RAKEZ activity register
Educational licence activities in RAKEZ
Get my UAE setup planThe short answer
RAKEZ, not Velarozone, issues the Educational Licence, which covers 71 named education and training activities in Ras Al Khaimah. A company that delivers a training programme to enrolled students also needs a Training Permit from RAKEZ's Academic Zone, applied for after the licence is granted and valid for one year. Schools, early-learning centres, colleges and universities fall under RAKEZ's separate Academic Regulations instead.
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone ([RAKEZ](https://rakez.com/)) groups 71 activities under its Educational licence: schools and early-learning centres, training institutes, educational consultancies, higher-education providers and supporting non-academic services. Entries on the register include Academic Liaison Office, Accounting Training, Computer Skills Training, Foreign Language Institute and Vocational Training Services.
RAKEZ's Training Institute Regulations define a training programme as a course offered to enrolled students to build knowledge or skills in a technical, vocational or professional field. A company that delivers one is a Training Institute. It needs a Training Permit in addition to the Educational Licence, applied for once the licence is granted. The permit names the training activity and the programmes offered. A Training Institute may not conduct any Higher Education Activity. Schools, early-learning centres and higher-education providers sit under RAKEZ's Academic Regulations, which require their own permit before they operate: a Higher Education Institution (HEI) Permit for colleges and universities. Under those regulations, an education company already incorporated elsewhere in the UAE and branching into RAKEZ must be accredited by the Ministry of Education, or the relevant government education regulator in that Emirate, before the Academic Zone grants the permit.
A training company also carries the usual RAKEZ obligations: annual renewal of the trade licence, an immigration file to sponsor employee and investor visas, and registration and filing under UAE corporate tax. The Training Permit adds its own one-year validity, and the Training Institute Regulations ask for the renewal request 30 days before the permit expires.
Velarozone acts as adviser, not authority. It prepares the application, sequences the licence and any Academic Zone permit, and deals with RAKEZ for the client ([why clients work with Velarozone](/why-velarozone)). RAKEZ reviews and issues both. For a Training Permit, RAKEZ must notify its decision within 60 days of the meeting at which all conditions are met, and an approved applicant pays the fees within five working days, as RAKEZ's [Training Institute Regulations](https://rakez.com/upload/managedocument/training_regulations_20211122101303.pdf) set out.
What the Educational classification covers
Activities here describe teaching, training and education support. RAKEZ defines a training programme as a course offered to enrolled students to build knowledge or skills in a technical, vocational or professional field. An e-learning operator should note that offering programmes primarily by distance or online learning needs prior approval from RAKEZ's Academic Zone.
RAKEZ's Academic Zone supervises training institutes. Once a Training Permit is issued, the institute may run only the activity and programmes written on it. Any change to a programme needs RAKEZ's prior written approval.
What a educational licence here is structured for
It suits a company whose product is a course for enrolled students, or support for education, and which is a RAKEZ free zone company or a branch of a UAE or foreign private education institution. The Training Institute Regulations grant the licence and permit only to those.
The Training Permit does not stretch to formal higher education, because a Training Institute may not conduct any Higher Education Activity. A college or university starts under the Academic Regulations with an HEI Permit, so scope that first.
From the register
Named Professions on RAKEZ's Freelance List
A sample of the 71 activities RAKEZ files under Educational, exactly as the register names them. Activity names are the authority's own wording and are shown in English in every language; register codes are not published.
- Academic Liaison Office
- Accounting Training
- Adaptive Learning Platforms
- Administrative Training Services
- Alternative Power and Researches Consultancy
- Arabic Calligraphy Teaching Institute
- Architecture & Town Planning Training
- Banking & Finance Training
- Branch Business School
- Branch College
- Branch Community College
- Branch University
- Collaborative Learning Platforms
- Computer Training
- Consultancy and Studies and Researches in Economics
- Consultancy and Studies and Researches in Linguistics
- Consultancy and Studies and Researches in Literature and Arts
- Consultancy and Studies and Researches in Renewable Energy
- Consultancy and Studies and Researches in Sociology
- Consulting and research and development in the field of technology education
- Design Training
- Dissemination of evidence to the parks and scientific research
- E -Tutoring services
- E-Educational Consultancy
- E-Examination and Test Preparation Center
- E-Learning Content Creation
- E-Training Institute
- Education Support Services
- Educational Consultancy
- Educational Services
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
How the Permit Differs from a Company Licence
Four points decide whether the trade licence is enough on its own.
