Live, do business and invest in the UAE, in your own language.

On the UAE side, yes: structures, visas and the Emirates ID follow the same rules for every nationality. What changes is what comes from your home country — legalising and translating documents for use in the UAE, how you evidence source of funds to the bank, and your tax and exchange-control obligations at home. We handle the UAE side and flag what to confirm with an adviser in your country.

Mainland is licensed to trade across the local UAE market, including public sector contracts. Free Zone is incorporated inside a free zone, with a leaner process, packages that include a visa quota and its own tax treatment — the natural choice when you invoice outside the UAE. Offshore has no physical presence and no local trading licence: it holds assets, shareholdings and property, and issues no residency visa. The right answer follows from where your clients are and what you need the company to do.

Yes. Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, which amended the UAE commercial companies law, removed the requirement for a majority Emirati shareholder or a local agent across most economic activities — including on the mainland, where the 51% rule previously applied. Free zone companies already allowed full foreign ownership. A narrow set of activities with strategic impact still requires approval from the sector regulator for full foreign ownership; we check your activity before recommending a structure.

The usual route is a visa sponsored by your own company, typically valid for 2 years and renewable: once the entry permit is issued you complete the status change, medical test and biometrics, and receive the Emirates ID — the document that unlocks a personal bank account, a lease, health insurance and school enrolment. Spouse and children follow as dependants once your own visa is issued. There are also long-term routes: the 5-year Green visa for investors holding a share from AED 1 million, and the Golden visa of 5 or 10 years, which includes property investors from AED 2 million (5 years, renewable). How many visas your company can issue depends on the structure and the space it holds.

In most free zones, yes: incorporation is done remotely with digital documents and either remote signing or a power of attorney. Travel becomes necessary when you want the residency visa, because the medical test, biometrics and Emirates ID issuance are in person, and when your chosen bank requires an interview with the signatory. We sequence the process so all of it fits into a single trip to Dubai.

With complete documents and no additional requirements, a free zone licence usually issues in 3 to 10 working days — some zones offer express routes that issue in a single working day. Mainland structures that depend on third-party approvals take longer. After the licence come the residency visa (1 to 3 weeks) and the bank account (2 to 6 weeks), which run in parallel. In practice, from first contact to a company trading with an account and a visa, the typical route is 4 to 8 weeks; activities needing sector approvals can add 2 to 4 weeks.

You do, if the company is actually going to receive and pay. It is not hard when the file arrives organised: banks want to understand the source of funds, who your clients are, where revenue comes from and what substance the operation has. The usual window is 2 to 6 weeks, and it is the stage that depends most on third parties. We prepare that documentation before introducing you to the bank that best fits your profile, and stay with you through every compliance question until the account opens.

The company pays corporate tax at a headline 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000 per year. Free zone companies meeting the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions pay 0% on qualifying income — but note a detail few people explain: a QFZP does not get the AED 375,000 nil-rate band, and anything that is not qualifying income is taxed at 9% from the first dirham. There is also Small Business Relief for revenue up to AED 3 million, available for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026 and not available to a QFZP. VAT registration becomes mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable turnover. Individuals pay no income tax on salaries in the UAE.

General information, not tax advice. Rules in force as of August 2026 — confirm your own position with a UAE tax adviser.

Not automatically. Each country has its own tests for when someone stops being tax resident — days spent there, family, home, centre of interests, a formal notice of departure — and the rules in Portugal, Brazil, Angola or Mozambique are not the same. In the UAE, anyone who meets the requirements can apply for a tax residency certificate. Before you move, confirm your position with an accountant or lawyer in your home country.

General information, not tax advice. Each country’s rules change and should be confirmed with a local adviser.

No. Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,265, published on 13 May 2025, removed the United Arab Emirates from Brazil’s list of jurisdictions with favoured taxation, under article 24-C of Law 9,430/1996 as introduced by Law 15,079/2024. In practice, consequences such as the increased 25% withholding tax on certain payments and the stricter thin-capitalisation and deductibility rules no longer apply. It does not remove Brazilian obligations: anyone remaining a Brazilian tax resident is still subject to Law 14,754/2023, which taxes profits of controlled foreign entities annually at 15% in defined cases — including significant passive income — alongside foreign asset reporting. And these lists are dynamic: they change, and a structure has to be reviewed when they do.

General information, not tax advice. Take this point to your accountant or tax lawyer in Brazil before settling on a structure.