In short
- A visa outside a package costs AED 4,620 for an investor or partner and AED 3,800 for an employee.
- A flexi-desk carries 1 visa, the All-Inclusive package up to 4, a serviced office 2 for each desk.
- First year: AED 6,000 with no visa, AED 12,000 with one, AED 22,000 for a founder and two employees.
- RAKEZ issues a visa in 6 working days on its standard service and in 3 on the VIP service.
In this guide
What a RAKEZ visa costs in 2026
RAKEZ, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone that most founders call the RAK free zone, sponsors the residence visas of its companies itself and publishes a fee for each. The table gives the fee for a visa bought on its own, before VAT. A package price already contains the first visa. The company comes first: its license and packages are on our page about RAKEZ free zone company setup.
| Visa | New | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Investor or partner, 2 years | AED 4,620 | AED 3,535 |
| Employee, 2 years | AED 3,800 | AED 3,500 |
| Spouse, or a child of 18 and over | AED 3,375 | AED 1,705 |
| Child under 18 | AED 3,075 | AED 1,405 |
Three things move these figures. An applicant who is already in the UAE pays AED 985 more for the change of status. The VIP service, with the medical test and the fingerprints on one day, costs AED 3,800 on top of a package visa. Cancelling a visa costs AED 685 for an investor in the UAE and AED 1,070 from abroad, and AED 385 or AED 770 for an employee. RAKEZ's older e-services portal still shows AED 4,520 for the investor visa.
RAKEZ visa quota: how many visas each facility carries
At RAKEZ the visa quota follows the workspace you lease, and the license alone adds nothing to it. The zone's operating rules leave the number for each company to RAKEZ, which publishes it for the smaller facilities only.
| Facility or package | Size | Visas |
|---|---|---|
| Basic package, co-working access | Shared space | None |
| Flexi-desk; the Lite package | Shared workstation | 1 |
| All-Inclusive package, Compass Coworking Centre | Shared space, unlimited access | 1 in the price, up to 3 more at AED 4,000 each |
| Serviced office | From 3 sq m a desk | 2 for each desk, 4 for a company at most |
| Standard or executive office | 6.5 to 20 sq m | Set by RAKEZ with the lease |
| Shell and core office | 120 to 170 sq m | Set by RAKEZ with the lease |
| Warehouse or land | From 150 sq m; plots from 2,500 sq m | Set by RAKEZ, labourers included |
So a company that needs eight visas cannot buy them on a desk. It leases an office or a warehouse first, and RAKEZ sets the quota with the lease. Ask for the number in writing before you sign: for the larger facilities RAKEZ does not publish it.
The quota moves with the space in both directions. A company that goes back from an office to a flexi-desk keeps one visa and cancels the rest, and RAKEZ charges AED 1,000 for the downgrade. A move to a larger facility costs the difference in rent.
Plan the workspace around the headcount of the next two years, the term of a visa.
RAKEZ setup cost in the first year, with zero to four visas
A first-year budget at RAKEZ has three parts: the license with its workspace, the visas, and the lines around each visa. The packages fold the first two into one price. These are RAKEZ's published fees on 10 October 2026.
| Case | What is paid to RAKEZ | First year |
|---|---|---|
| A consultant who stays abroad | Basic package: 1 activity, 1 shareholder, no visa | AED 6,000 |
| A founder who moves to the UAE | Lite package: up to 5 activities, 1 visa | AED 12,000 |
| A founder and two employees | All-Inclusive package 14,000, two more visas at 4,000 each | AED 22,000 |
| A team of four on co-working | All-Inclusive package 14,000, three more visas at 4,000 each | AED 26,000 |
Health insurance comes on top for each visa holder: RAKEZ sells plans from AED 350 a year. Each employee also carries Workers Protection Insurance, which replaced the AED 2,000 visa deposit. RAKEZ describes the All-Inclusive price as covering the immigration file, the e-channel registration, the medical test and the Emirates ID. On a Lite invoice, check whether the e-channel lines are inside: AED 2,200 once and a refundable AED 5,050.
Outside the packages the bill is built line by line. A trading company with a standard office pays its license and a year of rent at registration, then AED 4,620 for the owner's visa and AED 3,800 for each employee. RAKEZ quotes the license and the rent by activity and by facility.
Beside the Basic package RAKEZ sells an e-commerce package, a package for businesswomen and Biz Starter for founders who already live in the UAE, each from AED 6,000.
