Licence fromAED 6,500
Visa quotaup to 6 on the entry tier
Activities2,000+
Officenot required at entry tiers
Setup time3–7 business days
Who RAKEZ actually fits — and who should skip it
RAKEZ is the widest-catchment free zone in the northern emirates: more than 2,000 activities under a single authority after it absorbed the former RAK FTZ. That breadth is the whole point. A consultant on a flexi-desk and a plastics plant on leased land hold licences from the same registrar — a combination almost no other zone offers.It fits three profiles well: cost-led service companies that want more residence visas per dirham than Dubai zones give; traders who need real warehousing near a working port; and light-to-medium manufacturers who want industrial land at Ras Al Khaimah rates rather than Dubai ones. It fits poorly if you are selling a Dubai address to clients, if you need same-day premium banking, or if you run a web3 / token business — that belongs in the sister zone RAK DAO (Innovation City), not RAKEZ. Weigh it against the full
free-zone index before committing.
What the AED 6,500 licence covers — and what sits on top
The figure in the table above is a licence-fee floor: one activity on an entry package. It is not your all-in first-year cost. Budget separately for the establishment card and immigration (e-channel) file, name reservation, and every residence visa you actually issue — each carries a medical test, Emirates ID and stamping. A flexi-desk is usually bundled into entry packages, but a private office or warehouse is priced on top, and multi-activity or industrial licences cost more than the AED 6,500 floor.
| Cost layer | In the headline price? |
|---|
| Licence fee, 1 activity, entry tier | Yes — from AED 6,500 |
| Flexi-desk / shared desk | Usually bundled on entry tiers |
| Establishment card + immigration file | No — added |
| Each residence visa (medical, EID, stamping) | No — per person |
| Private office or warehouse | No — leased separately |
Treat the headline as the entry ticket and model the rest with our
setup-cost calculator.
Industrial land, warehouses and the visa math
RAKEZ's structural advantage is visa allocation: entry tiers reach up to 6 visas without forcing you into a large office, because Ras Al Khaimah's cost base lets the authority be generous with quota. But quota is a ceiling, not a grant — each visa is applied for and paid for individually, and the number you can actually use is tied to your facility. A flexi-desk caps usable visas below the headline; a private office or warehouse unlocks the full allocation.Since 2023 every free-zone company also owes real economic substance for tax. To keep the 0% qualifying-income rate under UAE
corporate tax you need adequate people and premises in the zone — a flexi-desk with no staff is a weak substance story. Read the rules before you assume 0%, and plan headcount alongside the licence, not after it.
RAKEZ vs the obvious alternatives
Two comparisons matter. Against Dubai budget zones like
IFZA, RAKEZ wins on visa-per-dirham and on the option to bolt on a factory later; IFZA wins on the Dubai address and banking familiarity. Against Sharjah's industrial zones like
Hamriyah, the fight is closer — both offer real land and port access at northern-emirate prices. RAKEZ's edge is single-authority breadth, running services and industry under one roof, plus its consolidated post-merger scale; Hamriyah competes hard on heavy-industry and oil-and-gas plots.The rule of thumb: if you are a laptop consultancy chasing the lowest visa cost, RAKEZ and the Sharjah / Ajman zones are all in range. If you will ever touch physical goods, RAKEZ's industrial parks are the reason to choose it over a media-only zone.
01 Activity & name
Pick licensed activities and reserve a trade name. Activity choice drives approvals, banking and whether your income can be QFZP-qualifying.
02 Documents & KYC
Passports, application forms and a clean source-of-funds story. No local sponsor is needed — free zone companies are 100% foreign-owned.
03 Licence & establishment card
The zone issues your licence (typically 3–7 business days), then the immigration establishment card that unlocks visa processing.
04 Visas & bank account
Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID for each visa holder; corporate account opening runs in parallel — this is usually the slowest step.
Is RAKEZ cheaper than IFZA?
On the licence floor they are close — RAKEZ starts from AED 6,500 for one activity, and the real gap is elsewhere. RAKEZ typically gives more residence visas per dirham on entry tiers and lets you add industrial land later, while IFZA's value is a Dubai address and smoother banking. Compare on total first-year cost with visas, not the headline alone.
Can I run a factory or lease a warehouse in RAKEZ?
Yes — this is RAKEZ's real differentiator. After absorbing RAK FTZ it runs genuine industrial parks with leasable land and warehousing, so light-to-medium manufacturing and goods trading are supported under the same authority as service licences. An industrial licence and land lease are priced well above the AED 6,500 service-licence floor.
How many visas does the AED 6,500 licence include?
The entry tiers reach up to 6 visa slots, but that is a quota ceiling, not visas included in the fee. Each residence visa is applied for and paid for separately (medical, Emirates ID, stamping), and a flexi-desk package usually caps the usable count below 6 — a private office or warehouse unlocks the full allocation.
Do I need a physical office in RAKEZ?
No — a flexi-desk or shared desk satisfies the licence and is bundled into most entry packages, so a physical office is not mandatory. But your facility caps usable visas, and since 2023 UAE corporate tax expects real substance for the 0% rate, so a flexi-desk with no staff is a weak position if you are relying on qualifying-income treatment.
Is the 6-visa entry tier real or a promo?
Real and structural — RAKEZ competes on visa economics by design. The arithmetic matters: elsewhere a fourth or fifth visa forces an office upgrade, so a four-person team often saves an entire office rent by licensing here.
Can RAKEZ handle a real factory, not just flexi-desks?
Yes — RAKEZ absorbed RAK's industrial zones and runs actual manufacturing parks with plots, sheds and labour accommodation. It is one of the few zones equally sane for a solo consultant and a production line.
Is the “from AED 6,500” price real?
It is the official entry-tier licence figure — without visas, establishment card or add-ons. Our estimate above shows a realistic first-year floor; anything quoted below it usually hides a fee.
Can this company do business on the UAE mainland?
A free zone licence covers business inside the zone and abroad. Selling onshore generally needs a mainland distributor, a branch, or a dual-licence arrangement where offered — we flag which applies before you commit.
Does 0% corporate tax apply here?
Free zone companies pay 0% only on qualifying income under the QFZP regime — substance, audited accounts and de-minimis limits included. Otherwise the standard 9% above AED 375k applies. We model this in the corporate tax calculator.