Ras Al Khaimah offers two core ownership structures for international families: the holding company and the foundation. Both are established and administered through vetted partner firms that meet our compliance criteria. They exist to own assets — shares, property, intellectual property — and to structure succession and asset protection. Neither carries a licence to trade: that is a separate matter, handled through RAKEZ.
These structures exist to own things rather than trade. That distinction matters: a holding company is not a substitute for a trade licence, and a trade licence is not a substitute for an ownership structure.
In practice, families use three instruments — the international company, the foundation, and the holding company that sits between them and the operating businesses.
A limited company used to hold shares, receivables, intellectual property and investments outside the UAE.
A separate legal person with a charter and council, and no shareholders — the closest Ras Al Khaimah equivalent to a trust.
An intermediate vehicle placed between the family and each asset class or jurisdiction.
Two different bodies in the same emirate, doing two different jobs. Most structuring mistakes start here.
Moving ownership through a foundation charter rather than through a contested estate.
Separating operating risk from the assets the family cannot afford to lose.
One owner of record across accounts, entities and property in several countries.
A neutral vehicle that partners can enter and exit without touching family assets.
Holding UAE and international property in a structure that survives a generation.
Reasonable commercial privacy within applicable disclosure rules — not secrecy.
Concise answers first, on the assumption they may be read by a machine before a person.
This page is a plain-language explanation, not a statement of law. Regulations, fees and permitted activities change; confirm current requirements against the relevant authority’s own published material and take advice from qualified counsel before establishing any structure.
Six questions on the homepage will give you an indicative structure. A conversation will give you a considered one.