- A company that delivers a training programme to enrolled students needs a Training Permit from RAKEZ's Academic Zone, applied for after the Educational Licence is granted. The permit is valid for one year, and the renewal request goes in 30 days before it expires.
- Schools, early-learning centres and higher-education providers such as colleges and universities need a permit from RAKEZ's Academic Zone under its Academic Regulations instead, a Higher Education Institution (HEI) Permit for colleges and universities, also renewed annually.
- An education company already incorporated in another UAE Emirate and branching into RAKEZ must be accredited by the Ministry of Education, or the relevant government education regulator in that Emirate, before RAKEZ's Academic Zone will issue the permit.
- Standard RAKEZ obligations continue alongside this: annual licence renewal, an immigration file for employee and investor visas, and UAE corporate tax registration and filing.
Where the Permit Is a Good Fit
- Corporate and professional trainers who run management, computer, language, sales or marketing courses for enrolled learners from outside the company. A private entity that trains only its own employees with its own resources falls outside the Training Institute Regulations.
- Educational consultancies and administrative-support businesses that advise on or support education and training without themselves enrolling and teaching students.
- Non-degree technical and vocational trainers. RAKEZ separates Accredited Providers, whose credit-bearing qualifications are endorsed by the National Qualifications Authority (NQA), from Quality Assured Training (QAT) Providers, whose courses are not. The application states which one the institute seeks to be.
- Founders who have picked a named activity and can supply the business plan RAKEZ asks for: programme descriptions, tuition fees, and student numbers and revenue for the first three years after the permit is granted.
When to Choose a Company Licence Instead
- Anyone planning a school, early-learning centre, college or university without the budget or time for the separate Academic Zone permit process alongside the trade licence.
- Businesses planning to award degrees. A Training Institute issues Training Certificates and may not conduct any Higher Education Activity. Degrees need the HEI Permit and, for UAE-incorporated applicants branching in, Ministry of Education or Emirate-regulator accreditation.
- Founders who cannot yet say whether their course counts as a training programme for enrolled students. A rejected Training Permit application can be repeated only after a lapse of at least one year.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- Does Velarozone issue the Educational licence?
- No. RAKEZ issues the licence and any Academic Zone permit; Velarozone prepares and manages the application on the client's behalf.
- How do I set up a training institute in RAKEZ?
- Apply first for the Educational Licence covering a named activity such as Computer Skills Training or Foreign Language Institute. Once it is granted, apply to RAKEZ's Academic Zone for the Training Permit, supported by a business plan. RAKEZ must notify its decision within 60 days of the meeting at which all conditions are met, and an approved applicant pays the fees within five working days. The permit lists the activity and programmes and is valid for one year.
- Which permit layer applies to which type of Educational licence activity?
- Schools, early-learning centres and higher-education providers such as colleges and universities fall under RAKEZ's Academic Regulations and need a permit from the Academic Zone before they operate: a Higher Education Institution (HEI) Permit for colleges and universities. Activities that deliver a training programme to enrolled students need a Training Permit under the Training Institute Regulations. Private companies training only their own employees with their own resources fall outside those regulations. Consultancy and administrative-support activities that do not enrol students directly are assessed individually during the activity check.
- How often is the Training Permit or HEI Permit renewed?
- The Training Permit is valid for one year, and the Training Institute Regulations require the renewal request 30 days before expiry. RAKEZ's Education/HEI Permit is also renewed annually.
- Who regulates education activities under this licence, and when does Ministry of Education accreditation apply?
- RAKEZ's Academic Zone issues the Training Permit and the Education/HEI Permit. Under the Academic Regulations, an education company already incorporated in another Emirate and branching into RAKEZ must be accredited by the Ministry of Education, or that Emirate's education regulator, before the permit is granted. Separately, training curricula must be accredited by a competent authority that RAKEZ approves, where applicable.
- Is the Training Permit the same thing as the Educational Licence?
- No. RAKEZ treats them as separate approvals: the Educational Licence is the trade licence, while the Training Permit, or Education/HEI Permit for schools and higher-education providers, is an additional academic authorisation issued by RAKEZ's Academic Zone.
Check your job title against RAKEZ's freelancer list
Velarozone can run the activity check with you to confirm whether your course needs a RAKEZ Academic Zone permit, either a Training Permit or an Education/HEI Permit, alongside the Educational Licence.
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.