Legal services

DNFBP (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions) is a category of businesses that are not financial institutions but must comply with AML/CFT requirements on par with banks: real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, trust and company service providers, accountants, auditors, lawyers, notaries, and commercial gaming operators.

The Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (DMTT) is a UAE tax topping up the effective tax rate to 15%, introduced by Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024 and applicable for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025. It applies only to multinational groups with consolidated annual revenue of €750 million or more in at least two of the preceding four financial years. This implements the OECD/G20 Pillar Two global standard (GloBE Model Rules). For the vast majority of small and medium-sized businesses, this tax does not apply — the €750m threshold filters out everything except the largest-scale groups.

A Family Foundation in the UAE is not a distinct legal entity type — it is a tax status. Article 17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 (the Corporate Tax Law) allows a foundation, trust, or similar entity to obtain Unincorporated Partnership status — fiscal transparency under which income is taxed in the hands of the beneficiaries rather than at the level of the structure itself. Trusts without separate legal personality (such as DIFC/ADGM trusts) are automatically transparent. Foundations with separate legal personality (DIFC Foundation, ADGM Foundation, RAK ICC Foundation) must apply to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and obtain approval. For individual beneficiaries, personal investment and real estate income is generally outside Corporate Tax regardless of the foundation’s own transparency status.

The Finfluencer License is mandatory registration with the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) for any individual providing financial recommendations via social media who has 1,000 or more followers.

The R&D Tax Credit is a non-refundable UAE tax credit on qualifying research and development expenditure, introduced by Cabinet Decision No. 215 of 2025 and Ministerial Decision No. 24 of 2026, applicable for tax periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. The credit rate is tiered: 15%, 35%, and 50%, depending on both the level of R&D expenditure and the average number of staff dedicated to R&D. The maximum credit is AED 2 million per tax period (50% of the maximum qualifying expenditure of AED 5 million). The credit is applied against Corporate Tax liability and, where applicable, Top-up Tax (DMTT).

Small Business Relief (SBR) is a transitional measure under the UAE corporate tax framework. Any UAE-resident taxable person with revenue at or below AED 3 million may elect SBR and be treated as having zero taxable income for that tax period — effectively 0% corporate tax. SBR is available only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026. The UAE Ministry of Finance has not announced any extension.

Corporate bankruptcy and restructuring in the UAE is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 51 of 2023 (Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Law), in force since 1 May 2024. A debtor must file an application within 60 days from the date payments are suspended or from the date it becomes aware it will be unable to meet its debts. There are three procedures: preventive settlement (before formal bankruptcy), restructuring, and liquidation. Since 15 July 2025, all cases are heard by a dedicated Bankruptcy Court based in Abu Dhabi. DIFC and ADGM companies are excluded and follow their own separate insolvency regimes.

A UAE VAT-registered business can claim a refund of excess input tax through the FTA EmaraTax portal using Form VAT311, after submitting the relevant VAT201 return. The FTA reviews the application within 20 working days; approved refunds are paid within 5 working days. The critical 2026 change: under Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2025, excess input VAT can no longer be carried forward indefinitely. The maximum carry-forward period is now 5 years. Transitional deadline: credits from 2018–2020 must be claimed by 31 December 2026 or they lapse permanently.

Without a registered will, the UAE-based assets of a non-Muslim non-resident (bank accounts, real estate, shares in a company) are distributed under Article 11 of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status: 50% to the spouse, 50% split equally among the children. Bank accounts are frozen immediately on notification of death until a court establishes the heirs — a process that can take anywhere from a few months to over a year. Three main registrars allow proactive registration: DIFC Wills Service (AED 10,000, English only), ADJD in Abu Dhabi (AED 950, bilingual), and ADGM (registration at ADGM, probate handled through ADJD). UAE residency is not required for any of the three.

On 20 September 2021, the UAE enacted its first comprehensive federal data privacy framework: Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data — universally referred to as the PDPL. The law came into force on 2 January 2022.

A commercial agency in the UAE is an agreement registered with the Ministry of Economy that grants a local agent statutory protections — including a restriction on unilateral termination and a right to compensation — that an ordinary, unregistered distributor does not have.

Federal Decree-Law No. (37) of 2022 Concerning Family Businesses is the UAE’s first federal law regulating operating companies owned by a single family through voluntary registration in a family business registry, rather than through creating a separate asset-holding structure.

Cybersecurity in the UAE is governed by a multi-layered system: a base criminal cybercrimes statute applies federally, with sector-specific and emirate-level regulatory requirements layered on top depending on the company’s industry and licence.

Commercial arbitration in the UAE is governed by the federal Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 on Arbitration, but the actual landscape of arbitration institutions has changed substantially over the past five years.

Corporate tax (CT) is a federal tax on profits of legal entities and natural persons from business activities in the UAE, introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. In force from 1 June 2023. For the first time in UAE history, a direct profits tax applies to the vast majority of commercial entities.

