KEZAD free zone company setup in Abu Dhabi: start-up packages from AED 9,450 a year
KEZAD, the Abu Dhabi free zone long known as KIZAD, sells a license with a workstation from AED 9,450 a year. With us the company costs from $7,000, license included.
KEZAD Abu Dhabi
- from AED 9,450 Start-up package a year, VAT included
- 24 hours To the license after the approvals
- AED 5,000 License renewal after two years
KEZAD, formerly KIZAD: what it is, who runs it and where
12 zonesKhalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi
KEZAD, Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, is a group of 12 economic zones in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra: 550 square kilometres, 100 of them free zone.
2010Run by KEZAD Group, of AD Ports
KEZAD Group runs the zones as a subsidiary of AD Ports Group. The zone was established in 2010 and has operated since 2012. By its own count it has passed 2,300 clients.
3 linesWith terminals of their own at Khalifa Port
The main site, KEZAD Al Ma'mourah, lies between Abu Dhabi and Dubai beside Khalifa Port, where 3 shipping lines, COSCO, MSC and CMA CGM, run terminals of their own.
100%Free zone or Domestic Economic Zone
In the free zone a foreigner owns 100%, KEZAD issues the license and goods inside carry no customs duty. The Domestic Economic Zone is mainland: its factories sell direct to UAE buyers, and their goods can be certified Made in UAE.
KEZAD warehouses, industrial land and offices: sizes and rents
KEZAD grants no license without a lease, so the premises come first. A workstation or an office is part of the start-up package.
| Premises | Size or term | Rent KEZAD publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard warehouse, free zone | From 550 sq m | By offer |
| Light industrial unit, free zone | From 595 sq m | By offer |
| Convertible cold store, free zone | From 1,029 sq m | By offer |
| Serviced industrial plot | Lease of 25 to 50 years | AED 32–38 per sq m a year |
| Serviced logistics plot | The same | AED 36–45 per sq m a year |
| Industrial plot in Al Ain | The same | AED 15–20 per sq m a year |
AED 3The levy, the power and the warehouse offer
Each plot also pays a levy of AED 3 per square metre a year for common areas, and power starts at AED 0.27 per kWh. For a warehouse we obtain the offer on the unit and put the rent in your quote.
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Which businesses KEZAD is built for, and which belong in another zone
A start-up package joins a free-zone license with a shared workstation or an office and provision for one to four visas, with no security deposit.
Stock lands at Khalifa Port and waits in a free-zone warehouse. Customs duty falls due on what is sold into the local market.
A plant that sells outside the GCC takes the free zone. One that sells in the Gulf takes the domestic zone, where Abu Dhabi rebates up to 80% of the land rent for industries that qualify.
Tenants are grouped by trade: metals with a road built for molten aluminium, polymers, food with cold stores, cars with a roll-on roll-off terminal.
A fund or a holding company belongs in ADGM, a software firm on a desk in Masdar City Free Zone. A shop or a contractor takes the mainland: business setup in Abu Dhabi. Cargo for Jebel Ali goes to the JAFZA free zone.
KEZAD license cost, line by line
The dirham lines are KEZAD's: packages with VAT, the tariff of July 2026, and visa fees from ATLP, Abu Dhabi's trade portal. Our own two lines are before VAT.
Our fee for a KEZAD company, license included
from $7,000Get a quote- Start-up package with provision for 1 visa, a year
- AED 9,450
- The same package with 2, 3 or 4 visas
- AED 11,150–14,550
- One-visa package paid for 2 or 3 years
- AED 17,800 or 22,575
- Company registration and a new license, KEZAD's tariff
- AED 0
- License renewal after two years
- AED 5,000
- Establishment card
- AED 1,000
- Entry permit and residence visa, a person
- AED 836.05 + 2,861
- Accounting, a month
- from $350
KEZAD free zone license types and company forms
For a factory: import of raw material, manufacturing, processing, assembly, packaging and export of the product.
A trading license lets the company import, export, distribute and stock the goods it lists. Past 17 products or 3 product groups KEZAD issues a general trading license.
For consulting, marketing, freight forwarding, catering and travel agencies. A license takes up to 5 activities, and each category of activity needs a license of its own.
A single founder or a group, individuals or companies, forms a limited liability company whose name ends in Ltd. A company that already exists opens a branch. The regulations give an Ltd two directors or more and a secretary.
A free-zone company takes a second license from ADDED, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and works outside the zone with no second office. Otherwise it sells there through a distributor or a local agent.
Corporate tax, VAT and designated zones for a KEZAD company
9%Corporate tax, and the 0% regime
A KEZAD company files a yearly corporate tax return and pays nothing on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% on the rest. A Qualifying Free Zone Person is taxed at 0% on qualifying income instead. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 puts manufacturing, processing, logistics services and distribution from a designated zone among the qualifying activities.
