Frequently asked questions, honest answers.

The low figures you see online generally cover the license fee alone. Indicative amounts by free zone start at AED 6,000 (approximately USD 1,600) at RAKEZ, AED 13,000 (approximately USD 3,500) at SPC Free Zone and in the AED 25,000-31,500 range at IFZA; at DMCC there is AED 9,020 in registration plus AED 20,285 in annual license fees. Visa items, the medical test, Emirates ID, health insurance, office and renewal are added on top. All figures are indicative and are confirmed against the current schedule before application.

The decision starts with your activity, not with cost. If you will sell goods or services directly to local customers inside the UAE, a mainland structure is generally necessary. If you will serve international clients or operate in consulting, software or foreign trade, a free zone is often the better fit. Banking and visa quota also vary with this choice. The right answer emerges once your activity code and customer profile are clear.

This is a common misconception. For a company holding QFZP (Qualifying Free Zone Person) status, only qualifying income is taxed at 0%; non-qualifying income is taxed at 9% from the first dirham. A QFZP also does not benefit from the 0% band on the first AED 375,000 and is excluded from Small Business Relief. What matters, therefore, is not the zone but the nature of the income and whether the QFZP conditions are actually met.

The figure is the same but the subject differs, and this is one of the most frequently confused points. In corporate tax, AED 375,000 is a profit threshold: taxable profit above that amount is taxed at 9%. In VAT, AED 375,000 is a turnover threshold: if your taxable turnover over a 12-month period exceeds it, VAT registration becomes mandatory. The voluntary registration threshold is AED 187,500 in turnover. Confusing the profit and turnover thresholds can delay registration and lead to administrative penalties.

The standard VAT rate in the UAE is 5%. Registration is mandatory if your taxable turnover over a 12-month period exceeds AED 375,000. Once you exceed AED 187,500 you may register voluntarily; in some cases this is preferable for input VAT purposes. Whether registration is required depends on the type of activity, the place of supply and the customer's location, which is why it is assessed file by file together with a qualified professional.

Not for current periods. Cabinet Decision No. 98/2024 removed the ESR notification and reporting obligation for financial years ending on or after 31 December 2022. However, obligations relating to periods before that date, along with the associated audit and penalty exposure, remain in force. Content still circulating in the market claims that "an ESR notification is mandatory every year"; that information is out of date. Corporate tax registration, filing and accounting obligations do continue. Because legislation may change, the current position is confirmed before application.

It may be. The Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rule in article 7 of the Turkish Corporate Tax Law (Kurumlar Vergisi Kanunu) taxes undistributed profit in Turkey when four conditions are met together: direct or indirect control of at least 50%; at least 25% of gross revenue consisting of passive income; a total tax burden on commercial balance sheet profit below 10%; and total gross revenue of the participation exceeding the foreign currency equivalent of TRY 100,000. Tax paid abroad may be credited under article 33 of the same law. The assessment is specific to each individual and should be made with a qualified professional.

This is the most frequently overlooked risk. Under article 3 of the Turkish Corporate Tax Law (Kurumlar Vergisi Kanunu), entities whose legal seat or place of effective management is in Turkey are subject to full tax liability; the place of effective management is where business is in fact concentrated and directed. Even if your company is incorporated in Dubai, if decisions are in practice taken from Turkey, the company may be treated as fully liable to tax in Turkey on its entire income. In that case, much of the intended effect of the Dubai structure falls away.

Articles 3 and 4 of the Turkish Income Tax Law (Gelir Vergisi Kanunu) are decisive: individuals whose residence is in Turkey, and those who stay in Turkey continuously for more than six months within a calendar year, are deemed resident there and subject to full tax liability. Simply forming a company abroad or obtaining a residence visa is therefore not enough; the actual center of your life must genuinely change. This transition differs with personal circumstances and must be planned with a licensed professional.

No. Cabinet Decision No. 85/2022 (effective 1 March 2023) sets out three routes for individuals: physical presence in the UAE of 183 days or more in the relevant 12-month period; presence of 90 days or more combined with UAE or GCC citizenship, or UAE residency plus a permanent home or a business or employment in the UAE; or having one's usual place of residence and center of personal and financial interests in the UAE. A residence visa alone does not establish tax residency.

A TRC is a document issued by the UAE Federal Tax Authority confirming that an individual or a company is a UAE tax resident. A party wishing to rely on the provisions of a double taxation treaty submits this document to the tax administration of the other country. Evidence demonstrating that the residency conditions are in fact met (entry and exit records, a housing contract, income documentation) is requested for the certificate. Holding a visa alone is not sufficient to obtain a TRC, and the outcome of the application depends on the authority's assessment.

No, and misinformation on this point is widespread. Article 23 of the treaty provides the credit method for Turkish residents, not the exemption method. Because no income tax is levied at individual level in the UAE, the amount available for credit on personal income is in practice zero. As a result, a person who remains a Turkish tax resident pays Turkish tax on Dubai-sourced income essentially in full. Crediting corporate tax paid in the UAE at company level arises only in the cases and under the conditions permitted by the Corporate Tax Law.

On the property route the threshold is AED 2,000,000 (approximately USD 545,000). The property must be located in a designated freehold area, and both the title deed and the DLD-approved valuation certificate must be issued in the individual's own name. Under joint ownership the test is applied to each owner's own share rather than the total price; each share must independently meet the threshold. Because thresholds and documentation criteria may change, current GDRFA conditions are confirmed before application.

No. Property held through a company or an offshore structure closes the Golden Visa property route; the documents must be in the individual's own name. Structuring ownership correctly before the purchase decision is both faster and cheaper than transferring it afterward. Subsequent transfers trigger fresh fees, a new valuation and lost time.

