Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)Setup cost, licence types and visa rules
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah free zone built for Web3, AI and digital-first founders.
Innovation City, launched as RAK Digital Assets Oasis, was the first free zone in the region created specifically for virtual assets and Web3 companies and has since broadened into AI, robotics, gaming, digital health, cybersecurity, climate tech and the creator economy. It is a digital-first zone: the workspace offer is shared desks and co-working rather than offices or industrial space, and the proposition is regulatory rather than physical. Its package tiers are published openly with the visa entitlement attached to each one stated explicitly, which is unusual and makes it easy to plan headcount against cost. It suits small, remote-first teams in digital asset and AI businesses; it is not a fit for anything requiring warehousing, laboratories or client-facing premises.
Visit Official Website"Not scored" means we found no evidence for that dimension, not that the zone scored zero. Compare zones against each other, not against 10.
How much does Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) cost?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) setup costs from AED 6,600, published by RAK Digital Assets Oasis Authority (Innovation City), verified 19 August 2026.
Setup cost
AED 6,600
≈ $1,808 · €1,650
One-time formation cost, as published
Published by RAK Digital Assets Oasis Authority (Innovation City), verified 19 August 2026.View the source page
USD and EUR figures are indicative conversions at AED 3.65/USD and AED 4.00/EUR. Only the AED figure is a published price.
What licence types does Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) issue?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) does not publish a named licence-type taxonomy. What it does publish about permitted activity is below.
Permitted activities
How many visas does a Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) licence carry?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes a maximum allocation of 4 residence visas. There is no federal quota: every zone sets its own, and the number is normally tied to a package tier or to the floor area you lease rather than to the licence type.
- Maximum published allocation
- 4
What office options does Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) offer?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes 2 workspace options: Shared desk, Co-working. Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.
Published workspace options: Shared desk, Co-working. Important: a virtual address or flexi-desk satisfies the free zone's own licensing rule but is a separate question from the adequate-substance test that a Qualifying Free Zone Person must meet to claim the 0% Corporate Tax rate. What the published entry price covers, as stated by the source: Idea package (annual): no visas, shared desk access, refreshments and event space access. Higher tiers published: Seed AED 13,200 (1 visa), Startup AED 15,400 (visa cap 4), Growth AED 22,550 (visa cap 4).
Tax and compliance at Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes no blanket audit obligation of its own. Separately, every free zone company in the UAE falls under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: the 0% rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a QFZP must file audited accounts at any revenue under Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%.
- Regulatory authority
- RAK Digital Assets Oasis Authority (Innovation City) (RAKDAO)
- Zone-level audit requirement
- Not published as a blanket requirement
Tax treatment the authority publishes
- 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic
- 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP
- 0% personal income tax in the UAE
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls
- QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue)
- Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person
Substance requirements
Federal position (applies to every UAE free zone): to claim the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate a company must maintain adequate substance in the free zone - core income-generating activity carried out there, plus adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified full-time employees and adequate operating expenditure relative to that activity (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Art. 8). Under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare audited financial statements regardless of revenue; a free zone company that is not a QFZP needs audited accounts only where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022 by Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024, so ESR is no longer a live annual filing. UBO disclosure under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 does still apply. Zone-level audit position: no primary source stating this zone's own audit requirement was retrievable during research. The audit_required flag is recorded as false because the field cannot express 'unknown'; do not read it as confirmation that no audit is required. The federal rules above apply in any case.
Customs treatment
This zone does not appear on the compiled VAT Designated Zone list and was not explicitly excluded from it, so its Designated Zone status is recorded as unknown rather than as 'no'. Goods held inside a customs-controlled free zone area are generally not subject to UAE customs duty until they enter the mainland, at which point 5% import VAT and any applicable duty arise. Verify Designated Zone status with the FTA before relying on it for goods movements.
Profit repatriation
The UAE imposes no exchange controls and no restrictions on repatriating capital or profits from a free zone company, and there is no personal income tax on distributions to individuals. Corporate Tax is assessed on the company, not on the remittance.
Ownership
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
- Local partner
- Not required
Why there is no banking section
We publish no per-zone bank lists, acceptance rates or account-opening timelines, here or anywhere else on the site. No bank and no regulator publishes that data by free zone. Account opening is a decision each bank makes on your shareholders and your activity — it is not a property of the zone you register in, and any site that scores it per zone is inventing a fact.
Who Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) suits
Every line below is a restatement of something Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes, not a recommendation we were paid to make. We are not a reseller for any zone on this site, which is why the right-hand column exists at all.
Consider it if
- You want 100% foreign ownership with no local partner.
- You need to sponsor up to 4 people — that is the published maximum allocation.
- Entry price is the deciding factor: the published setup cost is AED 6,600.
- You want a price you can check against the authority's own page before you commit.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
Key benefits, as Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)
How much does it cost to set up in Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) setup costs from AED 6,600, published by RAK Digital Assets Oasis Authority (Innovation City), verified 19 August 2026.
How many visas does a Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) licence carry?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes a maximum allocation of 4 residence visas. Allocation is set by the zone, not federally, and is usually tied to a package tier or to the workspace you lease.
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis)?
The ownership position was not confirmed against an official source for this zone during research. UAE free zones generally permit 100% foreign ownership, but treat that as unverified here rather than as a published fact.
What tax treatment applies to a Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) company?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) publishes the following: 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic, 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP, 0% personal income tax in the UAE, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls, QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue) and Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The 0% federal rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other income is taxed at 9%.
Where is Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) located?
Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) is a free zone in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
Compare Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) against
- RAKEZ - Ras Al Khaimah Economic ZoneAlso in Ras Al Khaimah · AED 6,000
- RAK Maritime CityAlso in Ras Al Khaimah · Not published
- Ajman Media City Free ZoneSimilar published setup cost · AED 4,999
- d3 - Dubai Design DistrictSimilar published setup cost · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- DAFZA - Dubai Airport FreezoneSimilar published setup cost · AED 7,500
Guides that cover Ras Al Khaimah and this zone's situation
- UAE Free Zone Total Setup Cost Breakdown: The Seven Line Items Behind the Licence Price
Licence fee, establishment card, e-channel, visa, medical, Emirates ID, deposit. What each UAE free zone bundles and what it charges separately.
- 0% Free Zone Corporate Tax: The Eight QFZP Conditions as a Checklist
Free zone 0% corporate tax has eight conditions, and all must be met. The full checklist, including the audit rule with no revenue threshold.
- Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025: Qualifying Activities, and Why MD 265 Content Is Stale
Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025 repealed MD 265 of 2023 retroactively from June 2023. The current qualifying activities list and what expanded.
Cost data for Innovation City (RAK Digital Assets Oasis) was last checked against RAK Digital Assets Oasis Authority (Innovation City)'s own site on 19 August 2026. Figures are reproduced in the currency the authority publishes them in, and are never converted, averaged or estimated. We do not charge to be listed, to be listed accurately, or to be ranked. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us the page that says so and we will correct it and re-date the record.