Ajman Central Jail: How Visits Work, Money for Inmates, Inmate Rights and Release

Direct answer. Ajman Central Jail is the name most people use for Ajman's penal and correctional institution; Ajman Police organises visits to it. Relatives, lawyers and embassies request a visit through the Ministry of Interior (MOI) app, then attend in person with an Emirates ID or passport. Since 12 April 2025, Federal Decree-Law No. (34) of 2024 Regulating Penal and Correctional Institutions has governed inmates' rights, visits, deposits, release and parole in federal institutions. Ajman Government says its police merged into the Ministry of Interior, so in our reading that law covers Ajman's institution too. It replaced Federal Law No. (43) of 1992. The law leaves visiting days, hours and many daily rules to its Executive Regulation, so the institution's own instructions settle the details. This guide covers who runs the jail, how visits work, money and calls, inmate rights, release, and deportation after a sentence.

Ajman Central Jail at a glance

These are the points families ask about first, with where each answer comes from.

We could not find the institution's address or its visiting hours on an official page. Rely on the details in your booking confirmation, or call Ajman Police before you travel.

Who runs Ajman Central Jail, and which law applies

Ajman Police organises visits, and a 2024 federal decree-law sets the rules inside the institution.

"Ajman Central Jail" is not a legal term; federal law speaks of penal and correctional institutions. The Government of Ajman's service catalogue names Ajman Police General Headquarters as the entity that organises inmate visits. The same government describes Ajman Police as having merged with the Ministry of Interior.

That merger matters. Federal Decree-Law No. (34) of 2024 applies to "federal penal and correctional institutions in the State" (Article 2). It defines those as the Ministry of Interior's institutions that carry out court judgments and pre-trial detention orders (Article 1). In our reading, that places Ajman's institution under the federal law. The decree-law took effect on 12 April 2025, and its Article 59 repealed the 1992 law. You can read the official text on the UAE Legislation portal.

Two points shape everything below:

• Many details sit in an Executive Regulation. It governs visits (Article 12), inmate categories and privileges (Article 18), and labour and wages (Article 21). Many release conditions are left to it too.
• Older rules still apply until replaced. Resolutions on penal institutions issued before the decree-law stay in force until new ones replace them (Article 59).

Remand prisoners and sentenced inmates are treated differently

The same building can hold people in two different legal positions. A pre-trial (remand) detainee is held on a detention order while the case is investigated or tried. A sentenced inmate is serving a court judgment. The contact rules differ between the two.

No one may be held without a written detention order from the public prosecution, a court or another competent authority. No one may stay beyond the period in that order (Article 13). If the arrest is recent and no judgment has been issued, the person is on remand. Our guides to your rights after an arrest and release on bail cover that stage.

How to visit an inmate at Ajman Central Jail

You book through the MOI app, wait for confirmation, then attend in person with valid ID.

The Government of Ajman lists a service called "Organize All Types of Visits for Inmates' Relatives, Lawyers, and Embassies". It sets out four steps:

1. Submit the service request through the MOI app.
2. Complete the required information.
3. Receive a notification that the request is complete.
4. Attend the establishment in person with valid identification.

The only document listed is a valid proof of identity, such as an Emirates ID or a passport. The page shows a service duration of 30 minutes, but it does not say whether that is the processing time or the length of a visit. It publishes no fee, no visiting days and no hours.

Visiting days, hours and limits

The decree-law does not fix visiting days. Article 12 leaves the conditions, procedures and types of visit, in person or virtual, to the Executive Regulation. The same article allows visits to be stopped fully or partly for a reasonable period, for health or security reasons. Book early, keep the confirmation on your phone, and check again before a public holiday.

Visiting someone held on remand

The public prosecution controls contact at this stage. A remand detainee may receive visitors and contact people under the institution's supervision, unless the detention order forbids it (Article 19(1)). The same article says a third party may communicate with a remand detainee only with written permission from the Public Prosecution (Article 19(3)). Lawyer meetings and embassy contact also need written prosecution permission (Article 19(2)).

If a visit to a remand detainee is refused, ask two questions. Does the detention order restrict contact? And does the visit need the prosecution's written permission first?

