The Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ), located in the smallest emirate of the UAE, Umm al-Quwain, is reputed to be friendly, progressive, and affordable, with modern and pro-business infrastructure and environment. The UAQ free zone is perfectly suited for SMEs, microbusinesses, and start-ups for service and trading activities. It provides all the benefits and facilities that larger free zones in the country are offering.

The low-cost business setup, fast & easy registration process, strategic location, favorable tax laws, no investment restrictions, and flexible licensing options make Umm Al Quwain free zone one of the most attractive free zones among foreign investors, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

License Categories in UAQ Free Zone

There are six license categories for business setup in the UAQ free zone for conducting a broad range of business activities.

1. Commercial License: Commercial licenses are given to companies that buy and sell goods within or outside of the United Arab Emirates. Commercial licenses give permission for the import, export, storage, and distribution of the items listed there.
2. Consultancy License: You can apply for a consulting license with the UAQ free zone authority if you want to offer consulting services in management, accounting, HR, and IT services. 
3. Premium Consultancy: Investors who want to provide consulting services in the financial, legal, tourism, engineering, investment, and shipping sectors are issued premium consultancy licenses. 
4. General Trading: A license for General Trading activities falls under the more general category of a commercial license. This gives the freedom and flexibility to engage in a wider range of activities and to trade in commodities that are legal in the UAE.
5. Industrial: If a business incorporated business in UAE is engaged in the manufacturing and production of finished goods from raw materials, it is required to have an industrial license. To get an industrial license, it is required to have a warehouse or physical office for operating business activities. The UAQ Free Trade Zone Authority provides leasable lands and offices with the lowest operating costs in this region for businesses.
6. Freelance: An individual can work as a freelance professional and conduct business under their own name if they have a freelance license or work permit. It is designed for people who work in the technology, media, and film sectors. 

Investors can include up to three unrelated or ten related commercial activities in a single business license, depending on the business activities they want to operate in the free zone. The consultancy services license in UAQ free zone allows up to two business activities per license. 

Dual Business License in UAQ Free Zone 

An investor can have a dual UAQ Free Zone license, a unique offer that is not provided by any other free zone. You can set up a business with a license from one category and add a license from a different category for just 2,500 AED. For example, you open a consulting services company in UAQ free zone and can add a general trading license as an additional one in your pocket. 

At Socialite Consultancy Services, we offer personalized consulting, management, and support services to our clients who want to establish a business in the Umm Al Quwain free zone or other UAE free zones. We help individual investors and businesses to find the ideal licensing category and corporate structure to take the right step for business setup in UAQ Free Zone. Get in touch with us to know more about business formation across UAE.