Tax Residency Certificate
The UAE Tax Residency Certificate: three ways to qualify, and only one counts days to 183.
The Federal Tax Authority issues the certificate, through EmaraTax. We read which of the three tests you actually meet, assemble the evidence the FTA asks for, and file it as your Tax Agent.
Two certificates, not one
The first question the application asks is which one you want.
The FTA issues a Tax Residency Certificate for the purposes of a double taxation agreement, and it issues one for purposes other than a treaty. They look similar and they are not the same document. The application makes you choose, and for a treaty certificate it makes you name the other country first.
The difference is which law decides. A domestic certificate rests on Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022, in force since 1 March 2023, and on the day tests in its Article 4 and Article 3. A treaty certificate rests on Article 6 of the same decision and on Ministerial Decision 247 of 2023, and Article 6 says that where a treaty sets its own conditions for residence, the treaty's conditions apply.
That matters more than it sounds. You can meet the UAE day test cleanly and still lose the treaty question, because most treaties have their own residence article with tie-breakers for a person the two countries both claim. We read the treaty before we file, not after.
There is also a term that catches people out. Being a Resident Person for UAE corporate tax under Article 11 of Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022 is a different thing from being a Tax Resident with a certificate. A company can be one and not usefully the other, and the FTA's own guide says so.
A person
Any one of these three makes you a UAE tax resident.
Home and interests
Your usual or primary place of residence and the center of your financial and personal interests are both in the UAE. There is no day count in this test at all. It is the route for someone whose life is plainly here, and it is decided on evidence rather than on a calendar.
183 days
Physically present in the UAE for 183 days or more within the relevant 12 consecutive months. Nothing else is required. This is the test most people mean when they say residency, and it is open to anyone regardless of nationality or visa.
90 days, with a condition
Physically present for 90 days or more in 12 consecutive months, and you are a UAE national, a GCC national or the holder of a valid UAE residence permit, and you either have a permanent place of residence here or carry on employment or a business here.
Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022, Article 4. The three are alternatives. Meeting any one of them is enough, and the evidence the FTA asks for changes with the one you use.
How the days are counted
A part of a day is a day, and the days do not have to run together.
Ministerial Decision 27 of 2023 sets the counting rules. All days, and parts of days, on which you are physically present in the UAE count toward the total. They do not need to be consecutive. A day means a calendar day.
There is one release valve, and it is narrower than people hope. Where your presence was caused by an exceptional circumstance, an event beyond your control that began while you were already here, that you could not reasonably have predicted or prevented, and that stopped you leaving as planned, those days may be disregarded. The decision says may. It is the FTA's judgment, not yours, and it needs evidence.
The two terms the 90 day test turns on
A permanent place of residence is a furnished house, apartment, room or other dwelling made continuously available to you, with the right to occupy it at all times on a regular basis, with some degree of permanency, not just occasionally or for a short stay. You do not have to own it. A rental counts.
Employment is either a contract with an employer incorporated, formed or recognized in the UAE, or a continuing relationship from which all or substantially all of your income for your labor comes from one party. Full time or part time, limited term or unlimited, both count. A voluntary role with no contract does not.
What the FTA asks a person for
- IdentityEmirates ID and residence visa, or a copy of the passport together with an entry and exit report from the Federal Authority of Identity and Citizenship or another competent government entity.
- On the 90 day routeAlso proof of employment or business, meaning proof of the source of income, a salary certificate or evidence of carrying on a business here, or proof of a permanent place of residence: a certified tenancy contract, another long term rental contract, a written statement from the landlord or owner, or a title deed with a utility bill in your name.
- On the home and interests routeAlso a written statement explaining why the financial and personal interests are here with everything that supports it, proof of the primary place of residence, and proof of the source of income where there is one.
Two things widely said to be required are not on the FTA's list: six months of bank statements, and audited financial statements. Bank statements appear once, as one optional example of proof of income, with no period attached. The FTA can still ask for anything else it considers necessary.
A company
Incorporated here is the test. A branch of a foreign company is written out of it.
Article 3 of Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022 makes a juridical person a UAE tax resident if it was incorporated, formed or recognized under UAE legislation, or if it is a tax resident under UAE tax law. The article then says in the same sentence that this does not include a branch registered in the UAE by a foreign juridical person. That single clause decides a lot of applications.
Free zone companies are in. The FTA's guide says the rules apply equally to persons established and operating in free zones, so a company formed in any UAE free zone is a UAE tax resident and can apply.
