Key Takeaways
- RAKEZ advertises its entry package, Biz Starter, at AED 6,000 without a visa, and its Lite package at AED 12,000 with one residence visa (RAKEZ package pages, October 2026).
- The all-inclusive package is advertised at AED 14,000 a year with one residence visa, and up to three extra visas cost AED 4,000 each.
- In a RAKEZ serviced office one desk carries up to 2 visas and two desks up to 4, with a company maximum of four (RAKEZ serviced-office page, as of October 2026).
- RAKEZ describes its Dual License as a free zone licence plus a free zone branch licence, and a separate RAKEZ news item of January 2022 describes a RAK DED branch licence for mainland work.
- The RAKBANK account route for eligible RAKEZ licence holders, announced on 1 October 2026, offers speed and lower fees and does not promise an account.
The RAKEZ free zone advertises packages and no tariff, so a RAKEZ license cost is whichever package you buy. Two of them carry the same AED 6,000 headline price with different contents, and the words Dual License need reading against RAKEZ's own definition. The sections below put the package list, the entity choices and RAKEZ's wording on the mainland in one place, for anyone comparing RAKEZ with Dubai zones on cost.
What RAKEZ is and its zones
RAKEZ is the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, with its website at rakez.com. RAKEZ's own materials name these zones: Al Ghail Industrial, Al Hamra Industrial, Al Hulaila Industrial, the Academic Zone, Al Nakheel Business and Al Hamra Business. Ask RAKEZ which of the six your licence and office belong to, because office and visa rules are set per facility.
Licence types on RAKEZ's Getting Started page are commercial, general trading, industrial, service, professional, media, e-commerce and educational, plus an individual or professional licence and a freelancer permit. RAK ICC, the offshore registry, and Innovation City, the former RAK DAO, are separate bodies with their own rules and are not covered here.
Free zone entity or RAK mainland entity
Free zone companies register as FZ-LLCs, free zone limited liability companies with 1 to 50 shareholders. RAKEZ also lists non-free-zone entities, an individual establishment and an LLC with 2 to 50 shareholders, as well as branches of UAE-based and foreign companies. RAKEZ states that a free zone entity reaches the local market through a local agent.
That sentence decides the choice for anyone who sells to customers inside the emirate. A free zone entity with local customers works through an agent, as RAKEZ states, or through a separate mainland route, and a non-free-zone entity follows a different route again. Ask RAKEZ which authority licenses the entity you are being sold.
Packages and what each price covers
Every figure below is a package that RAKEZ advertises, not a fee schedule, as the pages stood in October 2026.
| Package | Price | What the page lists | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biz Starter | AED 6,000 | Up to 10 activities, up to 50 shareholders, coworking, bank-account eligibility; no visa listed. | Package. |
| Instant licence, Basic | AED 6,000 | One shareholder, one activity, coworking. | Package. |
| Instant licence, Lite | AED 12,000 | Up to five shareholders, five activities, coworking, one residence visa; licence valid one year. | Package. |
| All-inclusive (SME) | AED 14,000 a year | Ten activities, up to 50 shareholders, one residence visa, renewal price stated as fixed on the page. | Package. |
| Freelancer permit | From AED 6,100 | One- and two-year options, residence visa eligibility, sole practitioner, no staff. | Package. |
Two pages carry the same AED 6,000 with different contents, which is why the contents column matters more than the price. The all-inclusive page carries a 2025 footer, and an older RAKEZ page shows a higher all-inclusive figure. Ask RAKEZ for the current price in writing, with the date, before you pay.
RAKEZ visa allowance, coworking and extra visa pricing
Package visas are fixed by the package: none listed on Biz Starter and Basic, one on Lite and on the all-inclusive package. Extra visas on the all-inclusive package cost AED 4,000 each, up to three (RAKEZ SME page, as of October 2026).
In a serviced office the visas follow the desks. RAKEZ states that one desk carries up to 2 visas and two desks up to 4. A company may hold up to four residence visas, and the minimum space is 3 m2 per desk (RAKEZ serviced-office page, as of October 2026). RAKEZ's undated terms for flexi facilities limit visas to owners, partners or managers named on the licence, and the count is for RAKEZ to confirm.
For standard and executive offices RAKEZ publishes room sizes and no visas-per-square-metre formula, so a count for a larger office has to come from RAKEZ in writing. A package that lists visas can still give fewer than expected when the space does not carry them. The sole-practitioner permit has no extra visas and no corporate bank account, and the wider freelance options are in the guide to the freelance visa and freelance permit.
Selling on the RAK mainland and what the RAKEZ Dual License means
Dual License, in RAKEZ's own definition, is a free zone licence plus a free zone company branch licence (Getting Started page, as of October 2026). The page does not say it is a RAK DED licence or a mainland licence, and it should not be read as the Abu Dhabi type of dual licence.
A RAKEZ news item of January 2022, also carried by the Ras Al Khaimah Media Office, says its clients can operate in the Ras Al Khaimah mainland from the same free zone office. The route is a branch licence issued by the Department of Economic Development in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK DED). Terms, fees and eligibility come from RAKEZ and RAK DED as they stand today. A news item from 2022 does not replace the current fee sheet.
Dual License should not be read as permission to trade across the UAE. RAKEZ defines it as a branch licence, and Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 is written for Dubai free zone companies, so a RAKEZ company selling in Dubai needs a different route. The guide to a free zone company in Dubai sets out the Dubai side.
RAKBANK account offer and what it does not promise
On 1 October 2026 RAKEZ announced a RAKBANK route for eligible RAKEZ licence holders to open a Business Current Account in about an hour. The release lists no minimum balance for the first 12 months and a monthly maintenance fee reduced to AED 49 for 12 months. A transfer-fee offer is valid until 31 October 2026 (RAKEZ news release, 1 October 2026).
Eligibility is not defined in the release, and nothing in it promises an account. RAKEZ lists the bank's usual documents as certified incorporation papers, a company profile, shareholder passports and CVs, six months of personal bank statements per shareholder, and the primary signatory's Emirates ID and residence visa. An applicant outside the UAE can start by call or video but has to visit the bank to sign.
One paid account-opening service from an independent provider is advertised on the RAKEZ website, and RAKEZ disclaims it. It is neither a RAKEZ fee nor a bank fee, so ask what exactly the fee buys.
Tax status and renewal
Corporate Tax is not decided by a RAKEZ licence. The 0% rate applies only to a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) on qualifying income (Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025), and marketing about tax benefits is not a QFZP ruling. Your income mix can be tested with a corporate tax consultant before you file.
The Lite instant licence is valid for one year from issue, and the page states no renewal fee. The all-inclusive page says the renewal price is fixed. Ask for the renewal fee in writing before year one is paid, and keep the page date with the quote.
How to read a RAKEZ quote
Get four confirmations in writing from RAKEZ itself, whatever the agent quotes:
- Current package price, with the date of the page it comes from.
- Renewal fee for year two.
- Visa allowance, how it is tied to the space, and the price of each extra visa.
- Terms of any Dual License or RAK DED branch licence, including who issues it.
Anything beyond those lines, such as a bank introduction, PRO work or a service fee, should sit on its own line. An adviser who deals with RAKEZ regularly can chase these four points before you pay, and you can ask for them as a single written list. The overview of free zones in the UAE and the cost guide for setting up a company show how the same lines look in other zones.
AdvisoryHub may receive a fee when you request an introduction; it does not affect the information on this page.
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