A foreign national may obtain a Tax Residency Certificate on behalf of a company from the Ministry of Finance, only if the company is registered in the UAE and is managed directly from there. In addition, the company must meet all the requirements of the UAE Ministry of Finance, as well as the relevant tax treaty (e.g. on avoidance of double taxation list).
You can apply for corporate tax residency online at tax.gov.ae. In order to obtain a UAE tax residency certificate, the following documents must be submitted and guidelines followed:
- The company must exist for more than 1 year.
- A valid commercial license.
- The constituent document is certified by the authorities (not for IE).
- Valid lease agreement.
- Copies of the passport of the Director of the company together with their residence visa in the UAE and Emirates ID.
- Letter of application from the company.
- Bank statements of the company's bank account from the last 6 months.
- Audited financial statements on the financial condition of the company (certified copy).
- The organizational structure of the company (not for sole proprietorships).
- Tax returns (if any) of the country where documents will be filed.
- The fee is AED 10K (USD 2,7K) and an additional AED 3K (USD 817) for the E-payment card (E-dirham).
- It takes 1-3 weeks to issue the certificate.
Important: Offshore companies are not eligible to apply for this certificate as they are not specified in the Double Tax Treaty.
For individuals wanting to obtain a certificate, you will need to provide the following documents:
- Copies of passports and pages of valid UAE residence visa and Emirates ID.
- Certified copy of a valid rental contract with the address of residence in the UAE or certificate of ownership, if you have your own property.
- Letter of application from the individual.
- Personal bank account statement for the last 6 months, as proof of income coming from the UAE.
- Certified certificate confirming the source of income.
- Certificate from the sponsor stating the individual’s details and the source of their income.
- A certificate from the Directorate General of Foreign Affairs and Residency stating the number of days the resident has spent in the UAE.
- If available, tax declarations of the country where the documents are to be filed.
- The state fee is AED 2K (USD 545) and the E-payment card fee (E-dirham) of AED 3K (USD 817).
- Processing time takes 1-3 weeks.
Note! To use the certificate outside the UAE, you will need to have it certified. For this you need to apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the UAE, where the cost of the procedure is about USD 50. Then you will also need to go to the embassy of your own country. Here, the cost of the process may be strictly individual, depending on the country.
In addition, the expat is required to reside in the UAE for at least 180 days per year.