UAE offshore companies: RAK ICC and JAFZA Offshore explained

In UAE usage, "offshore company" means an entity registered at RAK ICC or JAFZA Offshore. These registries create companies for holding shares, property or intellectual property, for international structuring and for succession planning. An offshore company is not a licensed business: it does not receive a trade licence from an economic department or a free zone authority, and it is not the vehicle for running a shop, a consultancy or a trading operation inside the UAE. Read the term literally: the company is formed in the UAE but is designed to operate outside the UAE market.

An offshore company is not:

• a free zone company, even though JAFZA runs both a free zone and an offshore registry;
• a route to a UAE trade licence or to selling goods and services in the UAE;
• a stated route to residence visas. The pages we read do not say offshore companies can sponsor visas, and we do not claim they can;
• a way to avoid the substance, beneficial-ownership and anti-money-laundering rules that apply to UAE entities.

RAK ICC describes itself as "a leading global wealth and corporate structuring centre" based in Ras Al Khaimah. Its company-formation pages state that a corporate director is permitted, that it operates "common law regulations with access to DIFC and ADGM courts", and that foreign entities can migrate or continue into RAK ICC. The entity types it lists are set out below.

JAFZA, "the flagship free zone of DP World", runs an offshore registry alongside its free zone. Its guide states that "Offshore Companies' registration must be processed through Jafza Registered Agents only" and that all interactions and document submissions with the offshore section go through a registered agent. Where the shareholder is a company, JAFZA lists a board resolution "calling for the establishment of an Offshore Company, notarised and attested by the UAE Embassy". JAFZA also lists a conversion route from offshore to free zone company for owners whose plans change.

Both registries put a licensed registered agent between the applicant and the registry. The agent collects identity and beneficial-ownership documents, submits the application and remains the company's point of contact. This is a compliance design, not a convenience: the agent carries customer due diligence duties under the UAE's anti-money-laundering framework, which the UAE Government portal describes under Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism supervising designated non-financial businesses. Expect to provide the same identity, address and source-of-funds evidence you would give a bank.

If you want to run a business, hold a UAE residence visa through your company, invoice UAE customers or employ staff, you need a licensed entity: a mainland company or a free zone company. Where a free zone's activity list includes holding activities, a normal free zone licence gives the entity a trade licence and an establishment file, and it connects to the investor and partner residence routes.

Tell us what the entity needs to hold, where the owners are tax resident and whether anyone needs a UAE residence visa from it. We will say plainly whether a licensed entity does the job, and if an offshore company remains on the table, we will coordinate with a registered agent and your tax adviser rather than form one on our own account.