2018Designated zones for VAT
The Federal Tax Authority has listed the Free Trade Zone of Khalifa Port and the Khalifa Industrial Zone as designated zones since 1 January 2018. Stock traded inside them for resale is outside the scope of UAE VAT. Goods that cross to the mainland are imported with 5% due, and services carry 5%.
Once taxable sales pass AED 375,000 a year the company needs a VAT registration in the UAE. We obtain both tax numbers.
KEZAD compared with Masdar City, ADGM and JAFZA
KEZAD
- License fee
- AED 0 then AED 5,000 at renewal after two years
- With one visa
- Package AED 9,450 a year, visa fees apart
- To the license
- 24 hours after approvals
- License fee
- AED 7,000
- With one visa
- AED 17,500
- To the license
- Up to 10 working days
- License fee
- $5,500 then $5,000 a year
- With one visa
- By the desk: 2 visas each
- To the license
- 10 business days
JAFZA free zone, Dubai
- License fee
- AED 5,000 a year AED 5,000 to register
- With one visa
- First year AED 14,653, rent apart
- To the license
- 3 to 14 working days
How a KEZAD company is set up: four steps
- day 11
Jurisdiction, license, premises
Describe what the company makes, stores or sells and who buys it. We choose the jurisdiction, the license and the package or unit.
- 24 hours2
Application and license
We send the application through ATLP with the business plan, the passports and the beneficial-owner declaration. Once the federal immigration authority clears each person, you pay the package and KEZAD issues the license within 24 hours.
- 1–3 weeks3
Establishment card and visas
We apply for the establishment card, then for each visa. ATLP gives 48 hours for the entry permit and 48 for the residence visa, with the medical check and the Emirates ID biometrics between them.
- usually 2–4 weeks4
Tax registration, then the bank
Our accountants obtain the corporate tax number, and the bank receives the company's file from us. Banks usually take 2 to 4 weeks.
Documents for a KEZAD free zone company
Documents
Each shareholder and officer
- Passport copy
- UAE visa and Emirates ID, where held
- UAE residents: sponsor's no-objection letter
- CV
- Registry identification form
A company as owner, or the parent of a branch
- Certificate of registration, notarised
- Certificate of good standing
- Memorandum and articles, notarised and attested
- Resolution to form the Ltd or branch, attested
- Group chart up to the ultimate owner
You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.
See the platformQuestions about KEZAD free zone company setup in Abu Dhabi
What is the full form of KEZAD?
Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi. The name dates from 19 September 2022, when AD Ports Group merged KIZAD, the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, with ZonesCorp.
Is KEZAD a free zone?
In part: 100 of its 550 square kilometres, where a company holds an Abu Dhabi Free Zone license. The rest is the mainland Domestic Economic Zone.
What is the location of KEZAD in Abu Dhabi, and of the KEZAD HQ?
The head office, KEZAD ONE, is on the E11 road at Al Samieh, Abu Dhabi, and the main site lies beside Khalifa Port. Further zones are in Musaffah and Al Ain.
Is a KEZAD free zone license free of charge?
The license itself, yes: the tariff charges AED 0 to register and AED 0 for a new license, and you pay for the package. Renewal after two years costs AED 5,000, or AED 15,000 for general trading. Other zones' fees are on free zones in the UAE.
How much does a KEZAD visa cost?
ATLP lists AED 836.05 for the entry permit, AED 2,861 for the residence visa and AED 2,761 for a renewal. The establishment card costs AED 1,000 to issue and nothing to renew.
Does a KIZAD company need an approved auditor?
It needs an audit every year, by an auditor its general meeting appoints. The regulations ask for audited accounts no later than six months after the financial year closes, and KEZAD takes them at each license renewal. Our accountants prepare the books for it.
Does KEZAD ask for a minimum share capital?
Yes, for an Ltd: AED 150,000 or more, in shares of AED 1,000 or multiples of it. Clause 4.3(d) of the Abu Dhabi Free Zone Companies Registration Regulations of 2011 sets the amount, paid up on incorporation, and KEZAD's application form repeats it. A branch is part of its parent company and registers without capital.
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AED 10,000 JAFZA fee to register, paid once
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from AED 5,000 JAFZA license fee a year
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AED 7,000 Startup package: license, 2 activities
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AED 12,500 Meydan's license fee a year, desk included
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AED 3,250 Registry fee to incorporate, first year
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AED 6,000 Basic license a year: 1 activity, no visa
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AED 5,760 Media license a year, VAT included
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from AED 5,750 Free-zone license a year
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AED 5,500 UAQ LYTE: license a year, no visa
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Business setup in Abu Dhabi
The mainland license from ADDED: from AED 1,200 with 6 activities, in 1 to 2 weeks
OpenBusiness bank account in the UAE
Six accounts compared by balance and fee, 2 to 4 weeks from a complete application
OpenAccounting services in Dubai and the UAE
IFRS books, VAT and corporate tax returns from $350 a month
OpenCompany formation in the UAE
Free zone from $7,000, mainland from $8,000, offshore from $3,000
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Updated 12 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
