Middle East
Onshore operators, Abu Dhabi (Mainland), UAE
A DED Abu Dhabi licence lets you sell directly to mainland customers, sign government contracts, and operate physical premises anywhere in the Emirate.
100% foreign ownership in most activities since 2021Direct access to government and ADNOC procurementNo mainland trade restriction unlike free zones
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
9%
Fastest setup
4-6 weeks
Tax treaties
115
Region
Middle East
What you'll need
- No resident director required
- Local registered office required
- Economic-substance test applies
- Minimum capital: No minimum capital
- Administrative language: Arabic and English
- Legal system: Civil law
Tax and treaty profile
- Corporate tax 9%
- Tax treaties 115
- VAT rate 5%
- Withholding on dividends 0%
Key treaty partners
UKFranceGermanyIndiaChinaSingapore
Banking and payments
- Banking takes 2 to 4 weeks with KYC
- Stripe supported
- Mercury supported
- Wise supported
- Crypto banking available
- EMI license framework available
Considerations
Pure holding structures
A mainland Abu Dhabi licence cannot use the QFZP 0% regime. Pure holding vehicles pay 9% above AED 375,000, and dividends to non residents have to flow through a treaty network.
9% federal CIT applies on net profitParticipation exemption requires substanceNo 0% rate available on mainland