VoxxArrive · Jurisdiction
Hiring & onboarding in Ajman Free Zone: visas, contracts, gratuity
Ajman Free Zone (AFZ), run by the Ajman Free Zone Authority (AFZA) since 1988, is a "general" free zone: your establishment (immigration) card is issued by AFZA, but the entry permit, residence visa and Emirates ID are processed federally through ICP (the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security) via the AFZA portal - Ajman has no separate Dubai-style GDRFA. Employment is governed by the onshore Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, so gratuity, WPS payroll and leave rules mirror the mainland; the main differences are that AFZA (not MOHRE) registers your contract and sets your visa quota by workspace type, and residence medicals must be done at Al Hamidiya Health Center in Ajman.
What's different
- Two-authority split: AFZA issues the establishment/immigration card that lets the company sponsor staff, but the entry permit and 3-year residence visa are issued by the federal ICP (formerly ICA) - used across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, UAQ, RAK and Fujairah - not a Dubai-style GDRFA. The AFZA customer portal is the front end; ICP is the issuing regulator.
- Visa quota is tied to the physical workspace/package, not the licence type: AFZA states 'every business package chosen has a different number of visas allocated.' Officially confirmed caps at the low end are Freelancer = max 2 visas and Pioneer = 1 visa (single shareholder). Larger flexi-desk, office and warehouse tiers scale up, but the exact per-tier and per-sqm numbers are set by AFZA quotation, not published as a fixed statutory table (see unverified).
- Employment law is Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 (onshore), NOT a bespoke free-zone employment code. Unlike DIFC and ADGM (which have their own employment laws and, in DIFC, the DEWS savings scheme), Ajman Free Zone has no free-zone-specific labour law and no DEWS-type workplace-savings alternative - standard federal end-of-service gratuity applies.
- End-of-service gratuity is calculated on basic salary only, excluding allowances (per AFZA guidance and Federal Decree-Law 33/2021): 21 days' basic pay per year for the first five years, 30 days per year thereafter, capped at two years' total wage. There is no opt-out savings fund.
- Wage protection: AFZA mandates salary payment by bank transfer with payroll statements required by the 15th of each month - i.e. the national WPS regime applies, there is no separate free-zone wage system. The structural difference from mainland is that the labour contract is registered and held by AFZA rather than issued/registered through MOHRE.
- Residence medical fitness must be done at Al Hamidiya Health Center in Ajman - AFZA rejects medical fitness reports issued in other emirates, so a Dubai/Sharjah medical will not be accepted for an AFZ visa.
- Licence categories double as sector routes: Commercial/General Trading, Industrial/Manufacturing, Services, E-commerce, Pioneer (startup) and Freelancer permits, plus an Offshore company option. Physical stock ranges from flexi-desk and co-working through executive offices to warehouses and industrial land plots near Ajman Port.
- Established sector clusters at AFZ (per AFZA's own sector pages) include jewellery & precious metals (~361 companies), chemicals (~128), automotive (~96), packaging (~45) and general trading, positioning it as a manufacturing/logistics and light-industrial hub rather than a finance or media zone.
Which onboarding steps this affects
This affects 31 of the 57 onboarding tasks, concentrated in the Pre-boarding, Day 1, Week 1, Month 1, Month 3+ phases. Work through them in the live demo to see the compliance-readiness score respond as each is ticked off.
Your task slice
31 of the 57 onboarding tasks apply here.