Family meetings after three months

A sentenced inmate who has served at least three months may ask for a family meeting (Article 32). The request goes to the Institution Officer and names the spouse or family members up to the second degree. The Executive Regulation sets the conditions and the duration. A family meeting does not replace the inmate's other visits.

What you must not bring

Bringing banned items into the institution is a crime in its own right. Under Article 54, bringing in substances banned by the institution's rules, or trying to, is punished. The penalty is at least six months in prison, a fine of at least AED 50,000, or both. Passing banned items to an inmate during a transfer carries the same penalty. Supplying an inmate with weapons or tools to escape or to commit a crime carries at least five years. Ask the institution what you may hand over before you arrive, and hand over nothing else.

Lawyer visits at Ajman Central Jail

Lawyers use the same visit service, but remand meetings need written prosecution permission.

The Government of Ajman's visit service covers lawyers as well as relatives and embassies. For a remand detainee, Article 19(2) allows a meeting with the lawyer at the institution, with written permission from the Public Prosecution, once the lawyer's status is confirmed.

Every inmate, on remand or sentenced, keeps the right to see any judgment or paper served on them. They can also submit petitions, reports and requests, and the institution must deliver these within the legal time limit (Article 8). This matters for appeals and early-release applications. Our guide to finding a lawyer in Ajman explains how the courts there work and what to ask before you instruct someone.

Embassy and consular visits

Embassies request consular visits themselves, so families of foreign inmates should contact their embassy early.

For a remand detainee, contact with the embassy, diplomatic mission or the body that looks after the inmate's interests needs written prosecution permission (Article 19(2)). For sentenced inmates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs a "Request to Visit a Prisoner (Sentenced)" service. Its target audience is foreign missions, not families. The page lists it as a free service with a duration of ten working days. The Ajman visit service also lists embassies among those who can request a visit.

Money, deposits and personal belongings

Cash found on admission is held for the inmate, and the institution keeps a record of deposits.

On entry, every inmate is searched. Any money or valuables are taken and kept in the institution's safes, and returned on release (Article 16). The inmate may instead ask for them to be handed to a named person or to their legal representative. Inmate deposits are one of the records each institution must keep in its database (Article 7).

Inmates may also work. The Executive Regulation sets the jobs, hours and wages, and no disciplinary penalty may be imposed on wages (Article 21).

We found no official page explaining how families send money to an inmate in Ajman. Ask the institution at your visit, or call Ajman Police on 06 740 9999. Use only the channel the institution names, and keep every receipt.

Help with debts and family hardship

The UAE government portal lists support that families can ask about. According to u.ae's page on the rights of inmates:

• the Faraj Fund "provides inmates and their families assistance through debt relief and family support";
• the Ministry of Community Development (renamed the Ministry of Community Empowerment in December 2024) "provides monthly assistance to the families of prisoners"; the Arabic version of the page calls this financial assistance.

Eligibility is decided by each body, so ask them directly.

Phone calls and letters

The law guarantees a first call on admission; later contact depends on status and privileges.

When an inmate enters the institution, it must let them contact relatives, or anyone they choose, to say where they are (Article 13). A remand detainee may correspond and make contact under supervision, unless the detention order forbids it. The institution records who was contacted, when and for how long (Article 19).

For sentenced inmates, contact privileges follow the inmate's category, which the Executive Regulation sets (Article 18). A disciplinary sanction can remove some or all privileges for up to 30 days (Article 34). We found no official Ajman page on call schedules or phone credit, so ask the institution how calls work for your relative's category.

Inmate rights under Federal Decree-Law 34 of 2024

The law lists core rights, and the public prosecution supervises every institution.

The decree-law, read with the u.ae inmate-rights page, gives inmates these protections:

• Dignity. Respect for their dignity, and no torture, cruel treatment or degrading punishment (Article 8).
• Papers and petitions. Access to any judgment or paper served on them, and the right to submit petitions and requests (Article 8).
• Language. To be told their duties, prohibitions and penalties in a language they understand (Articles 8 and 33).
• Lawful detention only. No detention without a written order, and no stay beyond its period (Article 13).
• Healthcare. A medical examination on admission, and care in coordination with government health establishments, including transfer to a government hospital (Articles 13 and 24).
• Prayer. A place to pray at the set times, unless security requires otherwise (Article 29).
• Education. The right to continue studies at their own expense, with exams in person or remotely (Article 30).
• Pregnant inmates. Exemption from work, special care and hospital care at birth. A mother may keep her child until age two, and the birth certificate must not mention the institution (Article 20).