What each visa adds: the cost lines one by one
| Line | What it pays for | RAKEZ's published figure |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration file and e-channel | The company's immigration file, opened before the first visa | AED 2,200 once, a refundable AED 5,050, then AED 1,200 a year |
| Entry permit | The e-visa for entering the UAE, valid 60 days | In the visa fee; 60 more days cost AED 500 |
| Change of status | Activating the visa of a person already in the UAE | AED 985 |
| Medical fitness test | Blood test and chest X-ray, from the age of 18 | AED 300 for the form, AED 30 for the examination |
| Emirates ID and residence | Fingerprints, the card and the digital residence visa | In the visa fee; door delivery of the card comes with the VIP service |
| Health insurance | Required for every visa, from an approved insurer | From AED 350 a year through RAKEZ |
| Workers Protection Insurance | An employee's unpaid salary, gratuity and ticket home | By salary band, on each employee visa |
What other zones call the establishment card is the immigration file at RAKEZ. Every company that holds one registers in the e-channel system, whether or not it applies for a visa that year. An urgent medical appointment costs AED 500 more, and results come within 24 hours.
How a RAKEZ visa is issued, and how long it takes
RAKEZ is the sponsor, so every application goes through its portal. A sole shareholder receives an investor visa, and co-owners receive partner visas. A shareholder may also stay on a visa from another sponsor.
- License. We file the application, and RAKEZ issues the license, expected in 1 to 5 working days.
- Immigration file. The company's file is opened and registered in the e-channel system.
- Entry permit. RAKEZ applies for the e-visa, and its portal allows 4 business days. The applicant can still be abroad.
- Arrival or change of status. The e-visa is activated at the border, or by RAKEZ for a person already in the UAE.
- Medical test and fingerprints, in the UAE: at RAKEZ's medical centre in Al Hamra on the standard service, in Dubai on the VIP service.
- Residence visa and Emirates ID. The visa is issued in digital form, and the card follows.
RAKEZ's service card puts the standard service at 6 working days and the VIP service at 3. Its older portal page allows 9 business days. A visa runs for two years, and an employee aged 59 or over receives one year at a time. An employee needs a job offer and, for a middle or senior post, an attested degree certificate. A manager named on the license needs none.
RAKEZ's service cards remind investors and employees alike to enter the UAE within 180 days of leaving. What the visa gives you, and how a family is added, is on investor visa in Dubai and the UAE.
We do this for you RAKEZ free zone company setup a company with its license from $7,000
Which RAKEZ license fits which workspace
The license type decides which facilities you may lease, and so how far the quota can grow.
| License | For | Workspace it can take |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Consultants, agencies, professional firms | Co-working, every kind of office, warehouses |
| Commercial, general trading | Trading and distribution of goods | Co-working, every kind of office, warehouses, land |
| E-commerce | Online sales | Co-working, serviced offices, warehouses |
| Industrial | Manufacturing and processing | Warehouses and land in the industrial zones |
| Media, educational, professional | Sector licenses and one-person practices | Co-working, serviced offices, warehouses |
A package fixes how many activities the license holds, from 1 in Basic to 10 in All-Inclusive. Changing them later is an amendment at AED 1,999, with 30% off a second one. An activity beyond the bundle costs AED 1,000 a year, or AED 5,000 for one on RAKEZ's special list.
A person who works alone under their own name can take RAKEZ's freelancer permit, from AED 6,100. It carries the holder's own visa and no other: the comparison with a company is in freelance permit or an LLC.
What comes back at renewal
The license is renewed every year and the visa every two. Each year brings back the package price, AED 1,200 for the e-channel registration and the health insurance, from AED 350 a person. Every second year adds the visa renewals from the first table. RAKEZ guarantees the All-Inclusive package at the same price on renewal, and it sells commercial, service, general trading, e-commerce and professional licenses for three years at a discount.
A visa that came inside a package renews at no charge, under RAKEZ's terms. If it is cancelled and another person is hired, the replacement is charged at the standard fee. An Emirates ID renewed after the 30-day grace period is fined AED 20 a day, up to AED 1,000.
RAKEZ against IFZA and DMCC, by visas and cost
| Compared | RAKEZ | IFZA | DMCC |
|---|---|---|---|
| License a year, no visa | AED 6,000 | About AED 12,500 | AED 35,484, with a flexi-desk |
| With the first visa | AED 12,000 | About AED 14,900 | AED 43,780 |
| Visas on a desk | 1, or up to 4 in All-Inclusive | By package | 1 to 3 |
| Beyond the desk | An office or a warehouse, quota set with the lease | Office space in the zone's business park | 1 visa for every 9 sq m of office |
For one founder with one visa, RAKEZ costs about AED 2,900 a year less than IFZA, with an address in Ras Al Khaimah in place of a Dubai one. For a factory or a warehouse the other two do not compete: RAKEZ runs three industrial zones. The wider field is in 22 UAE free zones compared, and IFZA's side in IFZA license types and activity list.
Setting up in RAKEZ with us
Formation with us starts at $7,000 before VAT for a free-zone company with its license. A residence visa costs from AED 3,000, and accounting from $350 a month. We size the workspace to the visas you need, file the license and each visa, and prepare the bank application. The three packages stand side by side on RAKEZ free zone company setup.
