and Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone, and the individual guides to Masdar City Free Zone and twofour54.

What KEZAD does not publish

• Which workspace and which visa fees each package price covers.
• What the “0” licence and registration fees in its tariff mean.
• Office and warehouse rents, beyond plot rates.
• A separate setup timeline beyond “company set-up in 24 hours”.