Discipline: what the institution can and cannot do

Discipline is allowed, but the law caps it and requires a fair process.

Before any sanction, there must be an investigation. It must put the act to the inmate, hear their statement and examine their defence (Article 35). The decision must give reasons, and it is recorded and reported to the public prosecution. Restraint as a precaution may not last more than 72 hours before a sanction is imposed (Article 49). Discipline never delays release at the end of the detention period (Article 36).

How to raise a complaint

Every inmate may give the Institution Officer a written complaint at any time and ask for it to go to the public prosecution (Article 9). The officer must accept it, record it and pass it on immediately. Inmates also have the right to meet a member of the Public Prosecution at the institution and complain directly (Article 10). The Public Prosecutor examines complaints about release (Article 44). Our guide to how the public prosecution works explains its wider role.

Release: when an inmate leaves Ajman Central Jail

Most inmates leave at the end of their sentence, but the law sets several earlier routes.

The sum of money for the two-thirds route is fixed by a Cabinet resolution, which takes account of the crime and the sentence. We have not seen those amounts published, so ask the institution or a lawyer. A disciplinary sanction can cost an inmate their parole nomination, which is one more reason to keep a clean record inside.

An inmate whose stay exceeds four years must first go through a period of "community empowerment" (Article 22). Restrictions are eased gradually, and the period counts as part of the sentence. If an inmate is to be placed under police surveillance or electronic monitoring, the institution coordinates with the police before release. It also provides clothing if the inmate has none (Article 37).

Separately, the Ruler of Ajman announces pardons for groups of inmates on occasions such as Ramadan and Eid Al Adha, as the official news agency WAM reports. These are decisions of the Ruler, and we found no published application process.

Deportation after a sentence for non-nationals

Foreign inmates sentenced to prison for a felony are deported; for a misdemeanour, the court decides.

Under Article 126 of the Crimes and Penalties Law, a foreigner sentenced to a custodial penalty for a felony "shall be deported from the State". For a misdemeanour, the court may order deportation, or deportation instead of the custodial penalty, unless the law says otherwise. There is one exception. A foreigner who was a citizen's spouse or first-degree relative at the time of the crime may not be sentenced to deportation. That protection does not cover crimes against the security of the State.

Inside the institution, inmates with a deportation judgment are held in separate places until the order is carried out. They are treated as pre-trial detainees while they wait (Article 14 of the 2024 decree-law). The cost of the deportation falls on the foreign inmate, or on the party that recruited or sponsored them. Otherwise the State pays.

Practical steps for families:

• Ask the institution what it needs to carry out the deportation, such as a valid passport or travel document.
• Ask whether a ticket must be provided, and by whom.
• Tell the embassy, which can help with travel documents.

Our full guide to deportation in the UAE explains judicial and administrative deportation, appeals and re-entry bans.

A short checklist for families

Keep these steps in order and most visits and enquiries go smoothly.

• Confirm whether your relative is on remand or serving a sentence; the contact rules differ.
• Request every visit through the MOI app, and bring the ID you used for the booking.
• For a foreign inmate, tell the embassy early.
• Ask the institution which channel it accepts for money, and keep receipts.
• Note the expected release date, counting any time spent on remand.

When to get legal help

Many families manage visits alone, but get advice quickly if contact is refused, if your relative needs bail, or if a deportation order is in play. The same applies if parole or a two-thirds release may be possible, or the release date looks wrong. For the stage before a case reaches court, our guide to being detained in Dubai walks through the police and prosecution process. If you need advice on your own facts, you can find a criminal lawyer on LEXAI and contact them directly.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Your own facts may change the answer. Confirm current visiting rules and procedures with Ajman Police or a licensed UAE lawyer.