The zone has been running for more than two decades and works on a one-stop-shop principle: the administration states that a licence is issued within 1 hour once the terms are agreed and the first-year obligations are paid. A resident gets 100% foreign ownership and free repatriation of capital and profit. Below are the steps, the cost structure and the taxes.
Why businesses choose FFZ
The zone’s strengths lie in its physical infrastructure and the speed of setup:
- Direct access to the Port of Fujairah on the Indian Ocean — routes that bypass the Strait of Hormuz
- The licence is issued within 1 hour once the terms are agreed and the first-year fees are paid
- Formats to fit the task: trading offices, ready-made units and plots for building your own facilities
- The option to prepare production on site while your own building is still under construction
- 100% foreign ownership and full repatriation of capital and profit
- A single window for visas, permits, NOC certificates and site access passes
Steps to register a company in FFZ
The administration has boiled the launch down to a short chain of steps:
- Choosing an activity — trading, services, logistics or manufacturing
- Choosing a legal form: an FZE with one founder, an FZC with several, or a branch of a company
- Selecting premises — a trading office, a ready-made unit or a plot for your own construction
- Submitting the online application with the founders’ passports and an activity description
- Paying the licence, the rent and the first-year fees and signing the contract
- Receiving the licence, arranging residence visas and opening a bank account
The licence itself is issued within an hour of meeting the financial conditions. Ready-made offices and units are handed over immediately after the licence is issued. A full launch with visas and a bank account realistically takes two to four weeks; manufacturing projects with your own construction take longer.
Cost of setting up a company in FFZ (2026)
Fujairah Free Zone does not publish a price list on its website: the licence is issued after “meeting the first-year financial obligations” — that is the licence, the rent and the fees, which are calculated individually for the activity and the premises. The estimate is provided by the administration or the zone’s official channel partners.
| Cost item | Amount, AED | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Trading or service licence (year) | on request | Depends on the activity |
| Industrial licence | on request | Plus rent of a plot or workshop |
| Trading office / ready-made unit | on request | Handed over immediately after the licence is issued |
| Plot for own construction | on request | Calculated by area and designated use |
| First-year registration fees | on request | Paid before the licence is issued |
| Residence visa (per person) | on request | Medical test, Emirates ID, resident status |
When requesting an estimate, separate one-off payments from annual ones: the licence and the rent recur every year, while the registration fees and utility connections are paid once. The zone’s official website is freezone.fujairah.ae, and the fujairahfreezone.com domain leads there too.
Taxation in FFZ
FFZ companies are subject to the UAE federal regime: corporate tax of 9% on profit above AED 375,000 per year, 0% below the threshold. VAT of 5% applies to transactions with the mainland market once the turnover registration threshold is exceeded. A resident with Qualifying Free Zone Person status taxes qualifying income — including exports and transactions within the free zones — at 0% with no upper limit. The status is confirmed each year through reporting to the FTA, so the sales structure is worth designing in advance.
Who FFZ suits
The zone is built for businesses that need a port and a physical site:
- Traders and logistics operators working across the Indian Ocean — the Port of Fujairah removes the passage through the Strait of Hormuz
- Manufacturing and packaging projects that need a ready-made unit or a plot for their own workshop
- Companies in the oilfield-services and maritime segment that gravitate towards the Fujairah bunkering hub
“FFZ is one of the country’s few free zones with a real port on the Indian Ocean: for companies with physical goods, that is an argument that outweighs the difference in licence price”, notes the lead lawyer at Dynasty Business Adviser.
Open a company in FFZ with Dynasty Business Adviser
Dynasty Business Adviser will choose the FFZ registration format — from a trading office to a plot for manufacturing — request an estimate from the administration, arrange the documents and visas, and carry the process through to opening a bank account.
Get a consultation
Pricing data is current as of the publication date (13.07.2026) and verified against open sources, including freezone.fujairah.ae; confirm tariffs directly with the zone administration before paying.