In Dubai, residency and Golden Visa procedures run through GDRFA Dubai. ICP (the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security) is competent for the other emirates and for federal procedures. If your property or company is in Dubai, GDRFA is the correct counterpart. An application submitted through the wrong channel leads to delay and duplicated costs.

No. Visa approval always rests with the competent authority. Our undertaking is that the file will be complete, consistent and submitted through the correct channel. What intermediaries who promise approval or timing say is not consistent with how the official process works.

Yes, sponsorship of family members is possible once valid residency status and the required conditions are in place. An Ejari-registered tenancy contract, proof of income and health insurance are typically requested. For Golden Visa holders, family sponsorship conditions are more flexible. Every application is assessed separately and approval rests with the authority.

Valid health insurance is required in Dubai residence visa procedures. An employer is obliged to provide insurance for its employees, and a policy is also required for family members you sponsor. Premiums vary considerably per person by age and level of coverage, so premium amounts become clear only once a quotation has been obtained. This item is frequently forgotten in setup budgets.

The Emirates ID is your official identity card in the UAE; it is requested for banking, mobile lines, tenancy contracts and most official procedures. It is obtained as part of the visa process, alongside biometric registration and the medical test. Card delivery is usually completed shortly after visa stamping. The full visa process realistically takes two to four weeks; authority workload can extend that period.

Whether it is mandatory depends on the zone you choose, the type of activity and the number of visas you request. Some free zones permit a set number of visas with a flexi desk; as the visa count rises, a requirement for physical space arises. On the mainland, a genuine office with Ejari registration is generally required. The right answer becomes clear once your activity code and visa plan are set.

Some free zone packages accept a virtual office or flexi desk solution, which allows a low-cost start. Banks, however, may look at this point when assessing the genuine connection between the activity and the UAE. A structure built on an address alone can be a disadvantage at account opening. A deliberate balance has to be struck between cost and banking ease.

A rejection is not the end of the process, but it can complicate later applications. That is why the first application should go to the right bank with a well-prepared file. The most common grounds for rejection are activity that is not supported by documentation, a source of funds that cannot be explained, and a company connection to the UAE seen as weak. The decision always rests with the bank's compliance department and cannot be guaranteed in advance.

Crypto asset activity is a regulated area in the UAE and may require a license from competent authorities such as VARA in Dubai. Crypto trading, custody or exchange services cannot be provided under a general trading license. Banks are also noticeably cautious toward companies holding this activity code. Your plan must be built around the correct license category from the outset; license approval rests with the relevant authority.

Liquidation is not free and generally takes longer than expected. It generates items such as license cancellation, visa cancellations, the liquidator's report, newspaper publication, zone charges and, where applicable, deregistration for tax. Failing to renew the license before the process is complete leads to accumulating penalties and late fees. We recommend making the setup decision with the exit cost in view as well; amounts vary by zone and are indicative.

Yes, notification and reporting obligations apply. Under Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (Türk Parası Kıymetini Koruma Hakkında 32 Sayılı Karar) and the Central Bank of Turkey's Capital Movements Circular, residents of Turkey are free to establish companies or acquire shareholdings abroad; cash capital exports, however, are made through banks, and those transactions are reported by the banks to the competent authorities. Residents of Turkey who establish or hold shares in companies abroad also have a periodic reporting obligation. Because the form and timing of notifications change with each version of the Circular, we coordinate this step in confirmation with a qualified professional.

Yes, they can. The UAE participates in the automatic exchange of financial account information (CRS), and account details may reach the tax administration of your country of residence. The claim that "Dubai provides secrecy" does not reflect the current reality. The correct approach is to build a structure that remains sound, declarable and defensible even when that information is shared.

Technically yes; many procedures can be handled remotely. But two risks arise: managing the company in practice from Turkey may create full tax liability in Turkey through the place of effective management test, while a weak connection to the UAE can cause problems on the banking relationship and tax residency side. The decision to manage remotely should be taken with both risks understood and with professional advice.

The realistic ranges we observe are: license typically 1-3 weeks, residence visa 2-4 weeks, bank account 2-8 weeks. End to end, setup including visa and account is typically 4-10 weeks. Missing documents, apostille delays or authority workload can extend these periods. These ranges are estimates, not commitments; proposals that promise a specific date are not realistic.

As a general rule, official documents issued in Turkey require an apostille and, where necessary, certification with a sworn translation in order to be used in the UAE. Where a corporate shareholder is involved, trade registry documents, signature circulars, articles of association and a board resolution are frequently requested. For individual shareholders, a passport is usually sufficient. Because the exact list varies by zone and activity, we share the document list in writing before the application.

In free zones, 100% foreign ownership is standard. On the mainland, full foreign ownership has also become possible across many lines of activity; exceptions remain for certain strategic activities, however, and the list is updated over time. This becomes clear once your activity code has been determined; the current activity list is confirmed before application.

With the corporate tax regime in place, proper bookkeeping and record retention are effectively mandatory. Some free zones require audited financial statements for license renewal; this requirement varies by zone and company type. Setting up accounting from day one is far cheaper than making retroactive corrections at year end. The scope of these obligations may be updated as legislation changes.

No. In Turkey these areas fall within the remit of certified public accountants and sworn-in certified public accountants under Law No. 3568, and of attorneys under article 35 of the Attorneyship Law No. 1136 (Avukatlık Kanunu). Our work is process coordination, file preparation and working alongside licensed professionals. We refer every matter requiring a formal opinion to the appropriate licensed professional.

No. Rental yield, occupancy and capital appreciation depend on market conditions; they cannot be guaranteed, and we do not provide investment advice. In addition, the 4% DLD transfer fee, registration fees and annual service charges directly reduce net yield. We share the data as it stands and, on the transaction side, handle matching with a licensed broker and coordination of the process.