The UAE occupies a unique position in the global virtual asset regulatory landscape. It is the only country in the world to have established a dedicated regulatory authority exclusively for virtual assets — VARA in Dubai — as early as 2022, long before most jurisdictions had begun drafting any coherent rules.

Closing a UAE company is not one procedure but three running in parallel: the corporate track (liquidation and licence cancellation), the tax track (deregistration with the Federal Tax Authority for corporate tax and VAT) and the immigration track (cancelling visas and the establishment card). The framework is set by Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2025, Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on Corporate Tax, Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on VAT and Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures.

Liquidating a limited liability partnership in Kazakhstan runs on two parallel tracks: a corporate one, handled by the justice authorities and ending with the removal of the entry from the National Register of Business Identification Numbers, and a tax one, handled by the state revenue authorities and determining how long the whole exercise actually takes. The second track was rewritten in full with effect from 1 January 2026.

A UAE residence visa is an immigration status. It authorises living and working in the UAE. It is issued by ICP or GDRFA.

UAE tax residency is a tax status. It confirms that an individual is a tax resident of the UAE. It is evidenced by a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) issued by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).

UAE tax residency and immigration status are two separate things. A residence visa (including the Golden Visa) protects immigration status but does not make you a UAE tax resident. Tax residency is determined by physical presence and other factors under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022. During extended absence, two independent risks arise: loss of UAE tax residency and potential tax residency in the country of stay.

Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2025 took effect on 15 October 2025. It amended Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies — the UAE's primary corporate law. The main changes: companies can now transfer between jurisdictions without liquidation (re-domiciliation), LLCs can issue multiple share classes, drag-along and tag-along rights are now statutory, and free zone companies conducting mainland activities are expressly subject to the CCL.

A non-compete clause in a UAE employment contract is valid only when three conditions are met simultaneously: the employee had access to the employer’s clients or business secrets, the restriction is precisely defined by time, place, and type of activity, and the duration does not exceed two years from the contract’s expiry.

Hong Kong charges profits tax only on profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong. The residence of the taxpayer is irrelevant. A Hong Kong company may therefore lawfully pay no profits tax where the operations that produced the profits were carried out outside Hong Kong. That position is asserted through an offshore claim, which is neither a relief nor a permissive procedure: it is the application of section 14 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).

Relocating a founder to the UAE and moving a business to the UAE are not the same thing. The first is resolved through obtaining a residence visa and, upon satisfying the criteria of Cabinet Resolution No. 85 of 2022, UAE tax residency. The second is a multi-layered corporate and tax task in which every decision carries consequences in several jurisdictions simultaneously.

A foreigner may acquire residential property in Kazakhstan only with permanently residing status (a residence permit holder); without that status, the right to housing under Article 9 of the Law of the RK “On the Legal Status of Foreigners” does not extend to a foreign national.

Trademark registration in the UAE is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2021 on Trademarks and administered by a single federal authority — the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MOET) through its Trademark Office. Registration is effective across all 7 emirates at once, costs from AED 6,500 for a single class (application, publication, and registration combined), and takes 4–6 months from filing to certificate under standard conditions. A trademark is valid for 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely. As of November 2025, an updated fee schedule applies under Cabinet Resolution No. (102) of 2025, and from 27 January 2026, all new applications are classified under the 13th edition of the Nice Classification.

Before 15 October 2025, changing a UAE free zone meant one thing: liquidate the old company, register a new one. Corporate history was erased, contracts had to be renegotiated, bank accounts closed and reopened, all visas reissued. For a company with three to five years of history, established banking relationships, and an active contract portfolio, this was a significant operational and financial undertaking.

Redomiciliation (also known as continuance or delocalisation) is the legal process by which a company transfers its jurisdiction of incorporation from one country to another while preserving its legal personality, corporate history, existing contracts, and all rights and obligations. The company does not cease to exist and is not re-incorporated: it continues to operate as the same legal entity — simply in a new jurisdiction.

Hong Kong charges Profits Tax only on profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong; profits from foreign sources are not taxed, but only if the company can document that the activity generating the profit genuinely took place outside Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong trust is governed by the common law and by the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29), not by a dedicated trusts statute; the trust itself is not a legal person, and the taxpayer is the trustee. Hong Kong trust law took its present substance on 1 December 2013, when the Trust Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 came into force, and has not changed in substance since; the consolidated version of Cap. 29 is nevertheless dated 23 May 2025, because of consequential amendments made by the company re-domiciliation regime.

A labour ban is an administrative decision by MOHRE blocking the issuance of a new UAE work permit for one year, applied only on three legally defined grounds.

A dispute with the UAE Federal Tax Authority runs through four consecutive stages set by Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures: an application for Tax Assessment Review under Article 28, an application for Reconsideration under Article 29, an objection to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee under Articles 30 to 33, and an appeal to the competent court under Article 36. Skipping a stage closes the next one: a court will not admit a tax claim where no objection was first filed with the Committee.