UAQ Free Zone Guide (Umm Al Quwain)

UAQ Free Trade Zone is Umm Al Quwain’s free zone, about 30 minutes from Dubai by the zone’s own description, and it competes on price with the cheapest zones in the country. It publishes two setup packages: UAQ LYTE from AED 5,500, with no visa, and UAQ START at AED 12,500, with one residence visa. Its homepage also advertises an all-inclusive setup at AED 2,266 per month and a freelance permit with visa at AED 1,818 per month; these are monthly instalment offers, and the zone does not state their term. This page sets out what the zone publishes, what it does not, and how it compares. Checked on uaqftz.gov.ae on 8 August 2026 and again on 3 October 2026; note the zone moved to a .gov.ae domain, and its old uaqftz.com address redirects there.

Source: UAQ Free Trade Zone, checked 8 August 2026; UAQ LYTE and UAQ START prices from the zone’s blog posts of 29 July and 11 August 2026, read 3 October 2026. The monthly figures are instalment offers and UAQ does not state their term, so they cannot be turned into an annual price; ask for the full contract term and what “all inclusive” includes, in writing.

Licence types and activity rules

The catalogue holds over 1,500 activities, and dual licensing is available within the same entity. Source: UAQ FTZ, licences and entities, checked 8 August 2026. Ten similar activities on one commercial licence is generous: SPC allows five mixed, Meydan three groups.

Entity types and capital

The AED 300,000 is declared capital, not money you deposit and freeze: the zone itself says no proof is required. Do not let the number scare you off the comparison shortlist.

What UAQ FTZ does not publish

The pattern is the same as at most cheap zones: an advertised entry number and a quotation for everything else. Compare UAQ against the other budget options in the cheapest free zones guide before asking for quotes, and ask every zone the same three questions: total first-year cost with your visa count, renewal cost, and what happens to the price in year three.

Opening a business bank account

A bank account does not come with a UAQ Free Trade Zone 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 Mashreq’s NeoBiz account, which starts at AED 99 plus VAT a month on the Pro plan, with no minimum balance, and RAKBANK’s RAKstarter account, which costs AED 103.95 a month plus a required RAKvalue package from AED 51.45, with no minimum balance (banks’ own fee schedules, checked October 2026). Compare all of them on our UAE business banks page.

Consultant coverage in this directory

From the Emirae directory, measured 8 August 2026.

Stated plainly rather than hidden: no consultant in this directory currently lists UAQ FTZ as a declared zone, which mirrors how founders use it: direct with the zone, or through generalist formation firms. Thirteen firms cover the emirate and 43 handle company formation; several of those quote UAQ setups on request.

UAQ advertises monthly instalments next to its package prices, so compare the package prices, not the monthly figures. The comparison against every other zone 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, RAKEZ, RAK ICC, Fujairah Free Zone and Fujairah Creative City.