by serviced
Living in Ras Al Khaimah usually starts with a month in a furnished apartment while your residence visa and Emirates ID come through, then a lease registered with Ras Al Khaimah Municipality on the RAK Digital platform, which also sets up your electricity and water with Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE). The emirate runs its own systems, not Dubai's: no Ejari, a 5% lease fee collected through the utility bill, and buses and taxis run by the Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA). Here is the first month in order, with the official source for each step.
The first month of living in Ras Al Khaimah follows one chain. Your sponsor starts the residence visa, which brings the medical test and the Emirates ID application with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). With an Emirates ID and UAE PASS you can register a lease online, and the registered lease sets up your EtihadWE connection.
| Step | Who does it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Book a furnished base for 30 nights or more | You | Stay on the side of the emirate you will commute from |
| 2. Residence visa and Emirates ID | Your sponsor and you | Security check, Emirates ID application and, from 18, a medical test |
| 3. UAE PASS, bank account, mobile number | You | RAK Digital and EtihadWE both use UAE PASS |
| 4. Choose a home and sign the lease | You and the landlord | Sign with UAE PASS, or on paper and upload it |
| 5. Register the lease | The landlord or you, on RAK Digital | AED 50; 2 working days for a residential contract |
| 6. Electricity and water | EtihadWE, from the registered lease | On within 24 hours of paying any deposit |
| 7. Internet and moving in | You | Book once the lease is registered |
| 8. Leave the serviced apartment | You | Keep an overlap until the new home has power |
The main choice is between the planned communities on the coast south-west of the city, such as Al Hamra Village, Al Marjan Island and Mina Al Arab, and the city districts around Al Nakheel, where all of RAKTA's city bus lines start. Choose by where you will work and whether you will drive, and test the commute before you look at homes.
| Area | What it is | Without a car |
|---|---|---|
| Al Hamra Village | Al Hamra's community with a golf course, a marina, beach resorts and a mall | RAKTA's Red Line runs from Al Nakheel to Al Jazirah Al Hamra, the district it is in |
| Al Marjan Island | Four reclaimed islands by Marjan, the emirate's master developer; mostly hotels and resorts so far | Marjan points to e-scooter and e-bike operators on the island |
| Mina Al Arab (Mina on RAK Properties' site) | RAK Properties' coastal community, with 2 million sq m of protected mangroves by its count | Check the nearest stop in RAKTA's Sayr app |
| The city around Al Nakheel | Where RAKTA's five city bus lines begin | Lines to Al Jazirah Al Hamra, RAK Airport, Sha'am, Al Manar Mall and RAK Bus Station |
A furnished monthly apartment bridges the weeks before you can sign, since the lease needs your Emirates ID or passport and UAE PASS. Our Ras Al Khaimah apartments are at Al Hamra Residence in Al Hamra: on 1 November 2026 the studio was listed from AED 9,900 a month, with a AED 5,000 deposit, a AED 450 city fee per stay and a 30-night minimum. That is one building's terms, not a guide to rents. Companies moving staff can use our corporate housing programme.
Al Marjan Island is set to change. In its results of 4 August 2026, Wynn Resorts said Wynn Al Marjan Island is expected to open in September 2027, and Marjan's site says 2027. Dates for projects of this size can move, so treat it as a target, not a fixed date.
Yes. Hotels in Ras Al Khaimah charge a tourism fee of AED 15 per room per night, according to the UAE government portal u.ae, whose taxes page was updated on 28 October 2026. It is a fixed amount per night, not a percentage, and the portal doesn't say whether it stops after a set number of nights.
Our Al Hamra listings show a separate city fee per stay, so ask what that line covers and how it changes if you extend. Our guide to hotel fees and taxes outside Dubai explains how these fees and 5% VAT appear on a hotel-apartment bill.
Your sponsor, usually your employer, applies for the residence visa. According to u.ae, applicants must pass a security check and apply for an Emirates ID with ICP, the federal authority, and those aged 18 and over also take a medical fitness test. In Ras Al Khaimah, ICP's Customer Happiness Centre in Al Dhait handles ID card services, including fingerprint capture.
ICP adds an AED 150 urgent-service fee for transactions completed inside that centre. Once your Emirates ID is ready, set up UAE PASS. If relatives plan to visit while you settle in, our guide to the visit visa for parents explains the sponsor rules.
