Free Zone Rules of 2024 · Ajman Free Zone
Summary rulebook published by Ajman Free Zone for licensees: licensing and leasing requirements, permitted activities, compliance with UAE and free zone regulations, and employment conditions (working hours, leave, salary deadlines, gratuity, disputes). Undated; the authority publishes no establishing decree or companies regulations on afz.gov.ae.
The Ajman Free Zone General Guidelines are a short customer booklet, published by the Ajman Free Zone Authority in four languages, summarising what a licensee must do to keep its licence, lease and workforce in order. The booklet is undated and carries no article numbering; it describes itself as a summary and refers readers to the full regulations on afz.gov.ae, but the authority publishes no establishing decree or companies regulations there, so this document and the licence terms are the published rules an Ajman Free Zone company can be pointed to. Its employment section still cites Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, the former Labour Law, replaced by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 from 2 February 2022; the current federal law governs those points.
The introduction states the basic condition: to practise any activity, each investor must obtain a licence from Ajman Free Zone for the intended activities, obtain the official approvals, and rent a space suitable for the activity. Part 1, Licensing and Workplace, has six rules: comply with UAE laws and the free zone's requirements; practise only the licensed activities; do not deal in contraband; hold a valid lease and a valid licence at all times; do not sublease without official authorisation; and obtain permits before adding another workplace to the same licence.
Part 2, Employment, sets the free zone's sponsorship rules. An employee may not work for others and an employer may not employ anyone it does not sponsor; the employer bears accommodation expenses; salaries must be paid at the end of each month with a certified bank or exchange-house copy proving payment before the 15th of the following month; no worker may start until full approvals are obtained; and the passport must be handed back once residence is confirmed. Working hours are 8 a day, extendable by agreement with additional pay. An employee who has completed a year is entitled to 30 days' annual leave, which may not be deferred for more than two years. The relationship may end by agreement, during probation without notice, by notice under the Labour Law, or on expiry of the contract or residence visa with notice of non-renewal. Gratuity is lost on an Article 120 dismissal or resignation within the first year; otherwise an employee with more than a year's service receives 21 days' basic salary per year for the first five years and 30 days thereafter. An employer must notify the free zone in writing within seven working days of an employee absconding, and a dispute office settles employment disputes amicably before any court referral.
Part 3, Inspection, states that the free zone inspects licensed activities and checks that permits are renewed on time, that safety, health, environmental and building requirements are met, that labour rules are followed and that restrictions on workers' accommodation and food breaks are applied.
Every investor, company and licensee operating in Ajman Free Zone, their sponsored employees, and the landlords and sub-tenants of free zone premises; the Ajman Free Zone Authority applies the guidelines through its licensing, visa and inspection functions.
| Part 1, item 2 | Each company must match its activities to the issued licence; practising any activity other than those on the licence is prohibited. |
| Part 1, item 4 | The licensee must hold a valid lease and a valid licence at all times; both must be kept in force together. |
| Part 1, item 5 | Subleasing free zone premises is prohibited without official authorisation from the free zone. |
| Part 1, item 6 | Each workplace has its own licence; adding another workplace to the same licence requires the necessary permits from Ajman Free Zone. |
| Part 2 (sponsorship and salaries) | An employee may not work for others and an employer may employ only persons it sponsors; the employer bears accommodation costs, pays salaries at month end and files a certified bank or exchange copy proving payment before the 15th of the following month, and returns the passport once residence is confirmed. |
| Part 2 (working hours and leave) | Daily working hours are 8, extendable by mutual agreement with additional pay and a rest period; an employee who has completed a year is entitled to 30 days' annual leave, which may not be deferred for more than two years. |
| Part 2 (termination) | Employment may end by agreement, during probation without notice, by notice from either party in compliance with the Labour Law, or on expiry of the contract or residence visa provided the other party is notified of non-renewal. |
| Part 2, item 6 | A return ticket home is due when the employer terminates the contract or it expires, but not when the employee moves to another employer, is dismissed under Article 120 or terminates the contract. |
| Part 2, item 7 | The employer must notify Ajman Free Zone in writing within seven working days of an employee absconding from work. |
| Part 2, item 8 | An employee whose service exceeds one year is entitled to end-of-service gratuity of 21 days' basic salary for each of the first five years and 30 days for each additional year; gratuity is forfeited on an Article 120 dismissal or resignation before completing one year. |
| Part 2, item 9 | Ajman Free Zone provides a specialised office to settle employer-employee disputes amicably; if no settlement is reached the complaint is referred to the competent court. |
| Part 3 | The free zone inspects licensed activities and checks that permits are obtained and renewed on time, that safety, health, environmental and building requirements are met, that labour rules are followed and that restrictions on workers' accommodation and food breaks are applied. |
The guidelines list no fines. Sanctions follow from the licence and the free zone's inspection function described in Part 3: operating outside the licensed activities, without a valid lease, or with an unapproved sublease or workplace breaches the licence conditions and exposes the company to the free zone's administrative measures and non-renewal, and failure to sponsor, pay or document employees correctly is dealt with through the free zone's labour and visa processes and, after the dispute office, the competent court.
Ajman Free Zone is one of the zones in which we act as registered agent, and because the authority publishes no companies regulations, this booklet and the licence are what we hand a client as the zone's written rules. We use Part 1 at formation to match the licence activities to what the client will actually do and to choose premises, since a sublease or a second workplace needs the zone's permission, and we keep the lease and licence renewing together. For clients with staff we run the Part 2 checklist: sponsorship only through the company, salaries paid and evidenced by the 15th, passports returned after residence is stamped, and the seven-day absconding notice. On gratuity, leave and termination we apply Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 rather than the 1980 law the booklet still cites, and we tell clients so. Freelance permits we arrange in Ajman sit under the same authority.
No amendments, repeals or cross-references recorded for this instrument.
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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