There are two timing rules. A newly incorporated company that has not yet filed a corporate tax return has to have been established for 12 months before it is eligible. And a company applying for a period that is still running can apply once three months of that period have passed. A person applying for a running period can apply as soon as the test is met.
What the FTA asks a company for
- The license and the lease. The trade license and the lease agreement for the UAE premises.
- The corporate tax TRN, where the company has one.
- The certificate of incorporation.
- A certified copy of the memorandum of association.
- The authorized signatory, with name, Emirates ID and passport, and proof of the authorization: the establishment contract or a power of attorney.
- Proof of effective management and control in the UAE, where that is the ground being relied on, as a written statement with the documents behind it.
The same six items are asked for whether the certificate is for a treaty or for domestic purposes. What changes between the two is which law decides whether you qualify, not the paperwork.
Period, validity and timing
One period, twelve months at most, never a future one.
A certificate covers a tax period, or any other 12 month period you select. For a company the tax period is the financial year. For a person it is the calendar year. You can ask for the current period or a past one. You cannot ask for a future one, because the FTA will not certify that someone will still be resident later, and you cannot ask for a period longer than 12 months.
The FTA's published response time is generally 10 business days from a complete application. If it asks for more information you have 30 business days to answer. A printed hard copy takes a further 5 business days after the certificate fee is paid, and it is delivered to UAE addresses only.
A certificate is not permanent in the sense people assume. The FTA can withdraw one if it learns the information was wrong or the facts have changed.
There is a second service worth knowing about. Where the other country will not accept the UAE certificate and insists on its own residence form, the FTA will stamp that form. It has to cover the same 12 month period and the same jurisdiction as your certificate, and a form that is not in English or Arabic needs a legally approved translation.
The United States has no income tax treaty with the United Arab Emirates. A UAE certificate does not reduce what a US citizen or green card holder owes or has to file. See US tax for US citizens and green card holders for what actually applies, and Corporate tax for the UAE side.
What we do
- Day 1The test you actually meetDays in and out, the visa, the home, the income, and the treaty if there is one
- Day 2The file assembledOnly the evidence the FTA lists for your route, in the form it accepts
- FilingSubmitted as your Tax AgentOn the FTA portal under TAAN 20024196, with the period and purpose set correctly
- 10 business daysThe FTA's published response timeWe answer any request for further information inside the 30 business days allowed
Our fee is fixed and quoted before we start. The FTA charges its own separate fee for the certificate under Cabinet Decision 65 of 2020, which varies with whether you hold a corporate tax registration, and there is a further charge for a printed copy.
Filed by a Tax Agent
The rules on this page are the FTA's, quoted from the FTA.
Three claims are repeated across this market that are not in the law: a 180 day minimum for a treaty certificate, six months of bank statements, and audited financial statements. We read Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022, Ministerial Decision 27 of 2023, Ministerial Decision 247 of 2023 and the FTA's own tax residency guide, and none of the three is there. If an adviser has told you one of them, ask where it is written.
Questions we are asked about the certificate
- 01
How many days do I need to be in the UAE?
It depends which of the three tests you are using. 183 days or more in 12 consecutive months qualifies anyone. 90 days or more qualifies a UAE national, a GCC national or the holder of a valid UAE residence permit who also has a permanent place of residence here or works or runs a business here. And there is a third route with no day count at all, for someone whose usual place of residence and center of financial and personal interests are in the UAE.
- 02
Does the certificate on its own stop my home country taxing me?
No. A certificate proves the UAE treats you as tax resident. Whether the other country steps back depends on that country's own law and on the residence article of the treaty between the two, which is a separate test with its own tie-breakers. We read the treaty before we apply, and we say so if the certificate will not do what you are hoping for.
- 03
Is there a US and UAE tax treaty?
No. The United States has no income tax treaty with the United Arab Emirates. A US citizen or green card holder in Dubai still files Form 1040 every year, and a UAE certificate does not change that. It is still useful against third countries and for UAE questions, but never as an answer to the IRS. See US tax for US citizens and green card holders.
- 04
Our company was set up this year. Can we apply?
Not yet, in most cases. The FTA's guidance says a newly incorporated company that has not yet filed a corporate tax return must have been established for 12 months before it is eligible. A company applying for a period that is still running can apply once three months of that period have passed.
- 05
Can we get one for last year?
Yes. A certificate can cover the current period or a past one. It cannot cover a future period, and it cannot cover a period longer than 12 months.
- 06
What does it cost?
A fixed fee for our work, quoted within one business day of seeing your situation, before any work starts. The FTA charges its own separate fee for the certificate under Cabinet Decision 65 of 2020, which depends on whether you hold a corporate tax registration.
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