Off-hours — we reply first thing at 9:00 local. Vy is always on.
UAQ Free Trade Zone sits in the lowest UAE cost band and covers trading, e-commerce, consultancy and small-scale manufacturing. Banking is the part that takes work from this address, and we plan for it from the start. We file the licence, run KYC and handle the visa.
UAQ is the lowest-cost licence in the UAE. That is the whole case for it, and the banking path is the counterweight you should price in before choosing it.
Packaged pricing sits below every other emirate's zones, which is why founders look here first on budget.
General trading, e-commerce, consultancy and light manufacturing sit on one register.
Small warehouse and office units are available, which the desk-only packaged zones do not offer.
Our own zone record says it plainly: the licence is cheap and the account is the hard part. It is workable, and it is planned first.
Full foreign ownership with no local partner requirement, as across the UAE free zones.
Qualifying Free Zone Person status keeps corporate tax at 0% on qualifying income when the structure and activity support it.
UAQ issues commercial, service and small industrial licences on packaged terms with no minimum capital. The zone's own record in our data is explicit that banking is the friction here, so we scope the banking route before the licence rather than after it.
UAQ suits price-first founders who understand the trade-off: the cheapest licence band in the country, and the most preparation needed on the banking side.
Import, export and re-export across product lines on one licence.
Online retail and marketplace selling, including stock-holding models.
Consultancy and professional service activities.
Light assembly and manufacturing in units within the zone.
Day 1–5
Diagnostic, KYC, activity scoping, UAQ FTZ name reservation.
Week 2–4
Filing, MOA, initial approval.
Week 5–6
Licence issuance, establishment card, eSignature.
Week 7–9
Investor visa: entry permit, medical, Emirates ID.
Week 8–12
Corporate bank account (varies by bank).
Final cost depends on the zone, activity and visa count.
| Feature | Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone |   Ajman Free Zone |  Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal framework | UAE Civil Law | UAE Civil Law | UAE Civil Law |
| 100% foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 0% on qualifying income | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 100% profit repatriation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flexi-desk included | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Warehouse & industrial units | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum share capital | None | None | None |
| Emirate | Umm Al Quwain | Ajman | Ras Al Khaimah |
| Best for | Price-first trading, e-commerce and small services | Trading, e-commerce and light industry at low cost | Services, trading and industrial at low fixed cost |
Bank suitability depends on your activity, ownership, documents and transaction profile.
Tell us the activity and headcount. We shortlist the zones that actually accept it.
No obligation. We tell you if it is not the right route.
Sonsoto quoted us a line-item budget for the licence, visas and the bank pack up front. Nothing crept in later. That alone was worth the fee.
I’d already been rejected by two banks. Sonsoto told me why, changed the pack, and we opened with WIO in three weeks. Straight answers, no theatre.
They caught a corporate-tax filing we were about to miss and re-scoped the renewals so we stopped paying twice for the same work. Now they run everything.
We’d spoken to four firms and got four different price sheets. Sonsoto was the only one that showed us where the extras came from — and we didn’t need them.
Golden Visa done, family visas done, licence renewed. Same team, same WhatsApp thread. I don’t chase PRO agents anymore.
They told me RAK was a better fit than Dubai for our margin. I’d already paid a deposit somewhere else. They still refunded my Sonsoto retainer and helped me exit.
More clients onboarded, higher payout.
Straight to the account.
More referrals unlocks higher payouts.
