Types of free zone

More than 40 zones, five kinds. What each kind is for, and three terms people mix up.

General information, checked on 14 November 2026. Rules change, and this is not legal or tax advice. Each statement shows the number of its source.

How many

The economy ministry says there are more than 40 free zones.¹
The government portal lists 37 bodies that regulate free zones, 22 of them in Dubai.²
Each zone permits its own sectors, so the activity decides which zones are open to you.²

Kind	What it is for	Examples
Port and industrial	Trade, logistics and manufacturing	Jafza in Dubai; KEZAD in Abu Dhabi, next to Khalifa Port^{3 4}
Sector	One industry and the firms around it	DMCC (commodities), Dubai Healthcare City, Masdar City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, Sharjah Media City^{5 6 7 8 9 10}
Licence-led	A licence with shared or flexible workspace	Meydan Free Zone, IFZA, SPC Free Zone, RAKEZ^{11 12 13 14}
Financial	Financial services under the zone's own laws, courts and regulator	DIFC, regulated by the DFSA; ADGM, regulated by the FSRA^{15 16}
Offshore	An international company with no UAE business licence	Jafza Offshore¹⁷

The portal lists the free zone establishment, the free zone company, the private limited company, the public company and the branch. Not every zone registers every form.²
RAKEZ describes the establishment (FZE) as for one shareholder and the company (FZC) as for several.¹⁴

DIFC has its own civil and commercial laws on a common-law basis, and its own courts.¹⁵
Federal criminal law, including the law against money laundering, still applies there.¹⁵

A Jafza offshore company receives a certificate of incorporation, not a business licence.¹⁷
It cannot do business with persons inside the UAE. It may operate internationally.¹⁷
It needs at least one shareholder, one director and one secretary, and may open a bank account in the UAE or abroad.¹⁷
It is registered through a Jafza registered agent.¹⁸

Free zone: an area with its own licensing authority.²
Qualifying free zone, for corporate tax: only a zone named in a Cabinet decision counts, and the company must also meet the conditions.¹⁹
Designated zone, for VAT: a fenced zone with customs controls, named by Cabinet decision. Any other free zone is treated like the rest of the UAE.^{20 21}

Tell us what you want to set up or keep in order. We will say plainly what we can do and when we open.