Leases in Ras Al Khaimah are registered with Ras Al Khaimah Municipality on the RAK Digital platform, not through Dubai's Ejari. You log in with UAE PASS, landlord and tenant both sign, and you upload both parties' Emirates IDs and the property's Premise ID. The application fee is AED 50, a residential contract takes 2 working days, and it comes back certified with an EtihadWE move-in request.
The tenant also pays an attestation fee of 5% of the annual rent, with a minimum of AED 200. It isn't paid upfront: the municipality splits it into 12 monthly instalments on your EtihadWE bill, under municipal fees. Its own example is a rent of AED 100,000 a year: a fee of AED 5,000, or AED 416.67 a month. No VAT is added, and the lease must be registered again every year.
Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) supplies electricity and water in Ras Al Khaimah, as it does in Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. Here the connection is tied to the lease: a residential contract registered on RAK Digital comes with an EtihadWE move-in request, so you don't need to visit EtihadWE. A new lease that isn't registered won't be connected.
EtihadWE was set up in 2020 under Federal Decree-Law No. (31), taking over from the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA). It switches the supply on within 24 hours of payment of the deposit, if one applies, but publishes no deposit table for tenants, so we don't quote a figure.
Register before you move In Ras Al Khaimah the registered lease is what switches on your electricity and water. Keep the furnished apartment until RAK Digital returns the certified contract and EtihadWE confirms the connection.
RAKTA runs the buses and taxis, and you can book both in its Sayr app. Five city bus lines start from Al Nakheel and cost AED 8 a trip, and metered taxis start at AED 4 by day. The fares below are as RAKTA's website listed them on 1 November 2026.
| Service | Fare | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| City bus | AED 8 a trip | Five lines from Al Nakheel |
| Saqr bus card | Blue card AED 30, including AED 20 of credit | Silver card AED 20: half-price trips for students and residents over 60 |
| Taxi | AED 4 flag fall by day, AED 5 at night, then AED 1.88 a km | Minimum fare AED 6, plus a AED 2 service fee per trip; AED 15 flag fall to another emirate |
| Bus to Dubai | AED 27 | To Union Bus Station, daily 05:00 to 21:00 |
| Bus from Dubai | AED 30 | From Union Bus Station, daily 07:30 to 23:30 |
By car, Visit Ras Al Khaimah, the site of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, gives 45 minutes and 85 km from Dubai International Airport to Ras Al Khaimah city, and 1.5 to 2 hours from Dubai depending on traffic. By bus, RAKTA runs 19 departures a day to Dubai's Union Bus Station for AED 27.
The spread comes from where in Dubai you start and the time of day, so try the drive at rush hour before you sign a lease. Buses leaving from 05:00 to 08:00 and at 15:30 and 17:30 run direct; the rest go via Sharjah.
No passenger train serves Ras Al Khaimah yet: Etihad Rail links Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Dhaid and Fujairah, and Sharjah Station is scheduled for 30 March 2027. Our Etihad Rail passenger train guide covers the open stations. If you are weighing a base closer to Dubai, our guide to moving to Sharjah explains how leases and utilities work there.
No. Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven emirates of the UAE, in the far north, with its own government. Visit Ras Al Khaimah puts it about 100 to 110 km from Dubai.
Online with Ras Al Khaimah Municipality on RAK Digital, using UAE PASS. A residential contract costs AED 50 to apply for and takes 2 working days; a 5% attestation fee on the annual rent is then added to your EtihadWE bill in 12 instalments.
Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), which took over from FEWA. Registering a residential lease on RAK Digital also sends EtihadWE the request to connect your home.
AED 27 to Dubai's Union Bus Station, daily from 05:00 to 21:00, and AED 30 back, as RAKTA listed them on 1 November 2026. Book in RAKTA's Sayr app.
Not yet. Etihad Rail's passenger trains serve Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Dhaid and Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah was not on its published passenger schedule on 1 November 2026.
Hotels charge AED 15 per room per night, according to u.ae (updated 28 October 2026). On a monthly stay, ask how any city fee on your quote is worked out.
Starting your first month in Ras Al Khaimah? Send your dates through a listing's Request to Book, or WhatsApp the team, and check the minimum stay, deposit and city fee listed on each apartment before you confirm.
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