Question 1

1 000 dirhams free. Where is the catch?

Accepted Answer

There is no catch. When you buy your trade licence through us, the free zone pays us an introduction fee, because we bring them a qualified file and we do a job of transparency and marketing they would otherwise pay for. We hand you a fixed part of that fee, 1 000 dirhams, as an incentive to come through us rather than go direct. You pay the zone its normal price, you pay us nothing, and not one dirham is added anywhere. Our interest is that the zone you pick is the right one, because a file that falls apart pays us nothing at all.

Question 2

How do I get the 1 000 dirhams, and where does it come from?

Accepted Answer

Two conditions, and there is no third. You went through the 12 questions on this site so we could target your needs, and your trade licence has actually been issued. At the end of the questionnaire we give you a unique reference code. That code is what identifies you when you come back to claim, and you do not have to keep it in your head: we send you reminders by email, so check your spam folder if nothing arrives. We then transfer 1 000 dirhams within 14 days. It comes out of the introduction fee the free zone pays us, so it is not a discount on the licence, the zone still charges you its normal price. It applies to the zones carrying the cashback badge. On zones that pay us nothing there is no cashback, and we say so on the row itself rather than steer you away from them.

Question 3

Which UAE free zone is the cheapest, and should I take it?

Accepted Answer

On officially published prices, Ajman Media City at 4 999 dirhams, then UAQ Free Trade Zone at 5 500 and SPC Free Zone at 5 750, all licence only with no visa. Whether you should take one of them is a different question. A cheap licence is the wrong answer if the zone cannot license your activity, caps your visa quota below what you need, forces you into an office you do not want, or sits three hours from where you will actually work. That is exactly what the 12 questions sort out.

Question 4

Is a free zone company really taxed at zero?

Accepted Answer

No, not automatically. Zero percent applies only to a qualifying free zone person, which requires five cumulative conditions including adequate substance in the zone and audited accounts. Failing one loses the status for five years. Profits made through a mainland permanent establishment are taxed at 9 percent, without the 375 000 dirham band.

Question 5

Why do so few zones publish a price?

Accepted Answer

Because most of them sell through agents who are paid a commission on the file. A published price would set a ceiling on what the agent can charge. IFZA states openly that it never sells direct. Four zones that do publish, Ajman Media City, RAKEZ, SPC and Meydan, are also the ones running the most visible partner programmes, which shows the two are not incompatible.

Question 6

How does Free Zone Radar make money, and does it change the ranking?

Accepted Answer

The free zone or its agent pays us an introduction fee when a file we sent them signs. You pay us nothing, at any point, and your money never passes through us. The ranking on this page is the published price and nothing else, so a zone that pays us nothing appears exactly the same way as one that does. We hand 1 000 dirhams of that fee back to you.