Verify MOHRE establishment card is active and labour quota is available for the role
Establishment card / labour quota confirmation
Issue MOHRE-standard job offer letter and obtain the employee's signed copy
MOHRE job offer letter (signed)
Apply for the MOHRE work permit (labour card) via Tasheel/MOHRE portal
Work permit approval
Apply for entry permit (e-visa) or initiate in-country status change
Entry permit (60-day validity)
Collect and attest pre-boarding documents (passport, photos, degree/qualification attestation)
Attested document pack
Prepare fixed-term employment contract aligned to the signed offer
Employment contract (draft)
Set probation period in the contract (must not exceed 6 months, FDL 33/2021)
Define working hours, overtime, and weekly rest-day terms in the contract
Register the new joiner in payroll with a WPS-compliant salary structure
Confirm the employee holds a WPS-eligible UAE bank account or salary card
Employee signs the employment contract on Day 1
Signed employment contract
Collect original passport and entry permit for residence visa processing
Issue employee handbook and code of conduct; capture acknowledgement (incl. gross-misconduct grounds)
Handbook acknowledgement
Collect employee bank/IBAN details for WPS payroll set-up
Book and complete medical fitness test at an approved centre (communicable-disease screening)
Medical fitness certificate
Complete ICP Emirates ID biometrics (fingerprints, iris scan, photo)
Emirates ID application receipt
Submit residence visa application to GDRFA/ICP after medical and EID biometrics
Complete residence visa stamping / e-visa linking to the passport
Residence visa
Register the signed employment contract with MOHRE within the statutory deadline
MOHRE-registered labour contract
Activate WPS salary registration with MOHRE and the bank/agent
Confirm health insurance activation is linked to the residency file
Collect the issued Emirates ID card once produced by ICP
Emirates ID card
Verify residence visa and Emirates ID are fully issued (post-entry chain within 60 days)
Run the first WPS payroll and confirm on-time salary transfer
WPS SIF file
Confirm gratuity/end-of-service accrual tracking has started in payroll
Assemble audit-ready employee compliance file (contract, visa, EID, insurance)
Employee compliance file
File original Emirates ID and residence visa copies in the personnel record
Issue confirmation-of-employment letter on passing probation
Confirmation letter
Reset and communicate post-probation notice-period terms (30-90 days)
Verify ongoing WPS compliance across the first pay cycles
Confirm health insurance validity aligns with residency expiry
Some figures on this page vary by jurisdiction, zone or nationality, or could not be independently confirmed from a public source at time of writing - confirm the current figure with the regulator before relying on it.
Sources
- Ajman Free Zone Authority - FAQs (establishment card, entry permit, visa quota, gratuity, WPS, medical, sectors)
- Ajman Free Zone Authority - Strategic Sectors
- ICP - Customer Happiness Center Ajman (federal residency authority for Ajman)
- UAE Government portal - Track visa application and validity (ICP handles northern emirates, GDRFA only Dubai)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (governing onshore/general free zone employment)
- UAE Free Zone Finder - Ajman Free Zone Visa Process & Costs 2026 (secondary: workspace-based quota, validity, medical centre)
Frequently asked
Which authority issues an Ajman Free Zone residence visa - AFZA or ICP?
Both play a part. AFZA issues the establishment (immigration) card that authorises your company to sponsor employees, and you apply through the AFZA customer portal. The entry permit, residence visa stamping and Emirates ID themselves are issued by the federal ICP (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security), which handles residency for Ajman and the other northern emirates - there is no separate Ajman GDRFA equivalent to Dubai's.
Does UAE Federal labour law apply in Ajman Free Zone, or does AFZ have its own employment code?
Ajman Free Zone is a 'general' free zone with no bespoke employment law of its own, so Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 governs - the same law as the mainland. Contracts, working hours, leave, probation and gratuity follow the federal rules. This is unlike DIFC and ADGM, which have their own standalone employment laws. The one procedural difference is that your employment contract is registered with AFZA, not MOHRE.
How many visas can I get on an Ajman Free Zone licence?
AFZA allocates visa quota by the workspace package you take, not by licence type - 'every business package chosen has a different number of visas allocated.' At the entry level, a Freelancer permit is capped at 2 visas and a Pioneer package at 1 visa (single shareholder). Flexi-desk, office and warehouse tiers scale up from there; you should confirm the exact allocation for your chosen facility in the AFZA quotation.
Is there a DEWS-style savings scheme instead of gratuity in Ajman Free Zone?
No. Unlike DIFC (which replaced gratuity with the mandatory DEWS workplace-savings plan), Ajman Free Zone has no savings-scheme alternative. Standard federal end-of-service gratuity applies - 21 days' basic salary per year for the first five years and 30 days per year afterwards, calculated on basic pay only (excluding allowances), capped at two years' wage.
Do Ajman Free Zone employers have to pay salaries through WPS?
Yes. AFZA requires salaries to be paid by bank transfer with payroll statements submitted by the 15th of each month, so the national Wage Protection System effectively applies just as it does onshore. There is no separate free-zone wage system; the difference from the mainland is administrative - AFZA, rather than MOHRE, holds the registered contract.