RAKEZ Cost and License Guide

RAKEZ, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, publishes prices only for its set-up packages and for its service fees. There is no public price list per licence type and no published renewal fee. This page lists every price RAKEZ itself publishes, what each package includes, and what the headline leaves out, as checked on rakez.com on 21 September 2026. For the activities you can license, see the RAKEZ activity list.

RAKEZ packages and prices (official)

Every row below is quoted from a RAKEZ page. No promotion page shows an end date, so check the page before you pay.

The all-inclusive package can be upgraded for AED 2,500 to add services such as VIP visa support, banking assistance and corporate tax registration. RAKEZ lists what the all-inclusive price covers: the residence visa, visa processing, the immigration file (e-channel), Emirates ID and medical, pre-approval, the business licence and a shared workstation.

Visa and immigration fees RAKEZ publishes

RAKEZ states that the investor visa and renewal fees are exclusive of VAT. To sponsor dependents, RAKEZ applies a minimum salary of AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with company-provided accommodation.

Workspace: what you have to lease

Leasing a facility is mandatory to open a RAKEZ company, and the facility sets your visa quota. A flexi desk allows one visa. In a serviced office, one desk allows up to 2 visas and two desks up to 4, with at least 3 m² per desk. Standard, executive and shell and core offices, and warehouses from 150 m², are leased for one year with the full year’s rent paid at registration or renewal; land for development starts at 2,500 m² with three years paid upfront or more.

RAKEZ does not publish rents for offices, warehouses or land. The only workspace prices it publishes are Compass Coworking memberships: from AED 50 a day or AED 500 a month for open workspace, private offices from AED 800 a month and meeting rooms from AED 75 an hour. RAKEZ’s real edge for stock-holding and industrial businesses is that warehouse and land space exists at all; ask for the rent in writing before you choose the zone.

Renewal: what RAKEZ says

• The renewal fee is not published: RAKEZ says prices vary with licence type, activity and facility.
• Licences are valid for one year. Commercial, service, general trading, individual or professional and e-commerce licences can be issued and renewed for three years at discounted rates, and renewal is offered for 2, 3 or 5 years.
• The renewal quotation is emailed about 60 days before expiry.
• Late renewal costs AED 50 a day, and there is no grace period after the expiry date. A licence not renewed for six months is struck off.
• The all-inclusive package guarantees the same renewal price.
• Audited accounts are due within six months of the financial year end; RAKEZ fines AED 2,500 for missing the deadline.

Other published RAKEZ fees

RAKEZ licence types

RAKEZ issues these licences, with its own one-line descriptions:

• Commercial: trading in services and goods (free zone and non-free zone).
• Service: services or consultancies in any industry (free zone).
• General trading: trading in multiple goods (free zone).
• E-commerce: trading in goods and services by electronic means (free zone).
• Industrial: manufacturing, importing, packaging and exporting products (free zone and non-free zone).
• Media and educational licences, and an individual or professional licence for one owner with one activity (free zone).
• Professional: for individuals providing professional services (non-free zone).
• Freelancer permit: for media, education, IT and analyst professionals (free zone).

Commercial and service activities cannot sit on one licence; they need two. A free zone commercial licence takes five activities from the same group or two from different groups, although packages set their own limits. The RAKEZ dual licence combines commercial and professional activities.

RAKEZ zones

RAKEZ runs six zones: Al Hamra Business Zone and Al Nakheel Business Zone for office-based companies, Al Ghail, Al Hamra and Al Hulaila Industrial Zones for manufacturing and warehousing, and the RAKEZ Academic Zone. Whether you need an office or physical space decides which zone and which part of the price list applies to you.

Ras Al Khaimah mainland licence (RAK DED)

RAKEZ also issues non-free zone licences (industrial, commercial and professional), and a non-free zone entity needs a licence from the RAK Department of Economic Development as well. The only official RAK DED fee table we found, on the RAK Government portal, was last updated on 27 November 2019. It sets the economic licence fee, new or renewal, by category at AED 10,000, 5,000, 2,500, 1,000 or 400, without saying which activities fall into which category. Treat it as an old reference and ask RAK DED for a current quotation.

How to build a real RAKEZ budget

1. Pick the package, not the licence type. The published prices are package prices; outside a package, RAKEZ prices on a quotation.
2. Count the visas. Add each visa at the published rate, plus AED 985 for anyone already in the UAE, and check that your workspace allows that many.
3. Add the immigration file if your package does not include it: AED 2,200 plus the refundable AED 5,050 deposit.
4. Ask for the year-two renewal in writing, because RAKEZ does not publish it.
5. Get warehouse or land rent quoted before you commit to an industrial zone.

Opening a business bank account

A bank account does not come with a RAKEZ licence: the bank opens it separately, after its own review of the company, its owners and the expected transactions. For a new small company, two common starting points are the Wio Bank business account, which costs AED 99 a month on the Essential plan, with no minimum balance, and Mashreq NeoBiz, which starts at AED 99 plus VAT a month on the Pro plan, with no minimum balance (banks’ own fee schedules, checked October 2026). Compare all of them on our UAE business banks page.

RAKEZ against other zones

For a founder who only needs a licence and a visa, RAKEZ publishes a full package price, AED 14,000 a year with a residence visa, on its own site. For a trader holding stock or a manufacturer, the Industrial Zones offer space that Dubai budget zones do not. Against Dubai zones like IFZA, which publishes no price at all, and Meydan, RAKEZ gives up the Dubai address and a shorter commute to Dubai clients. See our IFZA vs Meydan vs SHAMS guide, the cheapest free zones in the UAE guide and our cost to set up a company in Dubai guide for context, and line the options up in the free zone comparison tool or the free zone comparison table.

RAKEZ set against every other UAE zone on published entry price is in UAE free zone company setup cost.

Free zones in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah we cover: Ajman Free Zone, Ajman NuVentures Centre, Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone, RAK ICC, Fujairah Free Zone and Fujairah Creative City.

Every RAKEZ visa fee, the application steps and how to check a visa status are on RAKEZ visa cost and status check.