RAKEZ / RAK Freezone Visa Rules: Key Points

Latest RAKEZ (RAK Freezone) Visa Rules — 2024–2025

Mandatory Health Insurance

• From 1 January 2025, all new RAKEZ visa applications and renewals require health insurance.
• RAKEZ offers specific health insurance plans (Essential, Enhanced, Elite) through its portal to integrate with visa applications.

Golden & Green Visas via

RAKEZ supports application for Golden and Green visas: for investors, specialists, and employees.

Golden Visa (10-year):

• Investor: Requires AED 2 million in share capital or investment funds.
• Specialist: Requires a minimum monthly salary of AED 30,000 + bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).
• Valid health insurance from an approved provider is mandatory.
• Green Visa (5-year): For skilled professionals earning minimum AED 15,000/month

Dependent Visa / Family Sponsorship

• RAKEZ allows sponsors (investor or employee visa holders) to apply for dependent visas.
• Additional deposit: For investor/partner-sponsors, there is an extra visa-security deposit of AED 3,310 per dependent.
• Document requirements: e.g., attested marriage certificate, translated to Arabic; medical report; health insurance.
• For children above 24 years (if being sponsored): RAKEZ may require a certificate from the Ministry of Education, and a higher deposit (e.g., AED 5,175) if the university is not accredited.

Visa Quotas & Workspace Link

• Visa quota is linked to the type of rented facility in RAKEZ:
• According to external free-zone quota guides, for similar free zones, flexi-desks often allow 1–3 visas, shared offices ~ 4–5, and physical offices one visa per ~9 m².
• RAKEZ’s own rules allow them to limit the number of sponsored visas per company, at their discretion.

Visa Security Deposit

• For each sponsored employee (non-GCC national), RAKEZ requires a refundable visa-security deposit.
• The base amount is AED 2,000 per employee (as per RAKEZ Operating Rules), though the authority reserves the right to increase it.

Hiring Non-Sponsored Employees

• RAKEZ permits companies to employ non-sponsored employees (i.e., people not on a visa issued by that RAKEZ company), both on a temporary and permanent basis.
• This gives flexibility in some hiring scenarios, but RAKEZ approval is required.

Employment Contract & Labor Rules

• RAKEZ requires an employment contract, which can be up to 3 years in duration, with renewals allowed.
• When sponsoring employees, the company must bear certain costs: ticket, entry permit, visa/renewal, medical fitness, health insurance, Emirates ID.
• Transferring a sponsored employee to another RAKEZ-licensed company requires prior written permission from RAKEZ, and confirmation that all dues (salary, gratuity) are paid.

Visa / Establishment File Cancellation

• When cancelling a RAKEZ license, the company must cancel all dependent visas before cancelling the sponsor’s visa.
• RAKEZ’s deregistration or cancellation form requires details of how many visas are held, and whether visa holders are inside or outside UAE.

⚠️ Key Considerations & Risks (2025)

• Cost Planning: The visa-security deposit, plus health insurance (now mandatory), can add to initial visa costs.
• Quota Risks: Because visa quota is tied to your leased office/facility, under-estimating your visa need can become a bottleneck.
• Golden / Green Visa Complexity: While RAKEZ supports these, the financial / document criteria are significant — not all companies or individuals may qualify.
• Compliance Responsibilities: As a license-holder company, you must adhere to RAKEZ’s immigration-file obligations (e.g., paying certain visa application costs, ensuring renewal compliance).