A WhatsApp message arrived on Tuesday night from a marketing manager in Bengaluru. "I have AED 20,000 saved. Is that enough to open a consultancy in Ras Al Khaimah, or am I dreaming?"
She is not dreaming. But she deserves a real answer, not a sales pitch.
So here is the budget sheet I sent her, line by line. If you have searched for the consultancy licence Ras Al Khaimah cost and found only vague ranges, this is the version I give my own clients. Every figure is indicative for 2026, from a published source I checked this week. Treat it as a planning tool, not a quote.
Why a consultancy is the cheapest door into the UAE
A consultancy is a service licence. No warehouse, no stock, no shop fit-out. Your set-up costs are the licence, one residence visa and the paperwork around it.
That is the kind of company Ras Al Khaimah has been welcoming in large numbers. RAKEZ, the emirate's economic zone, reported nearly 19,000 new companies in 2025, up 44 percent on the year before, with services licences the largest category at 40 percent. In August 2026 Khaleej Times reported that the RAKEZ community had reached 50,000 companies from more than 100 countries, with management consultancy among its main business lines.
Line 1: the licence, the visa and a desk
The anchor is the RAKEZ all-inclusive business set-up package, advertised on the RAKEZ website at AED 14,000 per year. That page lists the business licence, one UAE residence visa, visa processing, Emirates ID and medical arrangements, up to ten activities, a shared workstation and access to the Compass Coworking Centre. Up to three extra visas are priced at AED 4,000 each, and renewal pricing is fixed.
RAKEZ has also advertised a zero-visa starter licence from AED 5,499, but I would urge most founders to take the visa version. The residence visa is what lets you open a bank account and rent a flat.
Budget: AED 14,000.
Line 2: Emirates ID
Your Emirates ID is issued by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security. When fees were last revised, in January 2023, UAE newspapers reported a two-year card at around AED 370 to 385 including service charges. I hold it as a separate line even when a package bundles it.
Budget: AED 385.
Line 3: medical fitness test
Every residence visa needs a medical fitness test at a government-approved centre. Published fee guides put the standard test at around AED 260 to 360, with fast-track options costing more. Take the standard queue.
Budget: AED 300.
Line 4: health insurance
You need a health plan to complete the visa. For a healthy adult on a basic plan, agency guides for 2026 quote roughly AED 1,000 to 2,000 a year. Basic is fine in year one.
Budget: AED 1,500.
Line 5: the bank account
Several UAE banks now offer SME accounts with no minimum balance for a flat monthly fee, typically around AED 99 to 125. RAKBANK's starter account for new companies is reported to carry no minimum balance and no fee in the first year. Traditional accounts can ask for AED 10,000 to 50,000 as an average balance, so match the account to your cash. My guide on opening a UAE business bank account has the document checklist.
Budget: AED 0 to 1,500 for the first year.
Line 6: the small things
Passport photos, typing-centre charges, couriers, a degree attestation if your activity needs one, a company stamp. Small, but I never let a client plan to the last dirham.
Budget: AED 1,500 as a reserve.
The sheet, added up
All figures indicative for 2026; confirm before you pay.
- Licence, one visa, coworking desk: AED 14,000
- Emirates ID, two years: AED 385
- Medical fitness test: AED 300
- Health insurance, basic: AED 1,500
- Bank account, year one: AED 0 to 1,500
- Reserve for typing, courier, attestation: AED 1,500
- Total: about AED 17,700 to 19,200
Under AED 20,000, with a little change left.
What is not on the sheet, on purpose
Three things are running costs, paid from revenue. Bookkeeping: published UAE guides put basic bookkeeping at around AED 500 to 2,500 a month, and a one-person consultancy with a dozen invoices sits at the low end. Corporate tax: registration on the EmaraTax portal is free, and if revenue stays under AED 3 million you can elect Small Business Relief until 2029, explained in this plain-English tax guide. And your living costs: keep three months aside, because I have watched good founders quit a month before the first retainer came.
One honest caution
Prices move, and packages change what they bundle. The RAKEZ page says Emirates ID and medical are "arranged" within the package; confirm in writing which government fees are included. Regulated activities such as legal or financial consultancy need extra approvals and cost more. A mainland licence, a trading activity or a private office will each push you past AED 20,000. This budget is for a lean, single-founder service business.
What this means for you
You do not need a large sum to start. You need a clear activity, one clean set of documents, and a sheet like this one checked against current fees on the day you apply. Ras Al Khaimah gives you a published package, a coworking desk and a growing community of people selling expertise, with the tourism boom on its coast creating new clients every quarter.
Send me your own line items in the comments, with the figures you were quoted, and I will tell you what looks high and what is missing. Next time: why family offices are choosing the UAE, and what that means for the consultants who serve them.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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